>A dog who cannot breathe or breed naturally is a freak and would not even survive as a dog without human intervention.
That people inflict these desirable birth defects in the name of maintaining a breed standard upon dogs is a sin.<
From a personal standpoint, I would not own a dog like that. How far do we take “biological viability”? My beloved Papillons wouldn’t last 5 minutes in the wild, yet they still breed and whelp (many times at least) naturally for a toy breed.
Being a conservative, I am big on personal freedom and the choice that it allows. People choose to breed Pekes and Bulldogs and if you begin trying to limit that freedom, you get into a Nannystate world.
The best thing would be for those involved with the breeds to try and turn the tide. It would be interesting to think what might happen if people who championed health and viability joined the parent clubs.
But, knowing human nature, I can predict that will be a difficult task without some sort of draconian, slippery slope law.
You don’t need to outlaw bad breeding. You could start with a simple rule like “any puppies born by c-section can’t obtain full registration with the AKC.” They might make fine pets, but the line shouldn’t continue.
Basically, if the AKC didn’t promote these excessive traits, you wouldn’t see them very much.