Christina Galbraith - Pugs

 Shepard suggests, "the genetic changes resulting from domestication may affect the whole creature, its appearance, behavior, and physiology." He raises interesting points that wild animals are products of a genetic balance that has been perfected through natural selection. Humans mess with this perfection by selective breeding. A prime example of this are Bulldogs and Arabian horses. Bulldogs have a plethora of health problems. All because breeders and buyers look for dogs with smushed noses, short necks, and small lungs. These dogs have so much trouble breathing that they cannot exercise. As a result, many Bulldogs are obese. I think it's disgusting to breed animals for aesthetic purposes, especially to the extent that it disrupts their ability to live. Arabian horses' nasal cavities have long been becoming more and more deformed. Of course there is big money in the horse industry and buyers will shell out the big bucks for horses with severe dips in their nose as is pictured below. Yet again, the domestication and genetic changes have created Arabian horses that have a severely decreased oxygen capacity because of the size of their nose. Arabians are still prized for their endurance, which was developed through natural selection as they are the oldest living breed of horse. In a few hundred years humans have found a way to mess up a few genetic lines, jeopardizing what the breed is known for.