I don't think you can make a blanket statement about whether you can manage to retain breed traits without damning the dogs.
If I had to slap down a guess on what is going on.
The #1 issue is targeting cosmetic traits that are anatomically not functional.
The #2 issue is breeders not prioritizing health over conforming to the breed standard. Pet grade purebreds may not look quite perfect to a discerning eye, but they can be very robust especially if they are a working dog.
If you control for #1 and #2 is there still a higher incidence of issues? Probably. Why would reducing diversity be a free lunch? Is it an ethical issue? Maybe. I mean I eat animals. I can't put myself on some high horse. At some point we make them to use so there is a balancing act going on.
The fallacy to watch out for is conflating breeder behavior and outcomes with outcomes for the breed if bred "properly."
If I had to slap down a guess on what is going on. The #1 issue is targeting cosmetic traits that are anatomically not functional. The #2 issue is breeders not prioritizing health over conforming to the breed standard. Pet grade purebreds may not look quite perfect to a discerning eye, but they can be very robust especially if they are a working dog.
If you control for #1 and #2 is there still a higher incidence of issues? Probably. Why would reducing diversity be a free lunch? Is it an ethical issue? Maybe. I mean I eat animals. I can't put myself on some high horse. At some point we make them to use so there is a balancing act going on.
The fallacy to watch out for is conflating breeder behavior and outcomes with outcomes for the breed if bred "properly."