the first dog dilemma solved

In November, I wrote about the dilemma being faced by the new President in choosing which breed of dog they would adopt from a shelter. Recent media reports have suggested that the First Family will now decide between Labradoodle and Portuguese water dog. From USA TODAY

Obama choice: Labradoodle or a Portuguese water dog

By Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY

Will the next pooch in the White House be a dog of change?

Sunday, President-elect Barack Obama told George Stephanopoulos on ABC News' This Week that the family has narrowed the choice to either a Portuguese water hound or labradoodle.

The former is actually known as the Portuguese water dog. It dates back to the 1200s and worked on boats with Portuguese fishermen, according to the website of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America.

Sen. Ted Kennedy has helped make them famous, returning to the Capitol after brain cancer treatment with his two Portuguese water dogs.

The labradoodle, on the other hand, is a relatively new dog whose cross-breeding between a Labrador and a poodle goes back only to the 1980s.

In his election-night victory speech, Obama promised daughters Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, they could have a puppy in the White House. He later said that Malia is allergic, that the family would need a "hypoallergenic" dog and that they wanted a pound dog.

Both dogs are non-shedders and do not cause as much reaction in allergy sufferers as other dogs, says Stu Freeman, president of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America.

"There really is no hypoallergenic dog," Freeman says. "We tell people to spend time around the dogs to make sure they're going to be OK. The hair might not bother them, but the saliva might."

Freeman says it can be difficult to find either breed in shelters because "rescue groups will always get word they're in shelters and save them."

Obama told Stephanopoulos they were going to start "looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up."

Mary Harkings, who oversees a Portuguese water dog rescue group, says the breed is "funny and very family-oriented" but adds that the dogs crave exercise. "You can't just put them in a backyard and let them run it out," she says. "They want to do things with you."

That might be one huge plus for the labradoodle. "They can get by on 30 minutes a day of walking," says Melissa Angelini, a breeder in Monroe Township, N.J. "They're not that high-energy. Mine have been lying around for three days and are fine."

Obama has said finding the right dog has been "tougher than finding a Commerce secretary."

Rolli Grayson, a Chicago breeder of the Portuguese water dogs, was watching the show and had this advice for Obama: "I just wish he'd get what he wants. He should stop worrying about pleasing everyone and get what's best for his family."

This is what a Portuguese water dog looks like



Neither of those two breeds would be receptive to wearing lipstick, unlike Pitbull Terriers or pigs.

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Today was far too busy at work.