and a Portuguese water dog. (Phil Marino; Gordon M. Grant for The New York Times)
The incoming First Family is reportedly near a decision on the breed of the First Dog. During an appearance on ABC’s Sunday morning show, “This Week,” with George Stephanopoulos, Barack Obama said that they seemed to have narrowed down the choice of a new dog to a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound. He said that the next step was to canvas shelters to see if they could find one of those breeds as a rescue dog.
As has been widely discussed, Malia, 10, is allergic to dogs, so the First Family has been focusing its search on breeds with the reputation of being easier on those with allergies. Though no dog is 100 percent hypo-allergenic, some breeds shed less than others, and therefore release less dander — the cause of common dog allergies. I suffer from allergies as well and we have a Miniature Schnauzer who works just fine. He doesn’t shed and he doesn’t trigger an allergy attack. So, I decided to dig around to find out more about the two breeds the Obamas are looking at.
The Portuguese water dog, which doesn’t shed, is among the breeds the American Kennel Club recommends for those with allergies. The breed is a seafaring one that has been known for centuries along the Portuguese coast, “it was prized by fishermen for a spirited, yet obedient nature, and a robust, medium build that allowed for a full day’s work in and out of the water,” the Kennel Club writes on its Web site.
Once used for tasks like carrying messages between boats in the water, it is considered highly intelligent and has either curly or wavy hair. And it has an added endorsement: Senator Edward M. Kennedy owns two Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Splash. The two dogs frequently flank him as he walks through the halls of the United States Capitol. And Splash, an apparent genius, is also credited by the Senator with ‘writing’ a 2006 children’s book, “My Senator And Me: A Dog’s Eye View Of Washington, D.C.” Source: NY Times
The other dog, the Labradoodle, is a created, or designer, breed: a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle. The breed was originally the brainchild of an Australian breeder who needed a service dog for a visually-impaired woman whose husband had dog allergies, it is now bred around the world. According to the web site of the Australian Labradoodle Association of America, its temperament is “clever, sociable, comical, joyful, energetic when free and soft and quiet when handled.”
The Labradoodle’s top endorsement may well be from Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is reported to own a Labradoodle named Brother. On the other hand, the Labradoodle is not among those dogs recommended by the Kennel Association for allergy sufferers because of its status as a designer breed. Source: NY Times
I have read that designer dogs, often mixed with poodles are not recommended for allergy sufferers due to their unpredictable coat. Consequently, designer dogs have never really appealed to me. As long as the new dog doesn’t have the unpredictable temperament of Barney, President Bush’s Scottish terrier who bit the reporter. The dog was clearly not in the mood to be friendly with anyone, perhaps other than his master, of course. The Obamas’ search for a new dog has created a lot of buzz and I am sure that sales of the Australian Labradoodle and the Portuguese water hound will rise.
Filed under: Allergies, Animal Rescue, Australian Labradoodle, Barack Obama, First Dog, Malia Obama, Portuguese Water Hound
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