What's your pick for 'first puppy'?

November 7, 2008 12:36 am

Presidential Scottish terriers Barney and Miss Beazley play in snow on the lawn of the Bush White House.

BY LAURA MOYER
BY LAURA MOYER

A goldendoodle? Really?

What kind of a first dog is that?

Speculation has it that one of these designer dogs--a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle--is destined to go to the White House with the family of Barack Obama.

In his first promise as president-elect Tuesday night, Obama vowed that daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, will get to take a puppy with them to Washington.

White House tradition favors purebred dogs, from President George W. Bush's springer spaniel and Scottish terriers all the way back to George Washington's American foxhounds.

But if a dog is to be part of Obama's White House transition team, Fredericksburg-area dog experts say a great American mixed-breed might be just the thing.

It would certainly suit Nancy Guinn, owner the Dog Krazy store on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg.

A carefully chosen shelter dog or a dog from a rescue organization--purebred or otherwise--would set a fantastic example, she said.

Of course, the Obamas are already getting plenty of advice.

The American Kennel Club, PETA and petfinder .com have all weighed in with suggestions and offers to help pick the perfect presidential pooch.

The AKC selected five breeds least likely to trigger Malia Obama's reported allergies, and asked people to vote. Forty-two thousand responses later, the choice was a poodle, said spokeswoman Daisy Okas.

Also on the hypoallergenic list was a fluffy bichon frise, which Dog Krazy's Guinn said would be a great choice for a family pet.

But it's a little dog, and that might send the wrong message to those who would test the new president's leadership.

"There are small-dog people and there are big-dog people," Guinn said. "I would want our president to be a big-dog person."

Considering the Obamas' situation--a family with two young children, moving halfway across the country to live in a home visited by dozens of people every day--they need a dog that's easygoing and well-socialized, Guinn said.

"But whatever choice they make," she said, "I hope they love him."

Dog trainer and Free Lance-Star columnist Sarah Ferrell agreed.

"Certain dogs just speak to people's hearts," she said.

The Obamas or any family contemplating a new pet should make a list of the qualities they admire in a dog, then sit down with a good book that talks about different breeds and their traits.

Barking, a proclivity for herding or a predisposition to generalized mischief are all factors to consider.

"Search your own soul and capabilities," Ferrell suggested, to make sure you're up to the challenge of a particular breed.

But in the end, it comes down to love. "People should feel smitten when they see their dog," she said.

Whatever dog the Obamas choose, she said, it's going to be lucky.

"They're kind and gentle people is my bet, and I think they will raise a kind and gentle dog," Ferrell said.

"And I think those little girls are going to be wonderful dog people."

Laura Moyer: 540/374-5417
Email: lmoyer@freelancestar.com

HERE'S A SHORT HISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL POOCHES FROM THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB:

George Washington--American foxhounds including dogs named Drunkard, Tipler and Tipsy
Thomas Jefferson--Briards including one named Buzzy
James Buchanan--a Newfoundland
Rutherford B. Hayes--a Cocker spaniel, a Newfoundland, a greyhound and an English mastiff
Benjamin Harrison--a collie
Theodore Roosevelt--a St. Bernard, a Pekingese, a Chesapeake Bay retriever and a bull terrier named Pete who ripped the pants of a French ambassador
Warren Harding--a bulldog named Oh Boy and an Airedale named Laddie Boy
Calvin Coolidge--collies, an Airedale, two chows, a bulldog, a wire fox terrier and an Old English sheepdog named Calamity Jane
Herbert Hoover--fox terriers, an elkhound, an Irish wolf-hound and a German shepherd named King Tut
Franklin D. Roosevelt--the Scottish terrier Fala is among the most famous of first dogs, but he also had another Scottie, a bull mastiff, two Irish setters, a bulldog, an English setter, a German shepherd and a Great Dane named President.
Dwight D. Eisenhower--two Scotties and a Weimaraner
John F. Kennedy--a Welsh terrier, an Irish wolfhound, a German shepherd and an English cocker spaniel
Lyndon B. Johnson--the famous beagles Him and Her, another beagle and a collie
Richard Nixon--a cocker spaniel named Checkers, plus a Yorkshire terrier, a poodle and an Irish setter
Gerald Ford--a golden retriever named Liberty
Ronald Reagan--a Bouvier des Flandres named Lucky and a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Rex
George H.W. Bush--an English springer spaniel, Millie
Bill Clinton--a chocolate Labrador retriever, Buddy
George W. Bush--a springer spaniel named Spot (Millie's daughter) and two Scottish terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley.

--American Kennel Club, presidentialpup.com