The
Veterinary think tank wrestled with “Will he follow the militaristic
model of imposing his will through domination and showing the pooch
who is “boss?“ and the biggies, "Or will he choose a more nuanced approach to train
and motivate the first pup, recognizing that leadership is not
synonymous with dominance?”
The rest of the interesting article can be
found at: www.avsabonline.org but politically speaking,
it read like not much more than stretching for "current affairs"
mileage. Our new President has a lot more on
his plate than training the family dog. Being behaviorists and
all that, the Veterinarians should have delved into the correlation
between breed choice and owner behavior.
Assuming the
"President's Dog" is indeed the President's own choice for his best friend, the breed's
personality and characteristics can be a scintillating revelation of presidential
personality.
For
example,
Fox News got in on the President’s Dog coverage with a controversial clip
of Ted Kennedy disputing Henry (The Fonz) Winkler’s claim that the
Labradoodle doesn’t shed. Kennedy has gotten another Portuguese
Water Dog, which the Fox commentator called a “hound.” No matter,
the point is Porties are affable but spirited, highly intelligent
non-stop workers, able to paddle their way out of the deepest water
or muck. The Kennedy boys had dogs but John wasn't much of a
keeper and his dogs were mostly gifts from Ireland.
His father gave John a Welsh terrier that stayed
around long enough to breed Pushinka, a gift from Premier
Khrushchev. The litter was given away by two months except for
two that lived at the Kennedy home on Squaw Island but they were
eventually given away too. Ted seems to be the real dog lover.
In fact, the first thing he did after getting home from the hospital
was take his two Porties outside.
But back to Winkler. He’s no
dummy so his Labradoodle is probably outside dog. If it was in his living room, he’d know it sheds!
Winkler may not be close pals with the Labradoodle or he wouldn’t be quoting the designer dog
no-shed marketing ploy. But we do
agree, either breed would be great for the President’s family.
Will Obama get involved with the dog choice? It appears he's
never had a dog, so that is doubtful. The real
question
is will he share thet one-on-one that Johnson shared
with his Beagles and the Bush family so clearly enjoys with their
two Scotties?
When Barney bit the reporter in November, the
groundskeeper, reported the incident to G.W. We’re told President Bush laughed
and said “good!” He didn’t have to see the video clip to know the
reporter had no business grabbing at Barney. President Bush
knows his breed choice. The Scottie is a happy-go-lucky,
self-possessed, determined little dog. Just like his owner.
No matter one's political affiliation, the country is thankful for
President Bush's terrier single-mindedness to keep us safe, even
when it hurt his legacy. Hopefully, President Obama will be as
totally committed to the country even at the risk of personal
popularity.
The saga of Obama’s Breed Choice will prove interesting. Let’s hope it
will be a purebred and not a shelter dog as recommended by the AR
crowd. Whatever. It makes better news that what color drapes
Michelle Obama will choose for the White House dining room.
Presidential Candidates and Their Pets and you won't believe
so of the
Pets In The White House!
Side
Effects