Mr Obama is reported [today's The Times] to have narrowed the choice of puppy to two 'breeds'. One is the labradoodle.The other is the Portuguese water dog.He has to have a dog suited to a child with an allergy.
Oh dear, a labradoodle.There he was on the campaign, trying to avoid the stereotype of a liberal who drinks lattes and eats rocket, and he's thinking of the dog which is the very dog of the effete liberal. A designer dog too, whatever next? ( A Toyota Prius, I shouldn't wonder ). At least it's a mongrel, well 'crossbreed'. Someone should tell him that the coat is unpredictable: some moult, like the labrador ancestor, others don't, like the poodle ancestor.It's not, therefore, a 100 per cent choice for someone with an allergy
Goodness knows where he'll find a Portuguese water dog in a shelter (his avowed aim).It's clipped, in the manner of the poodle, another water dog.Perhaps, in the recession, someone will leave one because they can't afford the grooming
Ignoring the allergy question altogether, and having all breeds to chose from, which do you think would be the ideal breed for the image of Obama as President?
Didn't I suggest sometime ago that they might choose a Labradoodle? Unfortunately in the disposable society that North America is, particularly the US, there are rescue societies for just about every breed of dog. Our neighbours drove south of the border, and picked up an Airedale from a rescue society in Michigan. Coincidentally, a colleague of mine has a Portuguese Water dog she got from the Humane Society here in Canada.
What would I choose? That's a no brainer for me. Our Old English Sheepdog was the sweetest, most loyal, and beautiful dog we've ever owned. It's been about 8 years since she died, but I still miss her. They are a high maintenance breed and don't grow out of that puppy stage for several years. She was always very gentle and protective with the children. One funny thing she did, was when the kids were little, and playing in the garden in different areas, was try to round them up. She wasn't happy until she had them grouped together! She loved nothing more than when I harnessed her up to the kids' sled in winter, and she could pull them around the yard.
Yes, dg, sheepdogs herd. Ones which were not designed uniquely for herding do it.We had an Alsatian, German Shepherd Dog, bitch who used to turn frantic when poodle puppies ran off from their dam. She'd rush over and round them all up,and then lie in guard over them, to the utter bemusement of their own mother ! The GSD is a dual purpose sheepdog, both a herder and a guard of the flock.
Babs, a little dog would certainly eat less but may not be ideal with children once it's grown. Even children of these ages have a tendency to keep picking the dog up, which irritates and annoys it. Short answer, as always, is to train the children but they don't always remember.
Besides he will be way too busy leading us down the road of Destruction and being the Anti-Christ to play fetch with any dog.
In which case, a black dog is ideal The Hound of the Obamavilles !
Anything other than a 'chocolate' Lab. It's a mystery, but the chocolate Lab is about 100 times as active and a 1,000 times scattier than any other colour .
"Anything other than a 'chocolate' Lab. It's a mystery, but the chocolate Lab is about 100 times as active and a 1,000 times scattier than any other colour " Fred sez.
It's the old story: breeding 'cuteness' into an animal. You have eye-candy, but sometimes traits are paired in weird and surprising ways: blue-eyed dominant-white cats and deafness, for example.
My elder cat, which was adopted from an abusive situation, is a lovely, plushy, light orange, with copper eyes. He's gorgeous, and very sweet and fun to pet. But he's very, very timid. When I have guests, he's nowhere to be seen until the last one leaves. Also as a result he only wants to go out at night. He feels safer then, because he has good night vision.
But that instinct, to stay hidden in daylight, only works if it's paired with the protective coloration: dark on top, brownish or greyish bars on sides, also on face, with no white blaze, to blend in with grasses, reeds and undergrowth from the side, and with a motley ground cover from above, at night. Tabby cat. So I know what short work a Great Horned Owl would make of him. He positively glows in the dark.
So he's pretty but not well adapted for survival.
But he doesn't understand that. He believes he's safe outdoors at night. So every night he pleads to be let out. If I pick him up and comfort and cuddle him, he seems to settle down. But soon he's restless again.
Also the dished-in faces of 'toy' dogs, and Persian cats. (Persian cats as recently as the 1960's had normal functional facial bones, and still do, I am told, in Europe.) Normal-faced. [URL=Flat-faced Persians are cute, but they can have serious eye drainage around their faces, as well as nasal stuffiness. Some flat-faced Persians face health issues in the long run. Traditional Persians have a nose structure that allows proper drainage. Please note, the flatter the face on your Persian, the higher likelihood it may experience allergies and colds. Traditional Persian cats requires some amount of cleaning as well, as they are prone to eye muck.]Normal face.[/URL] So the trend toward dish-faces is American, I think. Some find this trait 'cute', it looks human, partly because the skull deformation draws the eyes to a frontal position. Flat-faced. But it causes nasal problems, and eye-drainage problems, and results in some loss of peripheral vision. But breeders still select to enhance the trait. It's a money-maker.
Posts: 6961 | Location: British Columbia, Canada | Registered: 06-11-02
Dogs with children? Hmm. Some dogs are not ideal with children. My parents rehoused their Manchester terrier when I was born. To be fair, he rehoused himself. He took one look at the new arrival and the attention it was getting and left ! He walked the eight miles over the hills into Cambridge, turned up at the house my father lived in as a bachelor and, though brought back the once,repeated that performance the next night, scratching at the door to be let in. At that point his preference was noted and he spent the rest of his life living with the owner there.
Having been pre-empted in any decision, my parents, both dog breeders, got a golden retriever pup as ideal. She grew to be a fine bitch ( her only fault being that she was a psycopath with a hatred of kittens, who she befriended and then promptly killed.That passed as normal in a Puli house.) Her daughter was perfect though.It's a good breed with children and doubles as an adequate gundog.
Forgetting the children, there's only one breed for Obama and his wife. It has to be the borzoi.It fits man and image perfectly.
PS If they're interested in a non-moulting crossbreed , there's any one of 5 cockerpoos here they could have
Originally posted by babthrower: That is one weird-looking Borzoi.dog, Fred.
Doesn't do it justice.Standing, bored, with its head down doesn't show it.
It's a sight hound, like a greyhound or saluki.It is the most graceful dog imaginable when it runs, or just strides out, covering the ground,its long hair flowing, like a greyhound with class.It has a delightful, regal, bearing as befits the dog which was exclusively for the Tsars and nobility of Russia .It always looks as though it feels, knows, that it's top dog (if indeed it thinks of itself as a mere dog) and quietly superior to all humans apart from its master. It suits a graceful leader. Obama is a bit of a borzoi among humans
In the 30s, the Art Deco period, artists would show elegant ladies attended by the equally graceful borzoi.
To get one here requires patience and, I'm sure, proof of your own status in the world because the breeders won't let it go to anyone who hasn't the class to match it! Seriously, the borzoi breeders at Cruft's (dog show) all seem to regard, with an assessing eye, anyone who so much as looks at their dogs ! Quite right too.(Puli breeders are happy if anyone asks about theirs...there may be a reason )
Schipperke :"It has, at various times been described as mischievous, frisky,agile, energetic,resilient,lively, curious,bustling and vigilant. Because of its watchdog role, it is always suspicious of strangers. Critics have called it petulant, stubborn and a little street-fighter" [Desmond Morris Dogs ]
'Watchdog role' may translate into 'barks a lot' The other barge dog, the Keeshond, is notorious for barking a lot.
