Really, people need to quit whining about how disappointed they are about the Obama’s new dog. Seriously, with two little girls who have allergies and have never lived with a dog – who really thinks a shelter dog is a great idea? Yes, it would be lovely if all shelter dogs came with guarantees that they have no behavioral problems, and they promise not to bite the kids. Granted, no dog comes with any guarantees, and I’ve seen plenty of puppies go nutty as adults. But really. Really? I think the Obamas have enough to adjust to and plenty of things to worry about without having to wonder if their new dog is going to eat the girls. Yes, a puppy can be rough, yes, they will have to deal with the rigors of raising and training a new puppy, but when I was 8 years old, I can assure you I would have rather worked at raising a puppy than an adult dog. With the allergy issue – I’m much happier that the Obamas chose a Portuguese Water Dog rather than a damn poodle mix. Labradoodles, Goldendoodles, all those doodle things are taking over the world. People are paying exorbitant amounts of money for them and *newflash* THEY ARE GLORIFIED MUTTS! Do we really, really want the President walking around with a mutt that people are already racing to cash in on? Mutts that are already needing their own rescue groups? Because the doodle craze is still going bonkers, and I’m sure if Obama had rescued one of those people would have simply bred more of them. It would have the opposite effect, I’m afraid, and we would have seen MORE doodles in rescue instead of less. I’m going to hope that breeders of Portuguese Water Dogs have already been very selective about where their pups go, and will continue to do so now that we have one as a First Dog. I mean, do that many people want a Portuguese Water Dog anyway? They aren’t thaaat great.
I just am tired of all the whining people are doing about “Oh, he should have chosen a shelter dog. Waah, waah, everyone in America is stupid and incapable of choosing a pet for themselves so they will all do what the President did!” That we all may do research into what breed of dog is best suited for our family and actually go to a responsible breeder. The world would be a better place. Dogs and people would be much happier.
Everyone is so down on any breeder. Some of us out here actually want purebred dogs. Purebred dogs not from a shelter. Purebred dogs whose lineage is known, who fit the breed standard, and who will hopefully turn into decent members of their breed. I don’t have anything against adopting dogs – please, adopt if and when you can. My lab is a wonderful, wonderful animal. Lab through and through – loves water, retrieves anything, loyal to the core. He’s from a shelter. Picked up running stray, he sat in the shelter for six weeks because he is the size of a small pony. As with any adopted dog though, he came with plenty of baggage. Some of it he’s still hanging onto. If I’d gotten him as a puppy, it would have been much, much easier to handle these issues.
It’s one thing to discover a budding dog aggression problem with your puppy and take steps to fix it, it’s quite another to discover at a dog park that your new 100lb friend likes to make unprovoked attacks on any intact male dog. Yippee!
As a parent, I think Obama made the best decision for his daughters. A six month old puppy is not likely to have any issues that can’t be fixed with good training. And yes, yes, he could’ve gotten a puppy from a shelter, and likely would have if his daughters didn’t have allergies. But they do, and their health and safety needs to come first.
So let’s lay off the “only shelter dogs are good dogs” rant because that simply isn’t true. The dog didn’t come from a puppy mill, so there’s that. I simply don’t think anyone, President too, should be harassed about wanting a dog of a certain breed, doing research, and purchasing a puppy that will most likely suit their needs. You live with your dog for a long, long time, it’s better for everyone if it’s a dog you actually enjoy.
Posted on April 14th, 2009 by michelle
Filed under: Not my dogs, Random run ins
I truly enjoyed your article and I feel the same way. I see people I know rushing out and getting “designer dogs” that -no way- fits their lifestyle, and then what happens to the dog? Well, I have one – a toy poodle/chihuahua mix. She’s a wonderful dog and fit right in with my two poodles, but her coat is awful. I have to keep her shaved down because her coat mats so tight, and that is with daily brushing. So keep writing and I’ll keep reading.
Thanks for reading! I’ll be poking about your site too to see what I can learn about poodles! Love them, by the way – perhaps I’ll go back and tell the story of my little poodle friend, Paddington, who made an awful journey across the country in a van with 50 some odd other puppies, but ended up in a wonderful home with a great life.