Will The Portuguese Water Dog Be The New Lab?
Yesterday I posted on the Obamas decision to get a Portuguese Water Dog rather than a rescue. We received many comments with varying viewpoints.
I do want to clear up one point, I agree the decision of what kind of dog a person gets and where they get it is a personal one. However, when President, then Senator, Obama made the decision to announce at a public news conference that the family was looking at shelters it changes everything. Their private decision was no longer private, they invited the public in.
“We’re going to adopt a dog, I think,” Michelle Obama told Entertainment Tonight on September 30, 2008.
“A rescue dog,” said then-Sen. Obama.
That being said, it is great to have a dog in the White House. Hopefully having a dog around will inspire President Obama to look into the important animal welfare issues that seem to have fallen by the wayside and put them back in the forefront.
The other issue to keep in mind is the concern the Portuguese Water Dog will go the way of the Labrador or the Dalmatian. When a breed becomes popular due to books, movies, or celebrities, people decide they want one too. Unfortunately it’s usually without much thought about what goes into taking care of the breed. Or even if the breed will fit their lifestyle.
So it’s a pretty good bet that more people will want to make the Obamas’ new pet their new family pet after all the hoopla and news coverage over Bo. You look at that cute black puffball in the rainbow lei and think, “I want one!” But hold up, wait a minute. What looks cute, awesome and placid in picture form, is actually a really energetic breed (although still cute and awesome).
So we asked an expert to give us a Portuguese water dog reality check, to talk us down from making any hasty decisions. Diane Keppen, a veteran Annapolis breeder of Portuguese Water Dogs, happily agreed to help us out.
“Many of my friends who are breeders are very concerned about the fact that this wonderful breed will go the way of the Dalmatian,” she says. “Like all the wonderful breeds that become popular, some people think ‘look at that cute little dog on TV’ … and don’t realize that this dog likes to greet you with a body slam.”
Keppen says that last part jokingly, but there is some truth to the quip.
“They are a working breed, very athletic, very high energy,” she says. “They need to work, and they need to have something to do, or they will find some thing to do, which may not be what you had in mind.”
Portuguese Water Dogs can be very expensive, more than $2000, they take a huge time commitment, daily grooming, a lot of training and need plenty of exercise. This is not the dog for everyone. Look at what happened eleven years ago with Dalmatians. A staggering number of Dalmatians were purchased and abandoned following the release of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.
What about when Marley, everyone’s favorite lab, became famous. Labs were already America’s favorite dog, standing at the top of the AKC’s list of most popular dogs for 10 years, now even more people wanted one. As a result, there are many Labradors available for adoption. Adding to the problem are the puppy mill owners looking for a quick buck, flooding the market with cute lab pups who will carry the breed’s genetic problems.
Regardless of where you get a dog, it is a lifelong commitment. It should be a decision that is thoroughly thought through and not a rash decision based on a picture you see of an adorable puppy.
* Pic of puppy River
hopefully this breed gets only good press and not any bad press. I definitely don’t want another breed to be punished by ignorance like the Pit Bull has.
In my opinion this was a terrible decision. By making a rare breed popular they are guaranteeing people will breed the dogs for profit.
As much as i like the breed, i really hope it doesn’t become the new Lab! The Labrador is heavily over populated around the world, and with over popuation comes more health problems through ignorant breeders. For instance here in the UK the KC registers 48,000 Labs a year compared to only 500 Maltese!
The PWD is a challenging breed and i’m actually surprised the Obama’s chose it for there first dog. They need tons of exercise, careful grooming and lots of mental exercise.
Maybe a Toy breed would have suited them better!
I would have loved to see the Obamas adopt a shelter dog just for the attention it could have raised for the homeless pups. But I do understand the issues they had because of allergies. This is a difficult choice , there are not alot of hypo-allergenic breeds and it is probably very hard to find one in a shelter. I hope their choice does not prompt people to go out and get a PWD just because the” President has one ” Welcome a pup into your home when he / she fits your lifestyle and you are ready for a lifetime commitment–just like having kids!!!!!!!
Did the Obama’s really choose this dog? From what I have read elsewhere, it was given to them as a gift from another Senator. Just like a little ways back another person tried to give them another type of dog. I think there are to many other people trying to make a decision for them. And being the President, it’s not like he couldn’t have a nation-wide search of the shelters for a hypo-allergenic dog!
I just hope the girls get the kind of dog they are going to like. Obama himself is going to be way to busy to have this boy as his “fishin’ dog”.
re: “I do want to clear up one point, I agree the decision of what kind of dog a person gets and where they get it is a personal one.”
Well, thanks for that concession; I’m sure everyone who is thinking about choosing a pet is glad that you agreed it’s *their* personal decision, and not a decision which belongs in the hands of others.
re: “However, when President, then Senator, Obama made the decision to announce at a public news conference that the family was looking at shelters it changes everything. Their private decision was no longer private, they invited the public in.”
Huh? How exactly? If the situation were reversed, would YOU let total strangers force your hand or narrow your choices in this decision? Would this furor even be happening if he’d promised the kids a gerbil or a goldfish?
The US President is a public figure–which makes the public privy to a lot of stuff they normally wouldn’t know about the guy. Still, just because we are treated to a day-by-day of a lot of his moves doesn’t give us counselor status. Just because a public figure discusses a decision his family is considering does NOT ‘invite the public in’ to the decision-making process. We don’t get to vote on where he sends his kids to school, which color ties he picks…or what kind of family pet they choose and where that pet comes from.
How incredibly presumptuous to think that public interest groups should even be invited into the discussion, much less that he should listen to the viewpoints of thousands of strangers with their own agendas above the interests, needs and preferences of his own family!