The AKC is suggesting Barack Obama to commit political suicide.
The American Kennel Club is asking Americans to cast a vote for the best qualified "first pet" for the family, limiting the list to a selection of American Kennel Club dogs that they claim are "hypoallergenic" breeds because Obama's daughters' are supposed to have some allergies.
Let's cut to the chase: there's no such thing as a "hypoallergenic" dog.
There are some dogs that shed a little less than others, but in that bailiwick you would have to include just about all of the terriers that actually have to be stripped (i.e. the true terriers), including such great dogs as the:
- Airedale Terrier
- Border Terrier
- Cairn Terrier
- Jack Russell Terrier (broken or rough-coated)
- Fox Terrier (wire-coated)
- Kerry Blue Terrier
- Patterdale Terrier
- Scottish Terrier
- West Highland White Terrier
But never mind.
The AKC is not interested in offering sensible advice, are they? They are only interested in marketing the AKC.
And so, instead of offering up sensible choices, they laughably offer up a bunch of exotic mutants and dogs-that-only-a-hair-dresser-could-love, such as the Bichon Frise, the Chinese Crested, the Poodle, the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier (a dog that sheds and does not have a true terrier coat) and the Miniature Schnauzer (which is not a terrier at all, no matter what the AKC says).
My advice to Barack and Michelle Obama: Forget the AKC. .
This Madison Avenue Club of Clowns has has been fobbing off defective dogs on the American people for more than 100 years.
Follow their advice, and you will be a laughing stock from coast-to-coast.
Remember what the AKC stands for. These sniffing social snobs think coat color and pedigree matter more than ability. True! Tell me if that doesn't sound like the most bitter and fear-driven bigots the Republican Party has to offer.
Mix that kind of nonsense in with with the AKC's long history of anything-for-a-dollar puppy mill mercantilism, and you get the ugliest kind of thing that America has to offer.
Read all about the AKC's "misery puppies" here, and then ask yourself whether ANY thinking person (much less a political candidate) would want to lay down with that kind of thinking!
If you want a dog that is good for the kids on every level, let me suggest almost any terrier or terrier-mutt taken out of rescue. Say "no" to the poodles and French lap dogs if you can; they are the wrong image and the girls will love just as much. Promise.
- Related Posts:
** Rosettes to Ruin
** Michelle Obama on Barack, Kids and a Dog
** White House Going to the Dogs
** Teddie Roosevelt's Terriers
** AKC Loves Puppy Mills ... and the Naïve
** AKC Depends on Puppy Mills to Subsidize Shows
** A Terrible Beauty: The Ugly Side of Show Dogs (Time magazine)
** The Mathematics and Symbolism of Misery Puppies
** Can That Dog Hunt?
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11 comments:
I've always heard that terriers have a lot of drive, intelligence, and energy, and are not right for everyone. Most people don't have the lifestyle or desire to deal with and train a very energetic, smart dog. As much as you disdain couch potato 'lapdog' breeds they are very often a better choice for most people, I'd think.
You're right, there are no hypoallergenic dogs. It's the dander, not the hair that triggers allergies - which kids often grow out of, anyway.
I saw an ad in the paper for Lhasa Apsos - billed as non-shedding. Hah!
Terriers are great pets. I agree completely. The scruffier the better.
Hand-stripping is a drag but the Obamas could probably find a groomer who still does it.
I'd tend to agree with Pai; I've never owned a terrier, but I've always had the impression that they are high-energy, high-drive dogs that are fantastic in the right hands and real nightmares in the wrong ones.
A friend of my mother's has had a succession of wire fox terriers over the years. This woman has zero dog-savvy, and the dogs are holy terrors - the dogs run the house and are absolute brats (she's had to get stitches a few times). You can see where, in the right hands, these all might have been great companions - but because there's absolutely no discipline or boundaries, they're possessive, agressive monster-critters.
At the same time, I've met terriers who, under their owners' guidiance, have been wonderful "productive members of society". These dogs have boundaries, they have jobs, and they have great lives - and if they ever had to go into rescue (say, due to death or incapacitation of their owners) they would probably find their forever homes quite quickly. I'm not sure if Barack and Michelle (who I'm assuming would be first-time dog owners?) have the time, energy, or savvy to raise a terrier right.
Though honestly, the thought of the Obama girls romping with a scrappy little terrier on the White House lawn puts a smile on my face.
(Full disclosure: I've had Shelties my whole life. They're about as un-terrier as you can get - though they're another one where, in the wrong hands, from the wrong breeder, you can end up with a real basket-case of a dog. Not a lot of terrier-experience here, folks!)
Hey, who's to say that the ACK isn't really trying to torpedo Obama with advice they know to be bad?
The only "hypoallergenic" dog is the one to which you, personally, do not react.
I had a student once who had severe reactions to his cousins' poodle. This young man was able to spend considerable time in a small stuffy room with my GSD (German shedder dog), and by the end of the semester, was petting and playing with her and showing no reaction. I'd have never predicted that at the time, but experience has borne out that allergic individuals' reactions to animal dander are, well - individual.
If the Obamas really want a dog for the kids, my advice is to *foster* a likely candidate (pre-selected for suitability by experienced trainers) for a few weeks and observe the kids for reactions before making the commitment. It may take several tries.
The dog should be an adult (pups don't have the same shedding profile as they will as adults), and an adult mixed-breed from a shelter would be a great choice.
Extra kudos if the dog was dumped at the pound by a Republican. (You know, our ever-active press will find such things out, as they have nothing else to do with their time.)
As a yellow-dog-Democrat Obama-lovin' professional trainer with extensive Rescue experience, I will gladly donate my time to such an endeavor.
Wow, you make me feel guilty for voting in that contest. and, I confess, I cast my e-ballot for the Bichon even though I am the editor of the Scottish Terrier and Dog News.
I just thought there was no way the Obamas would ever go for a Scottie given their ties to the Bush regime.
In any case, will link to your rant. It's always good copy when you go after the AKC.
Scottie News
I have to stick up for the Poodle for two reasons:
1) As a little girl growing up in Pittsburgh in the 60s, I spent a lot of time with my neighbor's French poodles -- she and her adult daughter were breeders and the dogs were just perfect for three little girls (myself and the two granddaughters) to drag all over the place, play with, learn to care for dogs, etc. Now that was 40 years ago and the breed may have gone completely to heck by now, but I think the Obama daughters could do a lot worse than the poodles I grew up with.
2) Somebody (more than one?) in Chester/Montgomery Counties in PA is doing something right with Standard Poodles. I've met a good number of these dogs at the local dogparks and they are polite, well-mannered, good tempered dogs that have a light in their eye that shows that the mind is active. None of them have the "show" cut, so I suspect they are active pets.
My State Senator (who is a Democrat) has a lovely Standard Poodle that he takes with him everywhere. Henry's an odd color for a poodle (this buff color I've never seen on the breed before), but he has a lovely disposition and doesn't seem to mind hanging out in crowds, attending political events, meeting strangers, dealing with Harrisburg types (there's forbearance for you! ;-) and keeping up with a very active, hands-on politician. If I was the Obamas', I'd dump the AKC and get the name of Henry's breeder.
Dorene
I had a Standard poodle as a kid - he was a great dog, a brown one. That was - gulp! - over 50 years ago.
There's been a lot of show breeding since then, unfortunately.
Upon further consideration, I think the Obamas should adopt a 'pit bull' from BadRap - that would be very appropriate indeed.
Poor poodles!
There are plenty of poodles out there that are used as hunting dogs.
http://www.harmonyhuntingpudels.com/
http://www.lakelandhuntingpoodles.com/Hunting.htm
http://www.redhuntingpoodles.com/
They're water retrievers, and even if they're made up into horrific topiaries in the show ring, there are plenty of people who are putting them to work.
My own poodle's mother is a SAR dog.
For a black Democrat, picking a dog is a political act, like it or not, which means: 1) no poodles and; 2) no Pit Bulls. Both are fine dogs, but they are political dynamite. A mutt or rescue terrier is good politics, good policy, and pretty easy on allergies compared to some. Plus, smaller dogs are likely to be better for two young girls in a VERY public house.
P.
Why do the Obamas *need* a dog? Do they even want one? Or is this just something the AKC dreamed up on its own?
*sigh* I suspect I will get classed as a zombie for responding to an old post.
But, Wheaten Terriers have a very similar coat to Kerry Blue Terriers. The main differences are colour and the tighter curl of a Kerry's coat. Neither are a typical terrier coat, but neither shed very much either.
Line breeding has done horrible things to the dogs in some countries, but once upon a time they looked like this.
http://www.irishwheaten.com/
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