Dowsing For Doggies & Other Contemplations During Arctic Air Effects

A multitude of options exist when one acquires a dog -- from the impulsive "just gotta have that cute face" to the well thought out and sometimes extraordinary level of patience some people have waiting for that specific pup from that specific breeder's specific mating for specific purpose and of course all the other options for selection inbetween those two.

January is not only usually the friggingest coldest and snowiest month of much but clearly not all of the Northern Hemisphere where 90% of the human population lives, it also happens to be ticking down this particular year to The Inaugural. Today's news inbetween weather reports of arctic cold air sweeping in, included much anticipated disclosure of a narrowing of the Obama's dog choice, predicated in part due to a belief that these types of dogs are hypoallergenic.

The two breed finalists appear to be the Labradoodle and the Portugeuse Water Dog. Both are sporty dogs (read: energetic and ready to rock'n'roll), the former a hybrid between the Labrador Retriever, still our nation's #1 dog pick, and the poodle (the name poodle can be traced back to the German Pudel which is short for Pudel that means "splashing dog")....and the Portuguese Water Dog (PWD) was bred to help fisherman so you can bet both choices have a strong desire to find and play in bodies of water in all forms. Isn't there a public fountain on the grounds of The White House?

Then there was all this talk about the Obamas getting a rescue. Rescue is a term that means saved from distress. That term, distress, is somewhat subjective IMO, but I would think that a dog living in a shelter or crammed into a foster home with too many other dogs or living a livestock oriented lifestyle in a puppy mill barn or crammed into a glass cage in a retail store or living in minimal conditions both physically or emotionally run the risk of distress which can have both physical and physiological and emotional fall out. The good thing about puppies is, with proper socialization, care, guidance, structure, training, rest, good food, balance and love, the recovery can be complete.

Here's my thought. Skip rescue. There are a lot of people out there making tireless and often thankless efforts to save as many discarded dogs as feasible. It is not because I don't have great respect -- in fact my efforts to help rehome dogs and help select excellent rescue candidates for others is done often without proper or any remuneration. It's my own tithing. But throwing such a huge spotlight on the sad plight of many homeless animals enhances the throwaway mentality of many of us and reinforces the financial greed of puppy mills and the pet stores and resellers that play on people's impulses.

I think the Obamas should be those agents of change our country and the world is ready for and in addition to fixing our economic, military and other boo boos, make a choice to go with a sound breeder and help shed light on what is so often overlooked as a good or better choice. And when I say breeder I mean one who breeds for health and temperament, raises pups underfoot with stimulation, socialization, handling and early training and in small numbers so that when the pups enter the mystifying air of The White House, they're guaranteed the best first start which helps to tackle the challenges of puppyhood, the even harder challenges of the defiant adolescent (just wait, Michelle, until your girls hit that fun milestone!), and help show the real truth behind what it takes to maximize the return on the investment of a joyous companion who will grow up right, even under the microscope of what is sure to be in part a very public life.

If the Obamas want to learn what I call the The 6 Pillars Of Dog Training Wisdom: A Proactive Approach To A Deeper Understanding Towards Developing the Dog of your Dreams, I'm ready willing and able to help them in any step of what is sure to be a very wonderful journey. And my three young daughters would be happy to come to Washington, too!

As for me, I think it's a 3 Dog Night here. Thank goodness I'm covered!