"Labradoodles For Obama" Happy To Fill In At White House Easter Egg Roll

It looks like the First Dog will not be in place for the White House Easter Egg Roll. This is disappointing news for dog lovers across America who were hoping to see the First Dog makes its debut at the event.

Labradoodles have a history of being service dogs and as you can see by the picture above, Arbo is ready to serve his country by filling in as the "Surrogate First Dog " to help the Obamas greet all of the White House Easter Egg Roll guests.

White House Dog Spotted In The Family Quarters Of The White House

Has the BIG DAY finally arrived? I think the answer is YES! The President returns today from Europe and is expected to unleash the new First Dog to the American people. According to POLITICO a dog has been spotted by a senior staffer. http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0409/spotted_6a1d4afc-db99-4824-814e-1c2fae703a13.html

Both Arbo and I think that there is still HOPE for the Labradoodle. We shall see!

Obama DOGGED at European town hall meeting

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Who knew Europe had so many Americans?
President Barack Obama found out when he held a town-hall meeting for German and French citizens Friday.
Inside the cavernous Rhenus Sports Arena on the French-German border, Americans kept raising their hands.
The first person called on, a young lady, was American. The irony of the moment led Obama to declare: "Now, I just want to say I did not call on the American on purpose."
He issued a plea after answering her question.
"All right, now. I know there's some other Americans in the crowd. But do me a favor, Americans. Wait till we get back home and I'll do a town hall there, because I want to hear from my French and German and European friends," he said.
But two questions later he called on ... another American.
"Hello Mr. President. I'm sorry, I'm from Chicago. Excuse me," said the questioner, another young woman.
Obama started to object.
"Well, no, I'm sorry. If you're American I can't ...," he said. She quickly added that she's also French.
"What does that mean?" he said.
"Double nationality," she replied.
"Dual nationality," the president said, before turning to the audience. "What do you think? Should we let her ask the question?" The audience gave its consent. "OK, go ahead."
And so the woman with dual nationality asked two questions: whether the economic crisis was an opportunity for industries to become more ecological, and whether the promised White House dog had arrived.
Soon, on the dog, he said, and yes on green opportunities for business.

Arbo UNLEASHED In The Baltimore Sun

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2009/02/obama_dog_portuguese_water_dog.html

By Mary Corey

One thing I learned yesterday during the It-is/It-isn't-a-Portuguese-Water-Dog drama was this: There are some very funny, clever and informative Web sites and blogs out there devoted solely to the soon-to-be First Dog.
I was tipped off by Greg Nelson, who yesterday was cheering when he learned that his beloved Labradoodles may still be in the running. He even has a new site devoted to his cause. He calls himself the founder and his 18-month-old miniature Labradoodle Arbo (above) the president. To show your Labradoodle love, you can even buy yard signs, buttons and dog T-shirts. All proceeds of sales go to animal rescue organizations and shelters.
If you're way into First Dog news (and who isn't?), here are some other not-to-be-missed sites and blogs on the topic.
American Kennel Club provides useful info on the search, materials on hypoallergenic breeds and facts on past presidential pets. Don't miss: The video of too-cute Portuguese Water Dogs
Dogtime.com has an amusing Obama dog blog. Don't miss: The poll with questions including: What name should the Obamas choose? (Chief and Veto are options as answers.) What should the First Dog's first toy be? (Osama bin Laden plush toy or Barack Obama's basketball shoes?)
The Portuguese Water Dog Club of America has a comprehensive site on the subject with everything from grooming tips to handling behavioral issues. Don't miss: The Test your PWD Knowledge quiz

More HOPE!

White House tosses water on dog tale

by Rebecca Cole
Labradoodle lovers, take heart.
After months of speculation, it appeared that the selection of a first dog was at hand. People magazine, with a fetching report on its Website today, revealed that First Lady Michelle Obama has narrowed the family's choice to a rescued Portuguese water dog. All that stands in the way now is Spring break - then comes a dog in April.

"You're getting some scoops here,'' the first lady told the magazine, People reported, and "the only thing still up in the air is the name."
But is the magazine barking up the wrong tree?
The first lady's press secretary, Katie Lelyveld, threw cold water on the report today, suggesting that a decision actually has not been made.
"They have not selected a breed," Lelyveld said. "Mrs. Obama likes the Portuguese water dog, but she is only one of four votes.''
The Obamas have not narrowed the search down to a particular breed, the spokeswoman said, but "their primary focus now is that they get a dog that works with their lifestyle." President Barack Obama had allowed in an earlier interview that the family had narrowed its search to the water dog or a Labradoodle, not a breed really, but a cross between a Labrador retriever and the Standard poodle.
(First Lady Michelle Obama may grace the cover of People magazine, with the story of the dog hunt, but President Barack Obama is featured on the cover of LA Tails, a complimentary magazine for pet lovers which dedicated a recent edition to rescue puppies.)
If the Obamas do decide on a Portuguese water dog, that might be difficult, says Mary Harkins, coordinator of rescue and relocation for the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America. A very active breed, some Portuguese water dogs "are without an off-switch - they just go all day," Harkins explains. "It might be a little bit too much for a family who has never owned a dog before, especially this family."
The No. 1 reason that Portuguese water dogs are rescued, Harkins says, is because owners who bought them as puppies didn't realize their prodigious activity levels.
Intelligent and a strong swimmer, historically used as a net-tending working dog by Portuguese fishermen, the PWD was taught to dive underwater and herd fish into nets. The relatively obscure breed is described by the American Kennel Club as providing an "indelible impression of strength, spirit, and soundness."
Finding a rescue PWD may be tough: Last year, only five PWDs were rescued , she says, and she already has a long waiting list.
"It's pretty difficult," Harkin says. "We're not that big of a breed that we would see a lot of dogs."

Muttpuppies on Trial Makes Interesting Case For Labradoodle

Posted 2/13/09 on : http://muttpuppiesontrial.blogspot.com/

It seems like half the dog world is waiting with bated breath to see which breed of dog President Obama will adopt into the White House: Portuguese Water Dog, or Labradoodle?As something of an, ahem, critic of muttpuppies - or at least of the ideas that surround them - I feel obligated to share an opinion. Mine may surprise you.First we have the PWD, also known as "those shaggy dogs with the shaved butts". Fantastic! They're purebred and low-shedding and holy crap they have shaved butts. What's not to like?The Labradoodle, on the other hand, is equally shaggy and sadly lacks a snappy trim, but is also low-shedding and quite intelligent. Hmmm.In one corner, a smart, hypoallergenic, hairy monster. In the other corner, much the same.

Doodle and PWD. Or is it PWD and doodle?I would pick the Labradoodle.I will not lie. I love a dog with a shaved hiney almost as much as I love a dog with a beard - and I love a dog with a beard. But there are several other, indeed more important factors to consider, some of which may be known to the president and his family, some maybe not. Health, for instance.The PWD is not a healthy breed. They're terrifically inbred, for starters. Long story short, the Portuguese Water Dog Club was founded in 1972 when there were 12 known PWDs in America. Ten short years later and the number had hiked to 650. Around this time, PWDs were registered with the AKC, both officially submitting them to the closed registry system, and causing their numbers to soar. And ever since then, the gene pool has been strangled more and more. God forbid the AKC ever entertains the notion of admitting an outcrossed dog or open registries! So the breed gets sicker and sicker. Thanks a lot, Snidely. This isn't my real concern since the Obamas probably aren't planning on breeding the First Dog. Probably. But we are talking about a nation who apparently caused a rise in breed popularity not only after 101 Dalmatians was released, but also following Beethoven. BEETHOVEN. The movie about the dog that slobbers and sheds and eats his owners' belongings (and probably fantasizes about eating them too, oh my God!). Some people just have no idea what breed they want when they get a dog, till the first one that looks remotely interesting drifts into their line of vision. Well, if it's good enough for the president ...!
And of course, with demand, comes supply. The last thing PWDs need now is a spike in popularity.
The AKC and Westminster, of course, wholeheartedly back the idea of a Porti First Dog. Health issues be damned, they'd love to see that resulting registration money, and I imagine they'll be crowing enthusiastically about how President Obama endorses purebreds after all the flack they're gonna be taking. Sort of like that time-old playground defence that that other kid can't be mean to you because you have an older brother in the sixth grade who'll beat him up. Did that ever work, by the way?
In comparison, there are a lot worse dogs to select than a Labradoodle.
I yammer about unpredictability a lot, and before you stone me, I'm not backing down from that conviction. But this is one of the many reasons why getting a designer dog from a shelter, as the Obamas plan to do, is so much better than going for a breeder. Labradoodles can be low-shedding ... they can also shed quite as much as their Lab parent does. When you adopt from a shelter, for one thing, you don't have to pay the exorbitant sum that (what amounts to) mutts are going for these days, and secondly, you're probably getting a mature dog. There will probably be people there who can tell you about his temperament and they may even know whether he qualifies as "hypoallergenic" or not. And there's no shame in taking a shelter dog home for a trial run.
And let's face it: Whether the mutt's got hybrid vigour in its favour or not, a Labradoodle is bound to be vastly healthier than a PWD.
So there we are. MoT is championing a muttpuppy over a purebred. Don't get used to it. ;)
Besides, it's all about public image. I feel a snooty purebreed will not be well-received by America. No worries... I hope.

dogtime.com Features Arbo's Efforts

Check out http://www.obama-dog.com/. Obama’s Dog Blog: Tails from the White House is brought to you by DogTime.com and DogTime Media

http://www.obama-dog.com/blog/2009/02/labradoodles-lobby-the-president.html

What would Washington be without lobbyists?

In the nation’s capital, there’s a fellow – actually, he’s a marketing executive and entrepreneur – who wants the First Family to adopt the same breed of dog he has: a Labradoodle. But Greg Nelson is doing more than just writing emails to President Obama – he recently launched a full lobbying effort, including a Web site, a store and a publicity campaign to make sure the Obamas knows that Labradoodles are “super fun,” “super cute” and “super smart.” (Of course, Portuguese Water Dogs are all those things, too, but we get the point.)
Nelson’s site, LabradoodlesforObama.com, includes a blog, photos and a shop where visitors can buy buttons, T-shirts, yard signs, coffee cups – heck, you name it and they sell it. Nelson’s home is actually the closest single-family home to the White House, so we guess he just wants to add another Labradoodle to the neighborhood.
The campaign, Nelson said, is really intended to promote responsible pet ownership, foster a sense of community among dog owners and raise awareness for the need for more dog-friendly green spaces in Washington D.C.
Hey, we support that.

Labradoodle First Pup Campaign Heats Up In People Pets

http://www.peoplepets.com/news/pets-in-the-news/labradoodle-first-pup-campaign-heats-up/1


The Labradoodle is ahead in the polls. If Americans got to vote on First Puppy, the Doodle would win in a landslide. But Labradoodle owner Greg Nelson is leaving nothing to chance: he has launched a campaign to bring the Labradoodle to the White House. Nelson, who lives in the closest single family home to the White House with his 18-month-old apricot miniature Labradoodle Arbo, set up Labradoodles for Obama after President-elect Obama said that two breeds were on his short list: the Labradoodle and the Portuguese Water Dog.

In an open letter to the Obamas, Arbo sells his hypoallergenic breed as “SUPER FUN, SUPER CUTE & SUPER SMART.” “I jokingly have aspirations that maybe the South Lawn could be a new dog run,” says Nelson. On its first day Labradoodles for Obama attracted over 3,000 votes (88% pro-Labradoodle) and sold $2,500 in merchandise. (Profits go to the Washington Humane Society.)

The grassroots Labradoodle campaign will have to face off against the more traditional American Kennel Club, which is backing the Water Dog: “We have concerns about the Labradoodle only because it isn’t a purebred dog and … I think it’s important for the family to know what they’re getting,” says Daisy Okas, a spokeswoman for the AKC.

Should the Obamas get a Labradoodle or Portuguese water dog? Cast your vote now!

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to "Labradoodles For Obama". Arbo and I look forward to hearing from you and we promise to keep you posted all " Obama Dog" and "Labradoodles For Obama" news related stories. Tell your friends, family and fellow animal lovers about the site and remember, "VOTE LABRADOODLE!" Wags, Arbo & Greg!