Bo Obama has a new Little sister!

[Raine1967]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/meet-sunny?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=081913p2&utm_campaign=meetsunny

Sunny was born in Michigan in June 2012, and arrived at the White House today. Just like Bo, she’s a Portuguese Water Dog, which works great for the Obamas because of allergies in their family.

Sunny is the perfect little sister for Bo – full of energy and very affectionate – and the First Family picked her name because it fit her cheerful personality.

In the past, Bo has been eager to help the First Family with their official duties, from visiting Walter Reed and the Children’s National Medical Center, to inspecting the Holiday decorations at the White House, to greeting guests at the White House on tours and during the Easter Egg Roll, but in October, the First Lady told reporters that she hosted a “doggie play date” because “Bo doesn't have enough dog interaction.” So now, in addition to helping with those official duties, Bo takes on the important role of big brother!

[sheshe2]

1. Oh, she's beautiful.

Video from your link.

Thanks Raine!

[Raine1967]

2. You are welcome!

She's very pretty. I was actually surprised at this news tonite.

That said, it made me happy.

[sheshe2]

3. Just saw it in the BOG too~

[Are_grits_groceries]

18. I guess FLOTUS and the family realized

what great fun dawgs are. Neither of them grew up with pets so they were wary of getting even one.
I think Bo convinced them.

Go Bo! Go Sunny!

[maddiemom]

34. I've always been amazed over the years by my friends who never had pets growing

up and often deprived their kids of the same experience because they were so uncomfortable with animals. Of course, they were better than the sad, but few who have and abuse pets. Nonetheless "animal companions" add so much to our lives and teach us so much.

[TorchTheWitch]

41. growing up without at least one pet seems so odd to me

Pets are the best way I can think of to teach kids both compassion and responsibility. They're also invaluable as emotional tools in dealing with upsetting things. I can't imagine growing up without pets anymore than I can imagine growing up without siblings.

[maddiemom]

50. When our long time family dog was hit by a car, the driver kindly stopped and took him to our

vet. He couldn't be saved and my dad was away and my mom, I knew, really involved at work that day. I was twelve, but our vet knew me well enough to accept my agreement to "put him to sleep" My eight year old brother crawled under his bed and cried himself sick. This is the downside of pet ownership, but I still feel a valuable part of growing up.

[question everything]

43. Oh, both are cute. And those long tongues (nt)

[malaise]

4. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Is she a Kennedy pup?

[Raine]

13. That's what I was wondering, I know one of Teddy's dogs was named Sunny. I thought maybe that's why

this one has the name Sunny, kind of carrying on the name.

[Raine1967]

14. That would make sense.

Didn't know about Ted's dogs names. It will be interesting to find out the lineage. She's a beauty.

[Boomerproud]

39. Teddy actually gave Bo to the Obama's as a present.

and yes, his Portuguese Water Dogs were named Splash and Sunny.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. pretty dog

[zappaman]

6. Thank you.

A good friend had to put down his dog today after 13 years.
This cheered me up!

[Raine1967]

9. ((hugs))

I'm so sorry.


We are going to have to face *that* In the near future. Our girl is starting to fail...

So yes, this cheered me up as well.

[niyad]

24. so sorry to hear that. know how hard it is, knowing what we have to do. just lost my 18-year old

kitteh two weeks ago. missing her terribly.

[Raine1967]

26. Thank you.

Comfort for our baby is the most important thing right now.

[zappaman]

46. Sorry to hear that.

It's something every pet lover has to go thru at some point...

[zappaman]

45. Thanks

It's the contract you make when you get a dog, but it still is a whole lotta hurt at the end.

[niyad]

23. so sorry to hear about your friend. losing our furkids is so hard.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Wow.

She's only a year old and just about the same size as Bo!

She does have a baby face though...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. Had to do it....

[Raine1967]

10. HEY!!!!

Well played.

[underthematrix]

11. Best story and Sunny

is so cute. Bo seems like he loves playing big brother. I cannot wait to read and see more of their adventures.

[Raine]

12. Aw they're both ADORABLE! nt

[ErikJ]

15. Poor hot doggies. Poodles need short summer haircuts.

I have a 9 yr old miniature poodle and when it gets warm or hot starts to drag and pant from overheating. After he gets a haircut he seems to have more energy. These Port Water dogs are very close relatives and they even have black fur which makes them even hotter in the direct sunlight.

[donheld]

16. Obama's dogs are not Poodles.

[ErikJ]

17. "Portuguese Water Dogs"? well la-di-frickin-da!

PWD and poodles are close relatives. AND i mean VERY close relatives!!

[happyslug]

48. Yes, the difference is more where you trace the dog coming from, then DNA

Last edited Wed Aug 21, 2013, 07:24 PM - Edit history (4)

i.e. if it came from Portugal, it is a "Portuguese Water Dog", if it came from France or Germany then it is a Poodle (Which is derived from German for puddle, for that what was the Poodle's job was, to pick up birds for it was and is a retriever).

Poodles can be given the same cut as Bo, and most people who are NOT showing them do so. There is some facial differences, but more based in who they parents were NOT their breed.

Present theory (subject to change for we have NO reliable records for Poodles prior to about 1300 AD) is they came from Russia to Germany to France then to the US (and entered the US from France, Germany AND Britain). All of this is believed to be pre-1300.

Compare a black Portuguese Water Dog



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Water_Dog

With a black standard (full size) Poodle:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Poodle









Portuguese Water Dog has been called a poodle for those people who do NOT want to called a Poodle owner.

But here are photos of Portuguese Water Dogs:

[niyad]

25. do you seriously mean to imply that the family and staff do not know how to take care of those dogs?

[maddiemom]

35. Ok, I gave up arguing years ago what most veterinarians and other dog experts advise.

Dogs perspire through their mouths and tongues, NOT through their skin as we do. Their coats provide insulation and protection from the sun and non parasitic insects. Shaving them does not make them more comfortable, but more vulnerable. That said, trimming a long-haired dog down to a closer coat often make him more comfortable overall. Shaving down to the skin, not so much. The average pet owner never seems to believe this, even coming from their vet.

[ErikJ]

38. Then why do tropical mammals have very short fur and arctic have very long?

African dogs have very short fur and arctic wolves have very thick long fur.

[happyslug]

49. Australian Cattle Dogs have short hair and large ears, Australian Shepherds short ears, long fur

Last edited Wed Aug 21, 2013, 08:20 PM - Edit history (6)

Now, Australian Cattle Dogs are from Australia which is a hot location compared to Montana.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Cattle_Dog

Australian Shepherd appear to be an American Breed, coming out of an American Type of dog first reported in Montana snow country in the late 1800s (but also appears to be related to other dogs that had worked farms for 200 years by 1900). Thus it is a Cold Weather Dog, with its short ears and long fur.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Shepherd

The reason for the difference is Australian Cattle Dogs are hot weather dogs, the short hair permits heat to escape and their large ears provides cooling (just like the large ears in an African Elephant is for cooling), The large ear provides a large skin surface for blood to run through and cool, thus cooling the body.

Yes, Elephants flap their ears and that helps them cool down, but it is the large surface area of the ear and that it is two sided that provides most of the cooling, the same with Australian Cattle Dogs and their ears (Which do not flap like an elephant's ears).

Australian Shepherds, being a cold weather dog, have a double coat of thick fur to retain heat and short ears to minimize lost of heat in cold weather.


Notes on Australian Shepherds:

The US went from Cattle ranching to Sheep ranching in the 1890s (Sheep was more profitable at that time period). Contrary to the movies, it was NOT cattle Ranchers fighting sheep herders, it was Cowboys being told they have to ride herd on Sheep instead of Cows. This cost many a cowboy his job for they did not want to herd sheep and ended up in Hollywood acting in early Westerns. Writers asked these cowboys about sheep and these cowboys hated sheep for it had cost them their jobs. The Writers took this hatred and it then became a staple in westerns to this day. Now, there were some nasty range wars between people who raised sheep AND Cattle and other who had nothing but Cattle, but the dispute was who controlled the range NOT a fight between Cattlemen and Sheep-men. Thus a little truth to it, except in most cases it was the Cattle Ranchers themselves that did the switch not some ranch war between cattle men and sheep-men.

As to the Australian Shepherd, the reason for the short tail is in open dispute. Most short tail variety of long tail animals can be traced to England where in the Renaissance they was a tax on animals born with tails (Cattle, Horses, donkeys etc), but no tax on animals born without tails (Pigs and Sheep). A stubby tail was viewed as tailless under that law. Thus, animal breeders in England had an incentive to breed animals with very short tails. You see this on some horse breeds for example. Thus England is suspected to be the place where the short tail version came about.

Now some German States had similar tax laws, so Germany can NOT be ruled out as the homeland of where the dogs that were the later breed to become the Australian Shepherd came from. The smart money is on Germany for it has similar long tail dogs.

Other said it was a common feature of that type of dog, before it was decided to make it a breed (the difference between a Breed and a Type of animal, is a breed can trace its blood lines back several generations, while a type is breed to something they look like and the owners want more of (i.e. still breed to produce off spring, but written blood lines are NOT kept, or if kept discarded or lost after a period of time).

This argument is that when the Australian Shepherd was a Type, either tail was acceptable, but once it was decided to make it a breed, the tailless version won out. This would explain Shep, who appears to have been a Australian Shepherd that came with a tail:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/4367

Shep was famous in the 1940s and 1950s for he always meet the trains. As a young dog he was left behind when his owner died and was taken by train away from his home town. He meet the trains from 1936 till he himself was killed by a train in January 1942.

http://montanakids.com/cool_stories/famous_montanans/shep.htm

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/fort-benton-man-who-cared-for-loyal-dog-shep-as/article_fb040354-dc02-11e1-bdf3-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.fortbenton.com/shep/index.php





The original monument was built over his grave on top of a mount.



http://www.colliedog.org/P_/HERO/Shep.html





Downward from Shep's Monument and Grave:

[TorchTheWitch]

42. you don't realize that panting is part of their cooling mechanism?

Haircuts are fine as long as the hair is not cut shorter than an inch in length. Shaving or too closely cutting a dog's hair makes them MORE vulnerable to heat from the sun. Dogs are blessed with an internal cooling mechanism that regulates their body temperature. Their sweat glands are only located in their noses and foot pads. That's why a dog in mild temperatures can get heat stroke if they are forced to stand or walk on hot pavement. Panting is necessary to cool a dog's body temperature down when in a warm environment or because of exertion - it's how their internal cooling mechanism functions. The most vulnerable dogs to heat related illness are those with short or non-existent snouts since their physical ability to pant or even breathe normally at any time is seriously compromised. A dog with dark colored fur isn't going to feel the heat more than a dog of any other color... what matters is the thickness and length of hair, ability to regulate their body temperature by not having their foot pads or noses overheated, plenty of available water, shade and rest, and by not having any physical issues such as illness or compromised breathing such as the short or non-existent snout breeds have.

A panting dog doesn't mean that it's overheated, it merely means they are normally cooling their bodies by the heat of the environment or by exertion so that they DON'T GET overheated. A dog lying in the sun in the summer that is NOT panting is far more of a worry.

[Cha]

19. "Sunny" from Stevie Wonder!..

Raine1967

[GoCubsGo]

20. Now, if they'd only get a kitty or two....

I suspect it's more of the allergies issue, however. I read somewhere that President Obama had a kitty named "Smokey" before he met Michelle, so it's not that he doesn't like them.

Love those doggies.

[maddiemom]

37. Cats, due to their easier care in busy families, for one thing, are increasingly popular all the ti

For years there were many more anti-cat people who always told their kids that one or the other of their parents were "allergic" to cats (rarely to dogs). Amazingly, under the right set of circumstances, a cat joined the family and the allergies disappeared. We had neighbors for a number of years who blessed us with three different cats. They let their kids play with and feed strays during good weather, then pleaded Daddy's allergies before taking further responsibility. We ended up getting them shots, spaying or neutering, and either taking them in ourselves or finding them homes.

[cali]

21. adorable, but sorry not as cute as "tuxedo and spats" Bo

[NightWatcher]

22. Hey look, a puppy

Ooooooo

[skeewee08]

27. Bo & Sunny to cute....n/t

[calimary]

28. Look at that tongue! I love how it flaps when she runs! ROFL!!!

Dogs are hilarious!!!

[pnwmom]

29. As a dog owner, I get a kick out of people who didn't think they wanted

a first dog -- and then decide they need two.

Same thing happened to my husband, once he finally gave in. And of course he's the big favorite of both dogs.

[msanthrope]

30. Going through this, myself...now that we have the best Black lab ever made,

the kid (and me) want to get the dog a dog.

[pnwmom]

31. The dog will thank you for it! Have fun! n/t

[obama2terms]

47. I'm starting to feel the same way!

I have a ten year old beagle basset hound and I am seriously considering adopting another one for him to play with. He is a part of our family

[happyslug]

52. Male or Female?

I once owned a male border collie that went through separation anxiety whenever we left him home alone. We ended up getting a female Australian Shepherd mix (i,e, not full blooded Australian Shepherd, but enough to pass without to much dispute).

After we had the female (Both were fixed, I was NOT going to breed), the female quickly laid down the law. She was top dog, and he better accept it. That he was bigger and stronger was NOT important, every time he started to look like he would object to her biting of him (Which she did extensively, no blood just nips) she would turn around and throw her butt into his face in effect telling him "I'm a girl, you can't touch me" and he would lower his face in a look best described as "Yes, my love" (from an old Daffy Duck Cartoon) and accepted his place.

Now, when I took them through the woods off lead, the above remained, but the Female stayed near me, while the male would run ahead and to the sides. Every time he would come in to check in (Which he did every so often), the Female would dash out to him and bark and nip at him saying in effect "Get out they and round something up for me, and if it is dangerous, you get sniped, I be safe".

When the male dog meet other dogs away from the female, he would approached them in play, smell at them and act like he was willing and able to play with them. The Female was different, she wanted to control everything and would bark at most dogs to chase them away from her and her pack.

Now, when the two dogs were together, the male dog followed the lead of the female as to other dogs, i.e bark at them to chase them away. If she thought the dog was dangerous, he was going to support her. This was true even of dogs he had meet earlier the same day (often within the same hour) that he had been willing to play with. She called the shots, he followed the tune.

Now those two were shepherds. After they had passed on, I had a large sized female Standard poodle. Poodles come in three sizes, Standard 45 pounds and over and body is at least 15 inches off the ground, Miniatures which stand between 11-15 inches between their body and the ground, and Toy which has less then 11 inches of clearance. I had the LARGE Standard poodle, not the smaller poodles.

Now when I had the two shepherds, the male would go much further afield off lead then the female. The poodle, even being female, went much further afield then my old male shepherd (I am guessing, but 2-3 times further). All my dogs weighed about 45 pounds, so size was NOT a factor. The difference is type of dog.

Now, I also ended up with a full blooded Australian Shepherd along with the poodle. At home the Australian Shepherd wanted to be boss and would try to boss the Poodle. The Poodle being female would NOT submit like my old male border collie would do to his female companion, but being a poodle would not stand her ground either. Both these dogs were female and thus the temperament was who was to be atop between them, unlike a male-female mix where the home roost was her domain, and she expected him, and he did, go out to explode for any dangers or anything interesting to bring to her.

Now, both dogs would bite each other, but shed no blood (The Australian Shepherd being much more aggressive in this then the Poodle). The Australian Shepherd would follow the Poodle when the Poodle was off lead, but would cut back sooner. Given she was running with a Poodle not another Shepherd, the Australian Shepherd would go further then my old border collie would, but once she was at that range, she clearly would be uncomfortable and break off following the Poodle and head back to me.

Just some comment on a second dog. Here are some general rules to go by:

1. Males will go afield further then females of the same breed.

2. Hunting breeds (which includes Poodles) will go 2-3 times as far away as a Shepherd breed.

3. If you have two dogs, and it is a Male and Female, the female will dominate the male.

4. If you have two dogs, of the same sex, they will dispute who is boss till that is decided, but any settlement of the dispute will NOT come at the expense of harming the "pack" as a whole, i.e. they will fight between themselves, but draw no blood AND will not object to any superior (which should be all of the humans in your household) stopping any and all fights between them.

5. Most of the fights will appear to be more play then fight, for that is what it is, they are fighting over who will dominate each other, but they do NOT want to harm each other. It is complex dynamic going on, and can change daily, but just because they are "fighting" every day mean they hate or want to harm each other, they are being dogs. If the fighting gets out of hand, put your foot down hard, they will get the message to do such "fighting" in a way that you do not object.

6. DO NOT FEED THEM OUT OF THE SAME BOWEL. They can use the same water dish, but NOT the same food dish. Wolves, when they eat together often fight each other as they wolf down their food. The reason for this appears to be that wolves are often superior at taking down game, but being smaller then most other predators can be driven away by larger predators. Thus wolfing down the food means they get more of the foot before other larger predators drive them away from the kill. This desire to eat their food quickly makes then not want to share what in front of them. Thus two dogs sharing the same bowel will snap at each other as they eat, including drawing blood (i.e. it is NOT play biting as when most dogs interact). Studies have shown if food is in their face, a wolf will view that food as theirs alone. Dogs have the same attitude to food that is in their face, it is "theirs" and it will cause them to fight each other. The best way to avoid this is two different food bowels (and this will not be play fighting as in the above dispute over dominance).

7. Dominance is over played by several "dog handlers" on TV. Dominance among wolves and dogs is more first call or first ups, then control over another dog. Dominance is more who goes FIRST then total obedience to a superior. Dominance can change depending on the circumstances, if one dog is in the lead the other dogs in that pack will follow that dog, even if he is NOT the dominant dog on a day to day basis.
For example, inside my home the Australian Shepherd rules, on walks it is the Poodle AND both accept this change based on what is going on. Dominance is more what is the best way to operate at this moment in time, then dominance of one dog over another.

Like all general rules, these are more guidelines then rigid rules, but it will give you an idea of what you will face if you bring in another dog.

[woo me with science]

32. You KNOW the news is damning...

when the White House needs a puppy.

[shenmue]

33. Woof

Arf arf. My dog approves. I'm pretty sure she's a Democrat.

[sad-cafe]

40. every puppy needs a companion

we had one boxer for a while, then last year we got him a girl.

They are best friends.

[Beacool]

44. She's a beauty.

Bo is great looking too. They seem to get along just fine. That's a good thing.

[rocktivity]

51. The Secret Service may have to call in reinforcements

for Michelle's lap!

rocktivity

[tarheelsunc]

53. Wait.... this makes Bo... BIG BROTHER! Bo's watching us all. eom