Bo - The Presidential Dog

WASHINGTON – Bo? No jest. The first family has settled on a first pet — a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog that the Obama girls are naming Bo.

The selection was one of the White House's most tightly kept secrets.

President Barack Obama's daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha, picked a black and white pup, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Associated Press Saturday night.

The dog is a gift from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who owns several Portuguese water dogs himself.

"We couldnt be happier to see the joy that Bo is bringing to Malia and Sasha," Kennedy said in a statement. "We love our Portuguese water dogs and know that the girls — and their parents — will love theirs, too."

The Washington Post reported in its online editions Saturday night that Obama's daughters chose the name Bo for the pup because first lady Michelle Obama's father was nicknamed Diddley. The name for the dog was an apparent reference to the singer "Bo" Diddley.

White House aides told the AP that the office of the first lady arranged an exclusive deal on the dog story with the Post. The officials, who demanded anonymity because of the deal with the Post on exclusive details, said the dog was not in the White House as of Saturday evening.

Throughout the day Saturday, celebrity Web sites and bloggers were abuzz with rumors of the first family's selection of a Portuguese water dog; one site even claimed it had pictures of the future first pet.

The president had embraced the frenzy: "Oh, man, now, that's top secret," Obama joked Friday to reporters.

Obama promised his daughters a puppy during the campaign.

"This is Washington. That was a campaign promise," Obama said when he appeared on Jay Leno's talk show last month, as the audience roared with laughter. "No, I'm teasing. The dog will be there shortly."

The president and first lady had said their choice was down to either a Portuguese water dog or a Labradoodle because they were considered good pets for children who have allergies, as Malia does.

Article by PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer

Dog Health Tip for Holidays

As families all around the country start pulling out their favorite holiday recipes, and shopping lists, and decorations, it's easy to overlook one hairy detail: the family pets. Between vacationing out-of-town and readying the house for a veritable invasion of friends and family members, it is really no surprise that pets feel left out, but more than that, the general upheaval of the holidays can be a dangerous time for cats and dogs.

Nationally recognized veterinarian Dr. Bernadine Cruz, DVM, and one of the resident veterinarian advisors on MyPetCareTV.com, encourages pet owners everywhere to add "pet safety" to their holiday list and check it twice.

Year-round every room in a house can pose a potential threat to your dog health when human foods, cleaning products, insecticides and rodenticides, and medicines meant for people are left out where pets can get into them. During the holidays inattention to things left unattended can double. Everyone is busy, caught up in the celebration of good food and good company: house guests may unwittingly allow the dog into a room he is usually forbidden to go, or feed the dog a "treat" to which he is allergic. The holidays bring out so many more potential hazards to pets than we may think. Dogs may ingest tinsel, ribbons, and string, harming their digestion and intestinal tract. Especially harmful is fertilizer used in the water of Christmas tree stands which can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

To pass the holidays in celebration, companionship, and good health, Dr. Bernadine Cruz offer these tips to add to every dog owner's list:

* Remind houseguests not to feed your dogs human food, especially fatty foods and candy.
* Restrict dogs to "safe areas" or outdoors during dinner parties when you are too occupied to watch them.
* If you have not already, install child safety locks on cabinets that contain cleaning supplies, paints, and medicines. Even hand soap and toothpaste can harm your dog health.
* Try to give your dog some focused attention each day to keep her or him calm, relaxed, and less likely to misbehave.
* Be sure dogs wear identification tags at all times. That includes indoor pets, because with the hustle and bustle of having visitors, pets can wander outside without their owners being aware of their escape.
* To protect curious pets, be sure to keep candles safely out of the reach of paws, whiskers, and tails.
* Pets, especially dogs, tend to eat first and think later. A dangling, shinny tree ornament or holiday table decorations may be more than your pet can ignore. A nibble of a plant can lead to an upset stomach or worse. Decorations can lead to an obstruction in the digestive tract and require a visit to the veterinary emergency room.

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Caring for your Dog Health: When loving your dog is just not enough

It has been very evident and has been proven for thousands of years that dog is really man’s best friend. Today, because it seems that the relationship between man and this fine animal is going stronger, one can also say that “man is dog’s best friend”. But why dog and man? Why not cat and man or horse and man? Why not even consider man and orangutan (many updated reports consider orangutans as the man’s most likely ancestor)?

Dogs - man's best friend, a faithful companion and ally since prehistoric times. This so called "Man-Dog" relationship that existed for Billions of years has always been clouded by mystery. No one could ever put in plain words why there is such a high level of understanding between man and dog. But do we truly understand these gentle and loving creatures? There are many reasons why this kind of bonding is far greater than anything. But if you would ask me, in my most personal opinion, maybe it’s because the word “dog”, when spelled backwards, becomes “God”. But whatever may be the reasons or whatever may be the opinion of many different people; this site was created to present helpful articles for dog lovers like me.

This wonderful animal will be discussed here extensively, how to take care of them, updates, stories, and so much more. As a dog lovers and simple as an owner, we must try to understand how they feel or how they react to certain conditions. One very important thing we often neglect is how to properly take care of our dog health.

If you own and love dogs, then you are certainly one of the many dog lovers. All you need is an understanding of how special and fragile they can be. We often hear or read heroic stories of dogs saving or helping their owner’s life. What sad is we also hear dogs treated in a bad way sometimes intentionally but most of the time because of our negligence and mistaken presumptions. As an owner we should make it a point to get involved in our dog health and life. If you are dog lovers, be wary of your dog health like you would with yours, and with that we could keep this so called "man-dog relationship for another billion years.