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Her name is Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, and she's the trainer who prepped Bo as a puppy before he met his new family in the White House. She's getting a lot of attention, which she calls "surreal," for keeping Bo at her home in rural Virginia and teaching him a few basic commands in anticipation of his Washington D.C. debut two weeks ago. Her approach is positive reinforcement, which we're glad to hear. You can read more about her in USA Today.
(Photo: Joe Brier/USA Today)
President Obama was carrying around a copy of The New Yorker last week at the White House, showing First Puppy Bo on the magazine's cover, according to CBS' Bob Schieffer. "I'm taking this to show the girls," the president said of daughters Malia and Sasha.
Schieffer, host of "Face the Nation," said on his show last Sunday that Obama also said, "When you hang out with celebrities, people don't always notice you're there."
Said Schieffer: "He told this story on himself: Late one evening he was walking the dog and some White House visitors with small children saw him.
"'Look,' said one of the kids, 'it's Bo!' "
We knew this was coming. Someone saw First Puppy Bo interacting with his new family and figured they should offer some training advice.
First, this blogger didn't like Michelle Obama's use of the word "crazy" to describe Bo's puppy behavior (take it from us, the First Lady was kidding), then she makes note of the fact Bo is pulling on his leash in photos. Translation: He needs training.
How about we just let the Obamas enjoy their new dog -- without the advice? He's already getting training. Let's let him be a puppy. After all, that's what he is.
Some people think the media focuses too much on Bo, the new First Dog. Actually, we have an opposite view – with so much gloom and doom about the economy, a little puppy diversion is a good thing. What better way to take our minds off our troubling times than by enjoying the Obamas and their dog?
We can absolutely understand that some people care nothing about Bo, and that’s one reason Joe Klein, in a Time magazine article about President Obama’s first 100 days in office, wrote that “an obscene amount of attention was paid to the new Obama family dog,” among other “tempests of the moment.”
But no one should rob dog lovers of our brief, distant interludes with Bo. Frankly, we were happy to get this snippet of information from First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday, when she spoke to a group of kids at the White House during the annual Take Your Kids to Work Day.
When a young questioner inquired about Bo, Mrs. Obama said he had made quite a fuss the night before – so much, in fact, that she and the president thought someone was outside their bedroom.
“It was just Bo,” she said. “He was playing with his ball.”
Another White House official told the Washington Post that Bo “likes to chew on people’s feet,” adding, “Oh, he’s a crazy dog.”
The more we get to know about him, the more we like Bo.
OK, back to the gloom and doom.
(Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty
Images)
Maybe it's news, but it's hardly shocking: Bo Obama loves to chew. First lady Michelle Obama told a rapt group of school-age children -- White House staff sons and daughters -- that Bo is prone to nibbling feet. And if he's anything like his canine brothers and sisters, the chewing trend may continue well into adolescence or even adulthood. The answer? Plenty of appropriate chew toys, lots of mental and physical stimulation, and clear, consistent boudaries. Good luck, Obama family.
Lunchboxes, computer games, and commemorative t-shirts, no doubt, coming soon. Meanwhile, there's the Bo Beanie Baby, brought to you by Ty. Like the first pup himself, the new beanie claims Portuguese Water Dog pedigree, features white front legs and paws, and sports a patriotic collar. And if you can find Obama dog doll in stores, congratulations. Most sold out within a few hours of release, almost a week ago. Here at DogTime, we'll just wait for the Bobble-Head.
Just when we were wondering what happened to Bo, he emerged on the back driveway of the White House on Monday with First Lady Michelle Obama. Pool reporters waiting for the president were allowed to pet Bo, who's also known as FiDOTUS (First Dog of the United States), and he even sat when Mrs. Obama gave him the comand. Then he continued on his walk.
(Photo: Reuters/Larry Downing)
So we were thinking about famous dogs this weekend and wondered who would be included on a list of celeb-dogs – after Bo Obama, of course.
The new First Dog rises head and tail above any other well-known American pooch, but we thought we’d give it a shot anyway. Here’s our list of the five most famous dogs in the U.S.
1. Bo Obama: No doubt about it. He’s just a puppy, but as the president said last week, he’s got “star quality.”
2. Herman Phelps: He’s the English Bulldog owned by Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps. They’re a great pair and are seldom apart.
3. Tinkerbell Hilton: How many red carpets has this little Chihuahua walked with her owner, Paris Hilton?
4. Sadie Winfrey: The Cocker Spaniel owned by Oprah Winfrey was adopted from a shelter, made her TV debut on Winfrey’s show and recently recovered from a well-publicized bout with parvovirus.
5. Champ Biden. Vice-President Joe Biden made a controversial choice picking a German Shepherd Dog from a breeder accused of operating a puppy mill, but he sure is cute.
Do you agree with our list? Is there a pooch we missed?
We saw this on the Internet and wanted to share.
(Creators Syndicate)
There’s no shortage of incidental information about Bo, the First Puppy. Here are a few tidbits we found, although we can’t confirm their veracity:
1. Although Portuguese Water Dogs are supposedly natural swimmers, daughter Sasha Obama reportedly confirms that Bo can’t swim.
2. Bo’s favorite food is tomatoes.
3. He’ll be eating his meals and drinking his water from Swarovski crystal bowls, a gift President Obama received on his recent trip to Prague.
4. Before he joined the First Family, Bo was in obedience training with Sen. Ted Kennedy’s dog trainer.
5. Bo’s Texas breeders say he’ll be tall and lanky. Other dogs from the same kennel who were neutered young, like Bo, grew especially tall.
6. He’ll have a number of sleeping options in the White House, which President Obama noted when a reporter asked. “But not in my bed,” the president added.
