The First Family's New Dog

After months and months of speculation, PEOPLE magazine is reporting that the decision is finally in. The First Family will be adopting a Portuguese water dog as the new First Dog.

There had been a long awaited decision between a Labradoodle and the Portie, and Michelle Obama broke the news to PEOPLE that the Obama family will be getting their dog in April, after spring break, and it is very likely to be a rescued Portuguese water dog who is "old enough" and the right "match" for their family.

Portuguese water dogs, once found all along Portugal's coast, are similar to poodles and are sometimes referred to as a Portuguese fishing dog because they were originally trained to accompany fishermen on their boats.

Porties only have a single layer coat, so they don't shed much, making them hypo-allergenic, an important quality considering that the Obama's oldest daughter, Malia, has allergies. Portuguese water dogs are medium-sized with curly or wavy coats that can be black, reddish brown, white and a mix of black and white.

Porties are considered active, so they require daily exercise. However, they also respond well to obedience training, something the First Family will probably be happy to know. And although Portuguese water dogs are not very common in the United States now, once the First Family has a Portie, it is very likely that the popularity of the breed will increase; something that not all current owners are happy with, according to the latest news from the Associated Press.

The problem is that people tend to follow the trends. When the movie "101 Dalmatians" came out, there was a spike in their popularity. The most recent influx of interest has been with Labradors because of the movie "Marley & Me." The rise in interest could also signal a rise in "shady breeders and fickle owners who don't understand the dog and eventually abandon them."

Though current owners might warn that Portuguese water dogs are not the best breed for first-time owners friends of the Obama family have "raved" about them. "Temperamentally, they're supposed to be pretty good," Mrs. Obama told PEOPLE. And naturally everyone will be rooting for a successful merger, especially since it has taken several months for the family to decide between the Labradoodle and the Portuguese water dog. And now that the choice appears to finally be made, it will just be a matter of choosing the right name. Hopefully, they'll come up with a better name than Moose.