The Most Popular Presidential Dog Breeds

Quick question: Who is the current first dog of the United States of America? If you answered Bo, you know your Presidential Pets trivia. For extra credit, what breed of dog is Bo? If you answered Portuguese Water Dog, you either watch too much CNN or you must really like dogs. Perhaps both. Nearly every President America has ever had has owned pets, and most of the time their pets have been of the canine variety. But have you ever wondered what breed of dog is the most popular Presidential pet? Below is a list of the most common types of White House dog.

The most common type of dog breed in the White house is a Hound. Presidential records are not specific enough to know what type of hound each President owned but it is said that George Washington, Father of our country, owned up to 18 hound dogs, five of them being French Hounds. According to the Presidential Pet Museum, most of Washington's dogs were Foxhounds. Herbert Hoover also had a hound dog named Patrick. John Tyler had a couple Italian Wolfhounds that were imported for his wife, Julia. And the Counsel of Naples gave him a Greyhound named Le Beau. Lyndon Johnson had four different Beagles, including a pair named Him and Her, which landed him in some hot water once.

Another common type of dog breed for U.S. Presidents are Spaniels. Most recently, George H.W. Bush had two Spaniels in the White House and one of them even wrote a book. Millie, with the help of Barbara Bush wrote, "Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush." While in the White House, Millie gave birth to another Springer Spaniel, Ranger. President Hayes had a Spaniel named Duke. Maria Monroe had a Spaniel, and both Truman and Cleveland had Cocker Spaniel dogs.

Another popular dog breed landing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the Collie. These long haired dogs can be beautiful and elegant, fitting for a place of political elegance. Calvin Coolidge was a big Collie fan. He had three of them: Rob Roy, Ruby Rough, and Bessie. And Lyndon Johnson might not have been a Republican like Coolidge, but the two did agree on dogs. Johnson had a White Collie named Blanco.

The most popular dog breed of modern history to grace the White House is the Scottish Terrier. There have been four Scotties in the White House and they've all been there in the last 80 years. Franklin Roosevelt started the trend with two Scotties: Meggie, and his beloved Fala. And George W. Bush had two Scotties of his own, Ms. Beazley and Barney.

Perhaps the only true bipartisanship in Washington D.C. is in their choice of breeds of dog. Dogs, it seems, are non-partisan, and some breeds remain popular for the Commander in Chief no matter what party he belongs to.