First Dog exclusive: Will a shi-tzu beat out the shichon?

I was disappointed to see that a shichon was not included in this Vote for first dog - the white house dog Chicago Tribune poll.

Barack Obama promised his daughters they could get a puppy if he ran for President. What kind of dog should the Obama family bring to the White House?

Currently the "shelter dog" is running in first place with Goldendoodle in second place with 2166 votes and a shi-tzu in third place.

However to a keen eye an interesting trend emerges. the Shi-tzu is in third place with 1587 votes and a Bichon Frise is in fifth place. However if you combined the two dogs, which is what a shichon is - a Bichon Frise and a Shit-tzu - you get a front runner.

There you have it... the Shichon deserves the presidential obama family first dog spot in the administration - the white house dog.

Shelter dog (11052 responses)

53.8%

Chihuahua (252 responses)

1.2%

Bichon frise (1193 responses)

5.8%

Yorkie (1221 responses)

5.9%

Chinese Crested (97 responses)

0.5%

Schnauzer (985 responses)

4.8%

Basset hound (622 responses)

3.0%

Goldendoodle (2166 responses)

10.5%

Shih Tzu (1587 responses)

7.7%

Obama family dog - Why not choose a shichon

I wanted to continue on my motorcycle transport theme but I can't ignore what everyone is searching for - who will be the First Family - the Obama family dog, aka the White House dog. Of course I strongly recommend the Shichon breed as the "American First dog" or would it be the "US Presidential Family first dog". Shichons cute and hypoallergenic AND they are kind of a mutt... like Obama!! (its a joke people, in case you haven't heard, he referred to himself in that way as a joke).

Of course everyone is speculating on the first dog, this story in the Chicago Tribune about Barack Obama: Obama promises daughters puppy in the white house.

Sasha and Malia Obama, if you are out there - Shichons are the one for you. Shichon is a natural first dog candidate. Of course, this being a democratic family I am not going to run negative ad campaigns against the other dogs. I'll let the Shichon record stand on its own... just check out the puppy pictures.

Cerberus - three headed monster

I couldn't resist passing on this popular image I ran across on digg today:



Can anyone help identify the breed of these cute pups?

Zuchon vs. Shichon

Both names refer to the same mixed breed, a cross between a Shi-tzu and a Bichon Feese. The question is, which one is becoming more accepted in the main stream. As far as I can tell the names are interchangable, wiki defines both shichon and zuchon as:

a breed of dog, a cross between a Bichon and a Shih Tzu

American Kennel Club does not recognize this hybrid mix, however the American Canine Hybrid Club does, and calls it a Zuchon.

We have written about the popularity of the terms Zuchon and Shichon this January based on tecnocrati search and at the time the term Zuchon was winning. Looking at this again it seems to be tied.



Finally, checking out google trends the evidence stacks up agains Zuchon in favor of Shichon.



So, next time you are walking your adorable little teddy bear puppy and someon asks what is it... what's it gonna be - Zuchon os Shichon?

Dog Transportation

My primary mode of transportation during the summer is my motorcycle. When our little zuchon was a puppy he rode in my backpack. When he started getting bigger (they dont get much bigger than shi tzus) he was too big for the backpack and he did pretty well if I put him on the tank of the motorcycle.

Last summer he got used to riding on the tank of the motorcycle. He stands, or sits, there all by himself. he can balance himself on turns and during stops. The wind doesnt bother him too much, in fact I think he loves to ride on the motorcycle. He is a true motorcycle loving dog.

For safety, when we ride I put him in a harness, i snap a leach on to the harness and tie it around my waist so that in case that he decides to jump he cant go far. He has never slipped off, slipped, or attempted to jump.

However this summer we had a concern about him getting hurt if I crash on the bike. The problem is that if I crash - and i always wear a helmet - he can crack his little doggie skull.

He loves to ride and so do I. Should I make tihs decision for him? Is he really that much worse off than in a car where he'll become a flying zuchon projectile anyway in case of an accident?

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Finally, a shamless plug for a site of a friend of mine who blogs about cell phones, wireless news, etc.

Funny vidoe from the onion - the dog that wouldn't stop barking

Here is a humorous video of a mock report about a dog that wouldn't stop barking. Enjoy.



Tiny Dog Has Been Barking Nonstop For 6 Years

Monkey (our shichon) featured in Ultra Cute video

Last week I received this letter:

your dog in the car video
Your dog in the car video is so great!

I make a video show called ULTRA KAWAII (www.ultrakawaii.com). We are making a video that features dogs in cars. We would, love to feature your video of your dog

We would, of course, give you full credit and will include your Youtube username or URL in the video, sending people towards your YouTube page, website, or whatever you want.

What do you think?


Thanks so much,
Josh Leo
Ultra Kawaii

So I check out the site and there is Monkey - the hero of this zuchon blog, along with other dogs jumping into cars and riding and even driving their owners cars.


Here is the deal with ULTRA KAWAII:

On Ultra Kawaii (Kawaii is Japanese for cute), our simple goal is to showcase the cutest pets on the planet.

How do we find our stars? From you! They’re your pets, silly :)

You send your cutest pet videos, and we share them with the world.

Each week, the two best videos go head-to-head in the show’s finale, the explosive Kama Cutzie!!!



The Ultra Kawaii blog is by and about our creators- that includes YOU!

Plus, the site has snaggables- free downloads- and everything you need to make your own pet videos “ultra” cute.

I wasnt able to embed the video here, but check it out the site to see our celebrity bichon shi tzu...







NON-DOG RELATED WEB STUFF - probably boring...


ULTRA KAWAII - huh?

So being a geek, I spent a bit more time on the site to check out its functionality. I noticed that they had their own flash player, failry unusual and they were seeking advertisers. Clearly a web video channel which must be a part of a bigger company. CORRECT!

WEB VIDEO COMPANY
So Ultra Kawaii is a part of a collection of "networks" run by NextNewNetworks. They have several networks, which includes Barely Political. Which I believe created the Obama Girl..

VIRAL
Conclusion... Monkey is the next Obama girl? Maybe not, but nice viral networking and video sites by this company. One final note...

DRUPAL?
These sites are probably run on top of Drupal created by Creative Commons or other such companies such as our local drupal shop in Chicago...

I can't resist inserting the Obama girl in here... hope you political folks forgive me... enjoy.