Louise Mowbray encourages her dog, Ryder, to jump after a buoy during a Portuguese water dog trial at Lake Montague in Raleigh. The Portuguese water dog is a swimmer and diver of exceptional ability and stamina, who aided his master at sea by retrieving broken nets, herding schools of fish, and carrying messages between boats and to shore. Mike Zlotnicki , Staff Writer Comment on this story RALEIGH - Mention black dogs and water to most people and they’ll think Labrador retriever. Sponsored by the Movers and Shakers Portuguese Water Dog Club of the Carolinas, the event had 57 teams (dog and handler) entered from 10 states. Portuguese water dogs were bred as working dogs, traditionally aiding Portuguese fishermen with a variety of tasks at sea. These fanciers of “Porties,” as they called them, are trying to get back to the dogs’ working roots, and the trial’s six categories from Junior Water Dog up to the Versatility certificate employed a variety of scenarios to that end, such as retrieving (and dropping off), swimming, fishing net work and other tests.

The American Kennel Club has asked Americans to vote on list of five "hypoallergenic" breeds, and the Best Friends Animal Society wants the Obamas to adopt that dog from an animal shelter, saying that to buy an animal from a breeder would be unethical while millions of animals face euthanasia in animal shelters. Newkirk, President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals , who wrote a letter to the Obamas today, urging them to adopt a mutt and saying, "This country is proud to be a melting pot, and there is something deeply wrong and elitist about wanting only a purebred dog. Every animal purchased from a breeder or a pet shop takes a home away from a needy animal at an animal shelter, waiting and hoping for a chance at the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness Please let us know if we can assist you. Frequently covering animals (and their people) throughout her 15 years at the Times, she’s chronicled the Oakland Zoo’s attempts to hand-raise a baby African elephant; followed the Los Angeles Zoo’s LA-born gorilla Caesar on his trek to a new home at Zoo Atlanta; and interviewed pit bulls at the Laurel Canyon Dog Park.

Designer dogs But these high-priced “designer dogs” are also increasingly exploited by abusive breeders at puppy mills and unscrupulous sellers, leading to more sick puppies and unhappy owners, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Made fashionable by celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Simpson, hybrid puppies – the offspring of two purebreds – often go for more money than purebreds, which can range from $200 to $2,000 per dog. Puppies bought from pet stores or Internet breeders are much more likely to have been born in a puppy mill and to therefore develop health problems, said Kathleen Summers, deputy director of the society's Stop Puppy Mills campaign. The Humane Society defines a puppy mill as any operation – licensed or unlicensed – where animals are continually confined, kept solely for breeding and socially or physically neglected.

The Lotzes founded K9 Top Coat, and today they make 13 products, including a Comfort Coat introduced in February with antimicrobial and hypoallergenic materials made for dogs with allergies. The coats have been a godsend for Lorni Jarmie, who battled her Weimaraner Jax's skin problems for four years before happening on the Top Coat Web site (k9topcoat. A study at Oregon State University indicated that behaviors associated with itching, such as scratching, biting, rubbing and licking, decreased in duration, frequency and intensity in dogs wearing the coats. However, the Lotzes say the study was too small to prove definitively that the coat works better than other treatments. As happy as Lorni Jarmie is with the coat, Jax is decidedly less so, Jarmie admits.