In the wake of Barack Obama’s victory, it is the burning issue which has taken over America. The president-elect may be faced with a dire economy, wars on two fronts and the threat of climate change, but what everyone wants to know is: which breed of dog is he going to buy his daughters?

Obama has promised to give Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, a puppy to reward their forbearance during his long campaign for the Oval Office. The country is now gripped by speculation over what his choice of breed will be and what it will say about the 44th US president. Will it be a pedigree or a mongrel, large or small, long haired or short?

At a press conference on Friday Obama outlined the scale of the problem facing him.

“This is a major issue,” he told reporters with deadpan humour. “We have two criteria that have to be reconciled. One is that Malia is allergic, so [the dog] has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic.

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“On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog. But, obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me.”

A “shelter” dog, one rescued from a pound or sanctuary, is also the preference of Obama’s wife Michelle. The precise breed could have a surprising influence on Obama’s personal standing, because his rise to power has been partly fuelled by support from America’s canine-loving community.

Bark Obama, a conglomeration of dog-owning internet bloggers, lobbied long and hard for the mixed-race candidate after he dropped hints early on in his campaign that he was a dog lover.

“So many people love dogs that they can act as a unifying force, but the thing about dog lovers is that, unlike cat lovers, they can be very breed specific,” said Beverley Cuddy, editor of the magazine Dogs Today.

“Those, for instance, who like dogs with ears that stand up, may not care for those with ears that hang down. Obama could fracture his support among dog lovers if he doesn’t find a good blend.”

Members of the Obama camp have already hinted that the frontrunner in the canine race for the White House is a crossbreed known as a goldendoodle. A mixture of golden retriever and poodle, the goldendoodle has the advantage that it does not shed hair, effectively ticking the “hypoallergenic” box.

There are other breeds that fit into that category. Many terriers, such as yorkshires, airedales and bedlingtons, also keep their coats year round. Should Malia turn out to be particularly allergic, there is even the American hairless rat terrier which nas no coat at all. Considered by some to be the ugliest dog ever created, its capabilities as a crowd pleaser might be limited.

What the chosen dog “says” about Obama is likely to be widely discussed, given the attention that the issue has already provoked in the United States. “A psychologist said you can learn a great deal about a man from the size of the dog he has and it’s an inverse relationship,” said Cuddy. In other words, the larger the dog the smaller a man’s “self-esteem”.

She suggested that Obama might consider a puggle, a cross between a pug and a beagle, or possibly a rodinglea scruffy, which some consider to be the cleverest breed in existence.

“A puggle fuses the pugnaciousness of the pug with the compliance of the beagle, suggesting a dog which is happy to do what you want unless provoked,” said Cuddy.

“The rodinglea scruffy is a cross of springer spaniels, border collies and bearded collies. They can be taught a vocabulary of 15 words. In the US at the moment there is a big movement to get dogs talking.”

If all else fails, the choices of previous White House incumbents may prove instructive.

George W Bush and his father both have a penchant for springer spaniels, a pedigree breed known for acting foolishly, while Clinton had a chocolate labrador called Buddy, who sadly met his maker soon after leaving the White House, when he ran in front of a car.

Ronald Reagan’s dog, Lucky, was a bouvier des flandres, a breed used for herding cattle, who was incontinent in public and had to be moved to the country.

“Obama has played the canine card to perfection, whichever breed is chosen,” said Cuddy. “When McCain tried to join in and said he would get a very large dog, he was just treated as a pretender. I suspect Obama will string this out for as long as possible.”

Once the chosen dog arrives, things may go downhill. Last week Barney, Bush’s scottie dog, bit a reporter’s hand when he tried to pet it.

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