BY DENISE FLAIM

denise.flaim@newsday.com

6:31 PM EST, November 5, 2008

Some campaign promises are more pressing than others.

In his victory speech, President-elect Barack Obama assured daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, that they "have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House."

Details of Pennsylvania Avenue's newest tail-wagger have not been disclosed. But in a May appearance with her husband on "Good Morning America," soon-to-be first lady Michelle Obama said the family would not add a new dog for another year.

"What we know about raising a dog is that you have to be pretty stable," she said. And by spring 2009, "we'll be settled, one way or another."

Introducing a new dog during a period of upheaval -- whether the holiday rush or a presidential inauguration -- is a recipe for trouble, agreed Alan Christiansen of Dog Gone Good Dog Training in Coram.

"The calmer the household, the better the transition is going to be for the dog," he said, adding that housebreaking will likely be the Obamas' biggest challenge. "The White House is pretty big, with all those places to pee and mark." A spring arrival might help in this regard, too: "You're more likely to take the dog out when the weather's not freezing."

During that "GMA" interview, Michelle Obama also indicated that the dog would come from a shelter, not a breeder or pet store. But that egalitarian impulse might not jibe with the family's need for a young dog that will not aggravate allergies: Most shelter puppies are mixes that are not hypoallergenic, and most purebred rescue dogs of any breed -- including those with low-dander coats -- are adults.

"It's not likely that you're going to find any purebred puppy younger than 4 months old in an animal shelter, and even those are few and far between," said Pamela Green, director of the Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton.

The Obamas' pending pooch has made headlines since July, when the American Kennel Club created presidential.pup.com to select a hypoallergenic breed for the family. More than 42,000 voters nominated the poodle over the soft-coated wheaten terrier, miniature schnauzer, bichon frise and Chinese crested.

Because even dog ownership is political these days, Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah, in turn launched the rival obamafamilydog.com to encourage the candidate to adopt a shelter dog, noting it was a natural choice "for a candidate focused on 'hope' and 'change.'"

As for the president-elect, his concerns focus on accountability, a familiar theme in the election. "The dog's a done deal," he said in May. "Who's walking the dog -- that's what we're concerned about."