ohmidog!

A Peruvian hairless dog – known elsewhere as a Xoloitzcuintle, or Xolo for short – is the latest pooch profferred to President-elect Obama and family.

Bald and often toothless — and unlikely to trigger allergies – the breed was popular among Incan kings and dates back 3,000 years.

On Monday, Claudia Galvez, director of the Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association, delivered a letter detailing her offer to the U.S. embassy in Lima, according to a Reuters report. She said she hopes Obama will accept it.

“They do not cause any type of allergy and are very friendly and sweet,” said Galvez.

Obama has promised daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, a new pet for the White House. But Malia is allergic to most breeds.

“We want to give a male puppy to Obama’s daughters, so they get to experience all the joys of having a dog but without any allergies.”

According to Peruvian folklore, the dogs have above-average body temperature, which compensates for their lack of hair, and their owners would sleep with them to help alleviate symptoms of asthma or arthritis.

The puppy Galvez has offered is her’s — a 4-month-old with a pedigree. She calls it “Ears.”

The breed almost went extinct in the 1940s but was saved when a group of committed Mexicans began seeking them out in remote villages.

Cool or creepy? You decide.

SNIF Tag is a device you attach to your dog’s collar, allowing you to go online and monitor his activity. It doesn’t tell you where your dog is — only what he’s doing, within the boundaries of sleeping, eating and playing anyway.

The website explains it this way: “You’d like to be home with your dog all day long but sometimes the little things like work and travel get in the way. With the SNIF Tag, you never have to wonder what your dog is doing while you’re gone. Using motion-sensing and wireless technology, the SNIF Tag records all of your pet’s activity indoors and out and displays the information through a simple, clear, online interface.”

On top of that, the device records all encounters with other dogs wearing SNIF Tags, meaning, when you get back home, you can go online and read about the other dog’s owner.

You may, for example, be afraid to talk to the babe with the boxer, but with SNIF Tag, assuming the boxer is wearing one as well, you can look up her profile back home and send her a message.

“By recording encounters with other SNIF dogs, your SNIF Tag becomes more than a pet monitoring device– it’s a tool for social networking that expands your circle of friends every time you take your pup for a walk.” As the video points out, it can lead to new “friends … or maybe more.”

I can see how the device could provide useful information, such as making sure your dog walker is really walking the dog and for exactly how long, but all in all it strikes me as a little covert — and as a tool that will make life easier and more guilt-free for absentee pet owners, who shouldn’t have a pet in the first place.

Here, though, is the most disturbing part of all, it’s regularly $299! (A special $199 introductory rate is now in effect.)

Founded in 2005 by four MIT Media Lab graduates, SNIF Labs designed the SNIF Tag and touts it as an opportunity to network and learn more about your dog’s behavior in real-time.

“We loved the idea of using real-world social networking to let your dog do the relationship-building work and act as a kind of social catalyst,” said Noah Paessel, CEO and co-founder of SNIF Labs. “SNIF Tag not only gives dog owners peace of mind, it also offers a non-threatening way to meet new friends and companions via their dogs’ encounters.”

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I’d rather see my now dog run and wrestle in person, than as a blip on the computer screen. That’s just not how I like my interface — be it canine or human.

Just a quick advisory, alerting you to stay tuned to ohmidog! for a contest announcement later this week, especially if you’ve always wondered what breeds are in your mutt. (And I don’t mean your president-elect.)