Don't forget who started this dog fight.

In January, when the Republican nomination was a two-man race between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, the attack ads were flying.

An ad put out by the Gingrich campaign titled "For the Dogs," was the first candidate attack on Mitt Romney for the treatment of his dog, Seamus.

The ad and Gingrich's comments, along with news sources reporting on Romney's questionable treatment of his dog, sparked a period of controversy that seemed to temporarily fade away, but four months later, the dogs are back-this time as ammunition for the Obama campaign as the issue surfaces yet again with Romney as the likely nominee.

"I think there are many characteristics that come out in the course of a presidential campaign from the use of words like, 'I like firing people,' which didn't mean he liked firing people but he said, 'I liked firing people,' which sounds like I like firing people even though it wasn't. To putting a dog on the top of a car for nine hours," Gingrich said in January. "I mean all these different things paint a picture, all of us have pictures and the governor has to figure out whether or not that picture is electable. I wouldn't want to debate Barack Obama with that in my background."

The ad goes on to show clips of Romney talking about putting his dog on the roof of his car for road trips as well as a clip of Romney posing with children and saying, "Who let the dogs out?"

"Imagine what Obama would do with a candidate like this," the ad says. As the week of more dog drama has shown, Romney's GOP rivals have given the Obama campaign plenty to talk about in general election.

"Well, I just would rather not have been in a kennel all the way to Canada, personally," Gingrich said in Jan. "I actually think it is fun to have animals. I think it is fun to like your pet enough to actually be near them."