There is a complicated situation taking shape in the White House.
High-level dog experts are talking about what they believe is actually causing President Biden’s dog, Major, to act after biting two people in the White House in recent weeks, according to a report.
Cesar Millan, known for the Emmy-nominated television series, “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan”, described the White House environment as “a place full of tension”. He says the problem is not with the Major, but with the situation and the people the dog is surrounded by.
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An aide was walking the Bidens’ dog on the south lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 29, 2021. (Getty Images)
“It’s not the dog,” he told Politico. “What Major is saying is that he doesn’t feel safe yet. And if he doesn’t feel safe, he can’t trust. And if he can’t trust, he can’t feel calm.”
Professional dog trainer Larry Krohn says that dogs’ behavior, whether good or bad, is created in the environment in which the dog lives. “Where he spends his time. The people he spends time with,” he said.
Krohn added that the behavior comes from fear and insecurities, which he says is typical of the German shepherd breed – like the Major, “especially when he is not a well-bred dog”.
“And you can’t punish that with a dog … you can’t treat that with a dog,” he said, according to Politico. “You have to change the dog’s mentality so that he feels comfortable and confident in his own skin and trusts people around him.”
The series of bite incidents began in March, when Major, 3, sank his teeth into a Secret Service employee who demanded attention from the White House medical unit. White House press secretary Jen Psaki referred to the incident as “minor”.
After the first bite occurred, Biden’s oldest and apparently least undisciplined German shepherd, Champ, 13, was sent to Wilmington, Delaware, to be cared for by a family friend. They later returned to the White House, according to reports.
During an interview with “Good Morning America”, Biden said that Major was going home and he “did not ban him back home”.
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“We have a nanny there – a friend who takes him. And – but you turn a corner and there are – there are two people I don’t know. And, you know, and they move – and he moves to protect. But he is – he’s a sweet dog, “said Biden. “85 percent of the people there love him. He just – all he does is lick them and wag their tail.”
But at the end of last month, Major bit an employee on the south lawn of the White House, who then needed medical attention.
First Lady Jill Biden’s press secretary, Michael de Rosa, confirmed the “pinch” in a statement to Fox News. “The Major is still adapting to the new environment and has pinched someone while walking. Due to excessive caution, the individual was seen by the WHMU [White House medical unit] and then went back to work without injury. “
CNN first reported the bite, adding that the employee worked for the National Park Service.
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Famous animal trainer Joel Silverman referred to Biden’s “Good Morning America” interview and suggested that “no one is looking at this from the start as something serious”.
“When the dog bites once, it’s something that people need to take a look at,” Silverman told Politico. “When you have the owner – I don’t care if you’re the president of the United States or just an ordinary dog trainer like me – if you’re answering a question and escaping a question about the bite, that’s a problem. That it’s a red flag. “
“Don’t ask what the dog can do for you. Ask what you can do for the dog,” added Millan.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report