Major Biden is in the country’s dog house. The president’s 3-year-old German shepherd is known for his “agitated” behavior in the White House, from jumping on team members to attacking them. On March 8, he bit a Secret Service agent and was sent away, with his older brother Champ, to a training camp in Delaware (which Joe Biden claims was planned before the bite). Then, this Monday, back at the White House, Major allegedly “pinched someone while walking”. AND then reports begin to emerge that there was dog poop on the red carpet outside the Diplomatic Reception Room. (Champ is also a suspect in this incident.)
At least one media outlet asked Biden’s dogs to “resign”; the White House has not offered information on whether Major will leave his role as the first calf. We wanted to know more about why Major could be doing wrong and what could be done to help. Slate turned to canine psychologist Nicholas Dodman to find out what could help a dog like Major. Emeritus professor at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Dodman is a co-founder of the Center for Canine Behavior Studies, where he researches how to help aggressive dogs. (To be clear, he did not meet the Major personally.) Our conversation was edited and condensed for clarity.
Elena DeBré: I’m sure you are following the Major Biden saga?
Nicholas Dodman: Yes, I’m trying to get in touch with Jill Biden about this. I think I can help you.
What do you think of what the Bidens have done with the Major so far?
I saw a picture of the people doing the training [at the camp in Delaware], and I didn’t feel very comfortable with the methods they were using. When the Major was sent away by the White House [after the first bite], I said to my friend: “The bite will happen again. This guy can’t have solved the problem. I don’t like the methods. “
What were the methods? And what was wrong with them?
Well, I looked at this coach’s biography, and his qualifications are all in sports dogs and detention dogs. It is a kind of police, almost in the style of the army. I don’t know specifically what this guy does, but this style of training usually has punitive aspects. I saw in the most recent photo, Major was being reintroduced into the White House with a choke, which I don’t think is right.
How would you psychoanalyze the Major?
First, someone needs to tell the Bidens the truth, and that will set realistic expectations for the dog. Major Biden is a case of aggression by fear.
What could have made Major afraid?
I imagine that somewhere in the past, Major has had some negative interactions, perhaps as an older puppy at a time of training, with someone – probably a man, as males tend to be very brusque and more physical in their interactions with the dogs. Therefore, men are often the targets of fear aggression cases.
What are some examples of fear aggression triggers?
A veterinarian friend of mine in California had a dog that was afraid of men with white beards. Sometimes it’s a hat. Men with boots. People with sunglasses. People in uniform. If someone with a specific trait did something to upset a dog when he was very young, the dog will be triggered by that trait for years to come.
So there is something for the Major that we don’t know that triggers it. And in a way, it doesn’t matter what or who the targets are. What matters is how you work during treatment.
What is the treatment?
If you identify the trigger, a counter-conditioning program helps the dog to approach the dreaded object. What moves the dog? Food treats? Tennis balls? Work with something positive and use it to help the dog get closer to the dreaded target. You can also desensitize dogs to the target of fear using relaxation techniques: take a rug to the White House grounds and train Major to stay relaxed while the target of fear passes.
You must also give the dog the right amount of exercise. The more exercises, the better – the exercises generate serotonin, which has an antidepressant and mood-stabilizing effect. Also diet. Excess protein can stoke the fire of aggression. Therefore, a low protein diet. And give the dog some kind of harness. It’s not a choke chain – something like a halter will work much better. If you put a slight strain on the leash, it will apply pressure to two pressure points that a mommy dog would use on her puppies to calm them down. Just pressure, not pain. It is a long process, however. Joe and Jill probably don’t think they have time.
If you were the chief of Major, what would you say to the Bidens?
I think the most important thing to understand is that nothing is a 100 percent cure. Anyone who says I can heal that dog, I would challenge him to a duel.
This is a dog that, due to genetics and a lack of initial experience, has probably developed mistrust towards certain types of people. And German shepherds are the number 1 breed in the country, although they tend not to bite hard. Most German shepherds I have seen in the past 30 years have anxious and suspicious dispositions.
They’ve already taken the bites in two months. If you don’t want to take six bites a year, you can reduce that to a negative encounter – perhaps a lunge or growl – by not turning the dog into a lamb, but just using understanding, control, relaxation techniques and the habit of desensitizing.
Do you think being the most famous dog in the country affected the Major?
I don’t think it makes much difference, as long as the people who are taking care of him directly have knowledge.
Do you think Joe or Jill’s stressful jobs or public lifestyle may have affected Major?
An owner’s personality has about 15% influence of the incident effect on canine behavior. These numbers are averages and can only be used to assess the chances of a specific personality affecting the dog’s behavior. In some individual cases, a particular combination of personalities may have little effect, while in others the effect may be much greater.
Therefore, it is impossible to say with certainty that Joe or Jill’s personality fueled Major’s behavior. In my opinion, Major came up with problems that were hardly affected by the personality of his new owners.