Biden German Shepherd has aggressive incident and is sent back to Delaware

[speak easy]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)The two German Shepherds belonging to President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were returned to the Biden family home in Delaware last week after aggressive behavior at the White House involving Major Biden, two sources with knowledge tell CNN.

Major, who was adopted by Biden in November 2018 from a Delaware animal shelter, had what one of the people described as a "biting incident" with a member of White House security. The exact condition of the victim is unknown, however, the episode was serious enough that the dogs were subsequently moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where they remain.

CNN reached out to the White House for comment and did not immediately receive a reply.

Major, who is 3 years old, is the younger of the two Biden dogs, and has been known to display agitated behavior on multiple occasions, including jumping, barking, and "charging" at staff and security, according to the people CNN spoke with about the dog's demeanor at the White House. The older of Biden's German Shepherds, Champ, is approximately 13 and has slowed down physically due to his advanced age.

Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/08/politics/president-joe-biden-white-house-dogs/index.html

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[TexasTowelie]

1. Poor dog smelled the essence of Trump stench and it drove him to hysterics. nt

[raccoon]

27. Dah winnah! Nt

[AZ8theist]

33. Instead of Delaware, should have sent him to Mar-a-Lardo...

[Blasphemer]

2. Poor Major. White house life must be a hard adjustment. nt

[Maxheader]

35. Think your right...

New surroundings, some bred to be possessive, aggressive...

[IronLionZion]

36. It's probably a stressful place for a dog

with all sorts of restrictions on where they can run around.

[RockRaven]

3. There are a LOT of new and strange people, from a dog's perspective, at a place like the WH...

This is unfortunate. But not shocking/surprising.

Of course too much will be made out of this. By many different sorts of jerks.

[Sapient Donkey]

5. That idiot on newsmax will no doubt have something to say

Those people have to be the most petty jackasses on TV.

[Sapient Donkey]

4. awww. Poor little guy, but it's understandable.

I hope no one was injured too bad by him.

[jorgevlorgan]

6. I think he's a rescue. Not unlikely to have had a tough life until he was adopted.

My experience with them is they have difficulty accepting new people, and can act up from their traumas. Major will be okay in Delaware with his family, although I'm sure he will be missed in the WH.

[LisaL]

10. He was a young puppy when Bidens took him in.

NT

[jorgevlorgan]

11. Ah right, I could've done the math and didn't.

Probably just tough adjusting to the unfamiliar place. He will be happy at home.

[mountain grammy]

7. sounds like my little rescue mutt

but he only weighs 12 pounds and has lost most of his teeth, so not quite as scary as he used to be.

Hope they get Major calmed down. Probably hard for a dog to live where pure evil lived before.

[colorado_ufo]

8. An environment like the White House is not a place for a nervous dog.

I had a beautiful German Shepherd that I finally had to re-home because she was overly protective of the family. Plus, the herding instinct was extremely strong, and she kept chasing my pregnant mares. I am so glad that a good, suitable family adopted her! Even so, this was a hard decision, because my daughter really loved her.

The Bidens made a good decision and a compassionate one.

[riversedge]

9. oh, I feel so bad for the Bidens--esp. for Pres. Biden. He has a stressful job, and I think his

dogs were his go to for un-stressing

Joe did not need this.

[Bayard]

12. Oh no!

Joe needs those dogs. Every day. Who will care for them in DE?

It sounds like Major is in stimulous overload. He's a young dog, thrown into a bizarro world. I think I would have confined him more to the residence, and tried some Rescue Remedy before banishment.

[woodsprite]

14. Rescue Remedy is awesome! We used it to calm our girl in storms. nt

[William Seger]

48. No offense, but...

Rescue Remedy is homeopathic "medicine" -- a.k.a. distilled water.

[Bayard]

61. Ah, but it has the magic secret ingredient

A little dab'll do ya!

[hrtsafyre]

15. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WHITE HOUSE KENNELS?

I agree, they just need to have Major in a secure location where he can be free to run and play but not come in contact with the staff. It's all about rules, boundaries and limitations. If he cannot be trusted around everyone then limit his interactions. He seems friendly enough, but if people show GSD's fear they dog won't trust them. I only adopt German Shepherd Dogs. They are the best breed as far as I am concerned.

What happened to the white house kennels? There were kennels on the grounds when FDR was president.
Also, I know about the kennels from stories about when Hoover was president. He hid the mascot from the football team in Maryland in the kennels to avoid giving him back to the team. They were on an losing streak ever since Billy their opossum wandered off onto the W.H. property and they weren't allowed to look for him. Hoover liked the little fellow and did not want to return him, so he hid Billy from them in the kennels.he eventually gave him back after they wrote him a demand letter.

I don't like that Champ has been banished with Major to Delaware. Champ is an old dog and he doesn't have much time left. Especially by the way he is walking. He's having issue's. He needs to be with his family, most especially now. I believe the Biden's will regret sending him away and losing valuable time spent with their beloved older GSD.

I just lost my 17½ year old GSD, Zoe two days ago. She was the best dog and I was with her when her time came. It came on suddenly and she remained agile and spry until her final day. Her body just started to shut down overnight. She lived well beyond the life span of a GSD, so at her age she was just wore out. Multi- organ failure set in, so I helped her cross over. They need to be with Champ when his time comes. That would be unfair to him if he passed with out his family by his side. Especially Joe Biden , he really loves that dog. It's just not right.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. I couldn't agree more and my heart goes out to you for the loss of your Zoe

That's an impressive age for any pup, let alone a GSD, a larger dog. I have had 2 of my dogs live past 18 - my Cairn Terrier was 18 1/2 and my beloved cocker was at least 18, adopted him from rescue when they said he was 10 or 11 and I had him 8 wonderful years. It never gets easier.

[JudyM]

25. Welcome to DU, hrtsafyre

Agree completely and so sorry about your losing Zoe.

[Blasphemer]

62. I'm hoping the move to Delaware is temporary while the figure out the best course of action.. nt

[Rhiannon12866]

17. Excellent suggestion!

[alittlelark]

13. Time to bring in a Serious Trainer.

The WH environment must be extremely stressful to any dog, but especially a rescue. Security ppl are likely seen as aggressive to them.

Biting is Not acceptable - time for a few weeks of quality training, then a few days with the trainer in the WH.

[SunSeeker]

16. Poor pup. Too many new people for him, sensory overload.

It is best that he stay back home in Delaware with Champ.

Hope the persom Major bit is ok.

[Silver Gaia]

19. Oh no.

[KS Toronado]

20. German Shepherds are very protective of their owners

Did Major feel like someone around the Bidens was a threat to their safety? Both dogs should be accustomed
to people coming and going around Joe. Gut feeling is Major senses the people who don't like Joe. Very reason
if true, Joe needs to keep Major close to him.

[DUgosh]

21. The Oval Pawffice

First Dogs USA - Champ and Majors official
Instagram Page explains they are visiting Delaware only because their Mom Flotus is away. The biting incident is fake news according to Champ.

[C Moon]

22. I'm glad they sent them both: so they can be with each other.

[Totally Tunsie]

23. Trust the dog.

Maybe Major senses something "off" in this security person and is being protective. Is the security guy a Chump sympathizer? Was Major provoked?

Dogs "know", or they at least sense, when something or someone isn't right. This could be one of those occasions.

[Lunabell]

24. Sounds like a job for the Dog Whisperer

Cesar Milan.

[MichMan]

30. No

Not a fan of him or his methods

[alphafemale]

26. With all the chaos that can be in the White House I was worried this might happen

They really should have been kept apart from that.

At least the younger one.

I hope it wasn't too severe of a bite.

They should have done some desensitizing training.

[MicaelS]

28. The dog needs to be trained or barred from the WH.

It is not people’s fault that they are fearful of big dogs and GSD in particular. Lots of people right here on DU say that.

Too many pet owners have a blind spot. They think that because they love and cherish their pet, others should too. The Bidens are at fault for not recognizing this, and getting the dog trained. I feel for the people working in the WH. One should not have be scared of a dog when they go to work.

[Elessar Zappa]

47. How are the Bidens at fault?

Ridiculous. Unless there’s evidence this dog has been aggressive before, there’s no reason the Biden’s should have known it could bite. They did the right thing by getting the dog back to Delaware to train. I’m sure Major will be back.

[hamsterjill]

29. People can be really stupid around dogs.

No, the dog shouldn’t bite someone. But in more than 30 years of rescue, I’ve seen some humans do some stupid things around dogs.

The Bidens have done the right thing.

[Throck]

31. Unfortunately this is typical predictive behavior of German Shepherds

We rescued 3 over the years and raised 2 more. They're a bit OCD in their protective nature. Great dogs if you understand them. You have to constantly work with them and constantly socialize them. Joe doesn't have time to do that now. Move to WH is an additional stressor on them. I'll gladly baby sit them for four years.

[RicROC]

32. Seeing Eye Dogs

I've heard from Lions Club members that Seeing Eye Dogs used to be German Shepherds but they used to outlive their masters. Since they tended to be a one-master dog, could not adapt easily to having a new master. Hence, Labs were introduced due to the difference in their temperment.

[Blues Heron]

34. Good example of other people paying the cost for your dog owning

Dogs are great until they bite - then they suck the big one. They come with a huge societal cost in emergency room visits, pain, suffering, noise, mayhem, pollution etc. mostly borne by others - your fellow community members.

[Lucky Luciano]

37. Wow a true dog hater.

[Blues Heron]

38. Don't attack the messenger Lucky

let's face it, the dog problem in this country is out of control. Hopefully some good will come out of this violent incident and more people will realize that canines are not benign little angels. Maybe that will cut down on the trendiness of dog owning a little. Which would be a VERY good thing.

[róisín_dubh]

39. I was waiting for the DU dog hating brigade to make an appearance. nt

[Blues Heron]

42. If you disagree with the substance of the post just say so

no need to hurl the H word around as an insult. The topic at hand is dog violence which happens to be a big problem in this country. It's also something that happened to me a couple of days ago - I was bitten on my morning walk by a neighbor's leashed terrier. She let it get near me and it lashed out out like a rattlesnake, got me on the back of the calf. Luckily it was just a nasty bruise, (and a sense of being totally violated.)

[MicaelS]

46. Dogs and cats are not human beings.

Just because some people treat them as their children does not mean they are human.

Some people are fearful of dogs, especially GSD. A-person should not have to live in fear of being bitten by an animal at their job. Unless they work with animals all the time.

The Biden’s are clearly at fault They did not do their due diligence.

The next thing you will say is animals are superior to humans.

[Lucky Luciano]

49. What you said is reasonable.

If your job description doesn’t involve working with dogs, you shouldn’t have to, but that other person was straight up advocating for the elimination of dogs as pets. That’s a bad person with a black heart. I’ve met people fearful of dogs who like them from afar, but their fear doesn’t allow them to get close. That’s fine, but a bit sad. Dogs have an impressive emotional intelligence.

[MicaelS]

51. I love cats and dogs.

I am planning on adopting a cat this year.

What really infuriates me, is that on a supposedly progressive website, some animal lovers constantly say they dislike people and love animals more than people. IOW, they love humanity, but hate individuals.

[Elessar Zappa]

56. That's a right wing talking point.

They always say progressives hate humans but love humanity. I’m sure you didn’t mean to spread that bullshit.

[Blues Heron]

54. I don't appreciate the personal insult

People should stick to the topic at hand (dog violence) and refrain from personal attacks.

[Coventina]

52. Violent humans vs. violent dogs.......Please povide data about which is more costly.

I'll be waiting right here!

[Blues Heron]

53. whataboutism

[Coventina]

60. I'll take dogs over humans any day. n/t

[Elessar Zappa]

55. I don't trust anyone who dislikes cats or dogs.

It’s very Trumpian. Most animals are far better behaved than humans.

[Blues Heron]

57. That's a stretch

There are plenty of total criminals out there that LOVE dogs.

[Elessar Zappa]

58. Most people who are animal lovers

tend to be good people in other areas of life. Not all of course but most. There’s a correlation between hating animals and being a bad person.

[Blues Heron]

59. There are actual murderers that adore animals

I don't like off leash dogs in the park, I don't dislike the animal itself. I think you're conflating different issues here. We have a SOCIAL problem here with people disregarding the clear rules/laws/etiquette and creating a problem for others. And now that it's so trendy to own a dog, the problem has grown worse.

[sinkingfeeling]

41. This makes me sad. Champ needs to be with his beloved

owners in his last years. I hope the Bidens will get expert training for Major and they will be able to return to the WH. Poor dogs, thrust into chaos.

[Deminpenn]

43. According to the official twitter and instagram accounts

this story is exaggerated.

https://twitter.com/TheOvalPawffice

[speak easy]

44. + :)

[Deminpenn]

45. The Biden's are responsible pet owners

If Major was at all aggressive around others, he would be wearing an unobtrusive muzzle when around strangers or non-family.

[Omaha Steve]

63. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

Belongs in GD or Pets group

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