Cesar Millan Claims He Can Fix the Bidens’ Biting Dog Problem in ‘Two Hours’

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

First Dog Commander Biden has had a series of biting incidents involving the Secret Service, and it is just one of many headaches faced by President Joe Biden and his family. But dog behavior expert Cesar Millan says he can fix this in a matter of hours, and when it comes down to it, it’s a matter of trust.

Politico’s West Wing Playbook newsletter spoke with Millan, who pointed out that while there is a clear chain of authority in the White House, that does not apply to dogs:

Dogs don’t know that they’re living with the president or with you. That’s why dogs make humans really human, because it really has nothing to do with money, fame or power. … In the dog world, that will be your authority leader. People call it the pack leader. You and a dog are a pack. You can call it family, but someone has to lead the family. They will tell you the rules, boundaries and limitations. And that’s why dogs get in trouble.

Commander is what Millan calls a “middle-of-the-pack” dog, meaning that the two-year-old is not the leader, and when left to his own devices, he gets in trouble. In the case of the Bidens, Millan says, it’s the humans who need to be better trained on how to deal with a dog who responds to taking direction, and that requires creating an environment of trust for Commander. The good news is that it doesn’t take a whole lot of training to achieve this:

It will only take us two hours to come up with the agreement. As many as the whole White House staff could learn and make sure we’re all in agreement, commit and follow through. It shouldn’t be difficult because this is about the most primal knowledge that we’re not practicing.

Millan also points out that while it’s easy to blame the dog for the dog’s bad actions, they’re more like bad reactions to something they don’t understand. And that’s why it just takes a slight shift in human behavior to correct the behavior of the dog:

Everybody is going to connect, communicate and have an amazing relationship with this amazing German shepherd, and we’re all going to forget about what he did, because it wasn’t his fault. He was a puppy when he came in. He didn’t come with any issues. He didn’t say, “when I get older, I’m going to bite all the Secret Service.” That was not his dream!

Commander’s brother Major Biden, a rescue dog, had similar problems and was rehomed with family friends in 2021.

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