The Germans Have Landed!
Ever since our current President has been inaugurated there have been at least two dozen dog bites from both of his dogs. The first dog was Major who had bitten enough people (staff and Secret Service agents) to finally get re-homed with one of the Presidents family members.
The second dog is Commander, who has bitten at least 10 times according to Secret Service records. Commander has bitten enough people to draw high levels of concern from the director of the Secret Service.
The concern is for the safety of the Secret Service personal, but I would also argue there should be concern for the dog biting or hurting the President or First Lady. There has already been an incident where the First Lady lost control of the dog on leash and was pulled to the ground. What happens if the dog decides to bite her or the President? What happens if the President is standing between the person Commander wants to bite and the President decides to take action to try and prevent Commander from biting?
The dog could easily decide to make the President it’s next bite and that leaves the Secret Service in a very difficult situation. The Secret Service would need to step in and guard the President from his own dog! And being that the proximity of the dog would most likely be so close to the President they would almost never fire a weapon in that situation to neutralize the dog.
Think about this for a minute. The highest power in the United States has been infiltrated by a German Shepherd! Why is that? Let’s discuss.
There are many factors playing into this situation. Let’s break it down.
1. Environment: many different people coming and going all the time, armed guards surrounding you, the body language of these people can easily provoke a breed like the German Shepherd and put them into an anxious, nervous or aggressive state nearly 24/7.
2. Exercise: I am assuming the President is unable to give the dog proper exercise every single day. His schedule probably wouldn’t allow it and this by itself is more than enough to create behavior issues for a German Shepherd.
3. No rules or boundaries: If the dog has bitten this many people already, the fact of the matter is that it has NEVER been corrected for displaying such behavior. That means there have been no rules or boundaries set up for the dog.
4. Affection: The dog is also spoiled in this environment. Most likely groomed at least once a week, the best dog food available, the best vet care, the best toys to play with and always given way more than it needs to a happy German Shepherd.
Many reputable trainers have come forward to help the situation at the White House but from our understanding none of the help has been accepted yet. AFDT would be more than happy to help the White House get Commander under control. We even have a very close location in Annapolis if they need someone local.
If anyone from the White House is reading this, please contact us to get Commander under control by the Commander- in- Chief!