A New Puppy at the White House

Joe Biden and family have added a new puppy.

Great… but… dogs at the White House have often been problematic.

How come no President in modern memory has ever had much control over his dogs?

Answer: No one at the White House has time for a dog.

That is the core problem.

In fact, no one at the White House has time to even read a book on dog training, much less follow up with reinforcement over a sustained three-month period.

Walk the dog?

That's a task generally delegated to a rotating pool of young, low-level interns, volunteers, or kind-hearted staffers with little or no dog training. The President and First Lady have a jaw-dropping number of decisions and appearances to make, all over the nation and all over the world.

All the Presidents and all their families have meant well, but something has to give, and it's always the dog.

In the current case, the dog that has to “give” is Major, who has had difficulty adjusting to the constant home invasions (as he would see it), and the inconsistent handling that comes with too busy schedules and a rotating retinue of young go-fers. Major is being re-homed with a family friend, and I expect he will do better there.

But Commander — the new pup? It’s the same playing field every White House dog has found themselves on, and it’s not great.  Good luck to him.