Major Biden is getting some help to get out of the dog house.
The president’s adopted German shepherd has been involved in a couple of minor biting incidents since moving to the White House with the First Family, including a National Park Services employee and a security guard. But a spokesman for first lady Jill Biden said Monday that the three-year-old pup will be getting some “additional training” to help him adjust to life in Washington.
“Major, the Bidens’ younger dog, will undergo some additional training to help him adjust to life in the White House,” said Jill Biden’s press secretary Michael LaRosa, as reported by media outlets including NBC. “The off-site, private training will take place in the Washington, D.C. area, and it is expected to last a few weeks.”
Related: Cesar Millan wants to help Biden’s dogs feel at home in the White House
The most recent Major incident happened less than two weeks ago. “Yes, Major nipped someone on a walk,” LaRosa said at the time.
Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also told reporters in a statement at the time that, “Major is still adjusting to his new surroundings and he nipped someone while on a walk. Out of an abundance of caution the individual was seen by WHMU and returned to work without injury.”
The presidential pooch had just returned to the White House after spending some time in Delaware following a March 8 biting incident, when Major was “surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at the time.
President Joe Biden has defended Major as a “sweet dog” who was still settling into living at the White House. “You turn a corner and there’s two people you don’t know at all. And he moves to protect,” Biden said. “But he’s a sweet dog. Eighty-five percent of the people there love him. All he does is lick them and wag his tail.”
Many people on Twitter have rallied to Major’s defense following both incidents.
Indeed, former “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan recently told MarketWatch that he wasn’t too surprised to hear that Major has shown some aggressive behavior since moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“What that [first] incident says to me is that they were not in agreement on how to welcome Major into this new lifestyle. In order for a dog to bite, he either feels the need to protect his territory, or he feels the need to protect his family — or when he’s afraid or he doesn’t trust, he can also bite,” Millan said, adding that he has offered to come to the White House and lend his services. “We are waiting and ready to help.”
This story has been updated with news of Major Biden’s additional training.