I disagree. Having his dog euthanized, publicly, would show that no man is above the law. We could have the most experienced veterinarian do it as a sign of respect for the office.

I don't think so. Dogs in general need time to build trust in the people they're around. In Biden's position, the dog ends up being around thousands of new people every day. It has not been trained for that. I imagine that 95% of all dogs in the world would have bitten somebody if they were in Major's position.

Sending the dog to the ranch and giving it a few quality years with a top end trainer would be far more humane and civilized. If, while around the same people day after day, the dog then goes and attacks someone, now you know. But as is? Believe it or not I'm on the side of the dog.

Rescues can work out just fine. They can also be horrible. As with people, case by case basis. But you don't just throw a dog without training into a scenario where it has no idea who to trust, and can perceive nearly everything as a threat.

lol, no. i get where you're coming from, and agree that it would be incredibly stressful for most dogs, especially those with a troublesome / unknown past, and not sufficiently socialised yet - but only a relatively small percentage deals with that by biting aggression.

just to be clear, i'm not suggesting to kill the pup. as far as i understand they were minor incidents and not all-out attacks, but it seems clear that major doesn't have the character or training to stay in such a stressful environment at this point.

I will point out, the latest incident is "no injury". Literally, not even a scratch. The first incident, with the secret service officer, was "light injury" and did not actually draw blood.

I think you're probably wrong on your characterization of dogs, especially larger dogs, when it comes to their protectiveness to their [especially elderly] owners. But I think we both agree Major should be sent off to Biden's home and a top rate trainer (or team of trainers) brought in to socialize him properly.

i will admit that my evaluation is based on anecdotal evidence, my own experience and that of other rescue owners, and if you have studies to support your 95% claim, i'd be happy to see them and concede that point to you. that said, i would bet a good amount of nerdcoins that you don't. that number seems way too high.

most just bark, some try to hide - snarling and nipping are behaviours to watch out for and it does require some knowledge, care, and time to train a dog properly, especially a 'problematic' one.

you make a good point about protective behaviour, but that is also a big problem with your suggested solution: you can, to a degree, have your dog trained professionally in your absence, maybe even replaced some of its undesirable behaviours - but there's no guarantee that translates to a different constellation and environment, that they behave like that around their owner, if they're not really their master. the bond will be there, but not the established relation, and that will maintain confusing, and depending on the dog's character a struggle for dominance, which can result in aggression towards perceived threats.

Both good points. Allow me to address them:

1. NN for bets. I have no study. I've owned many dogs both trained and rescue, and know how they react among strangers. "Toy Dogs" tend to be aggressive period, and love to bite, but are as easily ignored as cats. With the big dogs, they tend to be more relaxed until they think there's a threat. For "farm dog" style, they immediately act aggressive (up to and including biting) towards anyone in uniform, without real provocation. I don't know why. But this has been the case 100%, and with 100% of the people I know. We have to train that out of them. With the standard pet dog? I'm slightly more in the dark, I'll simply admit my own ignorance, and say perhaps you're right, but I tend to think that dogs are more like people in that the overwhelming majority do not thrive, without training, amongst large crowds of potential threat.

2. I will semi-agree that if a dog is removed from the owner and handled by trainers for long enough that it could potentially cause issue. However, I will point out that the master needs to be trained in proper commands as well. As long as the master shows back up, the dog will recognize and be happy. If the master commands the dog properly, the dog will act as it should. The bond (especially after a year or two) between dog and master is far too close for the dog to "forget". Even cats react that way. An absence with a cat can last 10 years, and they still know you, and treat you as they should.

Anyhow, I think we're maybe on the same page (that's a first ) it's just the minutiae we disagree on. Feels kind of nice.

rofl woof woof

What did you expect? The dude couldn’t even raise his own son right 😂

i would consider both pugs (ugly little fucks, poor bastards too for being bred that way) and chihuahuas (little rats) "toy dogs", and they couldn't be more different in nature. i realise that you're making very generalised points there, and much of it rings true and reflects my own experience, but i'm still not a friend of those absolute claims based on what is clearly also "just" anecdotal evidence, although i'm not trying to dismiss that, just to be clear.

concerning point two: my argument was not that the dog would "forget" the bond, it's about the nature of the relation between major and biden - but maybe the nuances are somewhat lost in translation as i'm not 100% certain if my terminology is correct in english, let me try to elaborate: if a dog feels the need to "protect" in non-threat situations, where the owner is not compromised, and while on their leash (meaning it's not territorial), it's a clear indicator that the dog either feels in charge or at the very least is not clear about the relation. that means the owner is not established as the master. and that is the part which is basically impossible to train in biden's absence. i specifically referred to replacement training in regards to unwanted behaviour (like nipping or biting), but that does not necessarily translate one to one when the dog returns due to its owner into a different situation. it's complicated.

i guess my main point here is that it's up to biden to put in some work and training, that he can't just give major away and expect a perfectly trained dog back that will behave like he wants in every single situation. i'm not saying that to fault him, it's not that easy, especially with rescues sometimes, but just dismissing it as "misunderstandings", "minor incidents", and "due to new environment", which might all be true and fair points, is somewhat missing the problem - such behaviours tend to not just disappear with time, they require training and attention.

Interesting. Fair point, will take under advisement.