Biden’s dog, Commander. History repeating.

I want to preface this by saying this is NOT a political post. Any commentary making it one will be swiftly deleted. Let's just keep this about dogs, education, and awareness.

Biden's first GSD, Major, had a major biting problem (pun intended). He was sent away for training more than once, but the problem persisted. Finally, he was given to friends and left the White House for good.

Then, the Biden's got a second GSD, Commander, who've they've raised from puppyhood..... and history is repeating itself.

Why? There are several reasons for this, but the main one is: it's not just about "training the dog", folks. The belief that it is continues to be reinforced in a number of ways (even by many professionals who profit from this). 

The bulk of "dog training" is training, equipping... even empowering the human/s responsible for raising the dog. 

"Having a dog" and *raising a dog* are two entirely different things. 

While we offer a boarding school program, I always encourage private training over "sending the dog away for training" for this very reason.

There are several ingredients that contribute to, influence, and impact any given behavior, and - in watching several video clips of the interactions between the Bidens and the dog, this was nurtured (unknowingly) by them and how the dog was being raised. 

The lack of state of mind conditioning and awareness- and the states of mind that were (again, unknowingly) being nurtured and perpetuated by those around the dog. Inconsistencies and general lack of awareness across the board of all who share space with the dog and are responsible for his care. There's much more here going on that played into this.

Every dog needs education and equipping (and this dog, now, reprogramming), yes. But it's the *human* end of the leash- in this case, the Bidens and anyone else sharing space, responsible and caring for the dog- who need the training and equipping. There's a team of people doing so here, so a greater chance of mixed messaging and inconsistencies across the board.

There's so much to learn about raising a dog, and most are either "winging it" or putting 100% responsibility on the dog (and any trainer)- removing themselves from the equation altogether. 

While there are some soft energy, marshmallow dogs with tolerance levels of a saint and who just roll along with life in existence, most dogs are not like this. Nor should we expect this (this expectation is far more common than one might think).

Many will also stop at "obedience training" with their dogs, which has very little to do with behavior, perception, self and world concept, etc. It's a mere fraction of the overall picture.

*People* need behavioral conditioning and training info/ know-how, as well as the dogs they're raising. This is part of the "parenting" role/responsbility we assume when we bring a dog into our homes.

My heart aches when I read stories like this, and I sincerely hope they all get the right kind of help.