Cesar Millan offers Biden advice on White House dogs

Major and Champ Biden are all moved into the executive mansion as furry members of the first family, but celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan has some advice for President Biden: Your pups won’t know if they’re living in a dog house versus the White House.
“The White House, brown house, yellow house, red house, really it comes down to environment,” says Millan, the Nat Geo TV star known as the “Dog Whisperer.”
“It’s about adapting,” Millan, 51, says.
The Biden family’s pair of German Shepherds relocated from Delaware to their new digs at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. last week. In an interview with ITK, Millan says no matter the housing situation, introducing a dog to new surroundings can be a challenge.
“Most people what they want the dog to do is, to let him feel at home, is to let him wander,” says Millan, who’s currently filming a new series for Nat Geo Wild at his California ranch and whose previous show ran on the network from 2004 to 2012.
The issue can be particularly common for the owners of rescue dogs, the canine expert warns. Major Biden is believed to be the first shelter rescue dog to live in the White House; the Bidens adopted the four-legged companion from the Delaware Humane Association in 2018.
“This happens all the time when people rescue dogs — the dog came from a shelter and they just let the dog loose. The dog goes into the house without rules, boundaries, limitations,” says Millan, who also notes the first family is setting a “great example” with their rescue pup.
Instead, he suggests, “Never bring a dog indoors full of physical energy.” Otherwise your home — even if it’s the most famous address in Washington, Millan warns — could “turn into Chuck E. Cheese.”
It’s important for any pet owner, whether living in the White House or a more humble abode — to set the rules and boundaries early and limit where animals can roam indoors.
Another thing going through a pooch’s head when it’s barking through new turf is “who am I going to be with — the pack, the family. And then what position in the pack am I going to play?” says Millan.
As commander in chief, the bestselling author says, Biden “earned the pack leader position.”
“Ask not what the dog can do for you, ask what you can do for the dog,” Millan says.
The dog behavior guru, who famously helped train Oprah Winfrey’s canines and says he’s worked with presidents and countless other VIPs, advises, “It’s important that a dog also does something for the family. It’s important that he earns his food, his water, his place in the pack.”
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