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First dogs Major and Champ return to White House after nipping incident

The Bidens' German shepherds are back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. two weeks after Major nipped a Secret Service agent, causing a minor injury.
Image: President Joe Biden poses with the Biden family dogs Champ and Major Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in the Oval Office.
President Biden with the family dogs, Champ and Major, in the Oval Office last month.Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz

Major Biden is officially out of the doghouse.

The younger of the Bidens' two German shepherds and fellow first canine Champ are back at the White House two weeks after Major nipped a Secret Service agent.

The two were sent to the Bidens' Delaware home following the incident this month, but they are now back roaming the White House grounds, Jill Biden's press secretary, Michael LaRosa, confirmed.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the pair returned on Sunday after spending the weekend with the first family at Camp David.

"The dogs will come and go, and it will not be uncommon for them to head back to Delaware on occasion, as the president and first lady often do as well," Psaki said.

At the time of the nipping incident, Psaki said the first pups' trip to Wilmington had been pre-planned because Jill Biden was traveling.

She said the nipping happened when Major "was surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual."

Major, who is the first shelter dog to live in the White House, received some extra training while in Delaware to help him acclimate to his new surroundings, LaRosa said.

President Joe Biden told ABC News this month that he still thought 3-year-old Major was a good boy.

"I didn't banish him to home," Biden said. "Jill was going to be away for four days. I was going to be away for two so we took him home."

"Major did not bite someone and penetrate the skin," he added. The president also suggested that he and Major were having trouble adjusting to the large number of personnel around the White House.

"You turn a corner, and there's two people you don't know at all," Biden said. "And he moves to protect. But he's a sweet dog."