Barney bites again!
November 16, 2008 by Chloe Findlay-Harder
Filed under Pets
Barney, George W Bush’s pooch – or the “First Dog” has nipped another guest of the White House! Barney, a Scottish Terrier nipped a reporter’s finger after the reporter reached down to pet him. A PR director also got her fingers chomped last week.
Dog bites are generally preventable and usually happen when people ignore warning signs from dogs. Now, I’m not excusing this behavior – but we don’t know exactly what happened… and terriers don’t always like being petted by strangers, especially if they’re surprised!
Today’s lesson? Don’t pet strange dogs if they’re not expecting you … especially if you’re a PR rep 
image: PicApp
I have to laugh because I used to groom the occasional Scottish Terrier. I was more of a chew toy than a groomer. Every dog has a personality, and as far as I’ve met, most Scottish Terrier’s are named ‘Chewy’ for a reason.
My Sophie is a mutant Scottie. She’s sweet and laid back. Gus is not quite a year and has already gotten in quite a few nips. He wears a muzzle at the vet’s office and goes in his crate the second I see his eyes go from “I’m a cute puppy” to “Must bite hand that feeds me.” He wasn’t particularly chewy as a young puppy, but with separation anxiety and his “I am a Scottie and you are but a toad” attitude, he is developing into quite a handful. We’re working on behavior modification.