Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday told Kristi Noem to “stop digging herself in a hole” after the South Dakota governor suggested that President Joe Biden’s dog Commander be put down. (Watch the video below.)

Noem turbocharged a rocky rollout of her new book, “No Going Back,” by defending a passage in which she described shooting her 14-month-old dog Cricket over behavioral problems. She went further in an interview over the weekend, suggesting that Biden should do the same with his German shepherd Commander, who bit several Secret Service agents before being relocated to live with family members in Delaware.

On “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan mentioned a threatening book passage in which Noem wrote, “Commander, say hello to Cricket for me.”

Noem replied that Biden “should be held accountable” to “make a decision” on the dog after he attacked so many people.

Brennan then asked the governor if Commander should be shot, and Noem rambled on. “That’s what the president should be accountable to,” she said without answering the question.

Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, was asked about the comments at a news conference, prompting a scolding that stopped just short of hitting Noem on the snout with a rolled-up newspaper.

“We find her comments from yesterday disturbing. We find them absurd,” she said. “This is a country that loves dogs and you have a leader talking about putting dogs down, killing them. And that’s a disturbing statement.”

Then the press secretary got personal.

“I would say to her she should probably stop digging herself in a hole,” Jean-Pierre said.

Noem, who’s been talked up as a possible running mate for presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, made another reference to Commander in her book. “A dog who bites is dangerous and unpredictable (are you listening, Joe Biden?) — especially if you are running a business where people interact with your dogs,” Noem wrote.

Noem also has been dogged by an apparently false claim in the book that she met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The publisher said it was removing the passage from reprints of “No Going Back” at Noem’s request, and from the ebook and audiobook editions as soon as possible.