Shy Puppies

[altermetoday]

Have any of you owned or dealt with puppies who were really shy/lacked confidence as a young puppy ready to be weaned from momma? I’m totally in love with this puppy that is the brother of a friend’s puppy, but they did not pick him because he was fearful.

The breeder has sent him to a really good trainer and he is gaining some confidence but is super fearful of everything. The puppies were raised with a really good sport dog person who exposed them to all kinds of surfaces and things and he was the only one in the litter who wasn’t a confident pup.

Curious if anyone has had successful stories of fearful shy puppies turning into normal sane confident adults? I’m worried that this behaviour will get worse with age and not better which is the experience I’ve seen of puppies like this. I don’t really need a puppy, but he is so cute he’s tempting.

I do a ton of dog sports though and really need something with some confidence at trials so this is a little worrisome. Makes me wonder if I should just wait.

[S1969]

Sounds like a bad choice for a competition dog.

Training is important, but temperaments differ, and may not be something you can train out of them. The last puppy I would choose for performance events would be the only one that WASN’T confident, or any of them that would be described as “super fearful” at any age.

How old is this puppy now?

[endlessclimb]

I agree with S1969, I don’t think this puppy will completely grow out of this.

Not a purebred, but my mutt dog was VERY shy when I adopted her at 4 months. She is heads and tails better now at 6 years old, but she will never be bold like our Vizslas. She’s average/below average now as far as boldness, and she will always be a bit aloof of strangers, and I think that’s the limit of what she’s capable of.

[fledermaus]

In my experience, a dog’s basic personality is innate. You can modify it, help them cope, give them manners, but there is a substantial part of them which is not malleable.

I’ve raised every pup I’ve ever had pretty much the same. I’ve gotten them all between 8 and 12 weeks. I’ve trained them to compete in herding trials, obedience, and agility. To date I’ve had fearful, calm, aggressive, friendly, suspicious, hyperactive – all in the same breed. A couple were management problems until their death at an advanced age. Some were so easy they made me look like a great dog trainer.

My big take away from a lifetime of dogs and puppies: BUY THE TEMPERAMENT. Do not try and make it. Find a breeder who really knows how to evaluate puppies and explain your priorities.

My two dogs with the most trouble-free temperaments, ‘ambassadors for their breed’: my first working-bred Aussie from an old lady who had been breeding those same lines for fifty years; she looked me over, picked up a pup and said, “this is the one you want, those will to be too much dog for you.” She was exactly correct. The second was by a sire I knew had the greatest temperament, the dam’s first litter but I told the breeder I wanted the most outgoing, friendly, curious pup in the litter. That’s what I got, Mister Gregarious, nose in everything, always has a smile on his face. He’s got more friends than I do. And he was that way from Day One.

[swmorse]

I know nothing about dogs, could he be shy/fearful because of eyesight problems?

[Mango20]

I have a shy puppy (GSD/coonhound mostly). She is my 5th mixed breed rescue dog, and the other 4 were all normal. I got her at 8 weeks from a rescue foster home. She was the last one there and they had two litters. She was very shy, but I took her anyway as it was 2020 and I was having a hard time finding a non-pit bull puppy during covid, and I figured she’d grow out of it. She has not, although she has become a perfectly functional dog, currently 3 years old.

She’s okay out in public as long as other people are just minding their own business and ignoring her. If someone looks at her, reaches for her or just notices her too much, she’ll move away or bark at them. I tried to train this out by having strangers give her treats, but that just made her look for a treat then back off or bark. She’s never shown any indications that she’d bite, thank goodness.

I put her in a puppy class ASAP to try to help (she was also scared of other dogs as well as people). The puppy class was the only in person one I could find in 2020 and was with an agility trainer. I’ve continued taking classes with her since then and we’re doing full agility courses now with other students who are actively competing. My dog is fine with the people and dogs in our classes and agility gives her confidence. I think she could handle competing. She’s a very situational thinker - agility people/dogs are fine, cashiers in stores are fine because they have treats, people in parks or stores are fine unless they look at her too much, the vet’s office is something to endure in misery.

I love her and she’s a good dog, but if I had to do it over again knowing what I know now, I would have passed on her and kept looking for a more outgoing puppy.

[GoodTimes]

I think it really depends on what exactly you need and expect from the dog.
My sister has a lab who is well bred from a reputable breeder, but was extremely timid as a pup, as in full body shaking and hiding. Enough so that the breeder chose not to breed the bitch again, even though the rest of the litter seemed fine and went to hunting and field trial homes.
My sister’s dog is five now and is a wonderful dog. But she’s nervous around strangers, and can’t take much pressure. But she’s a great dog for my sister, they live semi-rural and know all of their neighbours, they were careful with introductions so no issues there. They go to a public club for hiking and mountain biking and she’s fine with that, listens well and sticks close to my sister. She was very carefully broke to gunfire so she’s good with that.
But she’s definitely a dog that could have developed serious issues with the wrong person or the wrong (for her) training methods.

[Dr_Doolittle]

From a dog trainer’s perspective I agree with the other posters (temperament is innate and anxiety is the most difficult issue to deal with in dogs - there can always be improvement, but the problem will never completely resolve); I would pass on this puppy.

[MadTrotter]

@GoodTimes

can’t take much pressure

Bingo. Some just can’t deal with any stress.

We had a very well bred GSD from Czech working lines, but she was a fearful pup. The breeder thought she would do fine because she knew my other dog and thought the pup would gain confidence.

Unfortunately, I had a really hard time socializing her when I first got her, I took her with me everywhere and on more than one occasion, she defecated in public out of sheer fear.

She was also terrified of thunderstorms until the day she died. As in, if she was outside and heard a boom of thunder, she would take off running in blind panic for miles. She also had to be tranq’d for vet visits,

I trusted her 100% on her turf and with people she knew, she was very kind to my kiddo and other animals, but any time she was out of her element she froze or bolted.

[Mosey_2003]

I would never knowingly choose to saddle myself with temperament and behavior problems for the next possibly 15 years. Coming from the trenches of being saddled currently. It makes me honestly question if I want a dog at all. That’s not what dog life is supposed to be like.

There are millions of puppies out there.

[Bicoastal]

Pass, pass, pass! All puppies are cute. This puppy needs help, maybe that tugs at your heart more. Not your problem.

Filter out the puppy cuteness. See it as an adult you need to do sports. Would you buy it? Heck no!

Pass!

[altermetoday]

Thanks for all of the feedback… I did pass on the puppy. For now, I’m sticking with my two that I have now but am casually looking for the right mix. I may wait till next year which is fine. No rush. I compete in several dog sports and my oldest dog is going to be 8 early next year. I don’t think she will be running forever and want her to be comfortable. We may dial back over the next couple years to levels I think is appropriate for her body and hopefully the next pup will be coming up to fill her shoes as it matures to an age that it can compete.