Timid/Shy puppies

[LHunter82FXRS]

Hello, I have a question, and if it is not in the correct place please move it. From what I have read, it says that when getting a puppy you should avoid overly shy/timid puppies, because they could grow up fearful and weak nerved. I was just wondering what do breeders do when they have a very shy pup in the litter? How do they determine where it goes? What, if any, efforts are done early on to combat the shyness?
Thanks.

[lhczth]

I have never faced the shy/timid issue, but I had a pup in my very first litter that was a bit odd at 7 weeks. He would grab clothes and just start sucking on them, totally avoiding any other stimuli. I kept him, socialized him, worked him, dragged him everywhere until he outgrew the behavior. He was 3 months old by that point. So, I would keep the pup and work with it until I felt it could go into a suitable home.

[selzer]

I thought that Whitney was overly shy, I kept her. It was a mistake. She was titled at about a year old at the IX center in Cleveland which is about the busiest show I have ever been to. Three days, three legs, no problems and she got her CGC before with no issues. I imagine I made the decision when people came to view the puppies the day after they were vaccinated and Whitney seems to be affected by vaccinations more than the others.

[amjrchamberlain]

I agree with Lisa. I've worked with puppies (and adults) that were shy/timid. It takes a lot of work, consistency, and perseverance, but it *usually* pays off.

What would others (breeders) suggest if a puppy didn't grow through the shyness? Keep forever? PTS? Place in a home that promises to continue the process of socialization, tranining, and modification? Curious to see the answers...

[debbiebrown]

lets look at the other side of this. what if a puppy was not showing any shyness/timidness in the litter then later on at 4 months and at a year still showed timidness some fearfulness after total socialization, classes, all positive interactions, etc. obviously even if a pup showed confidence early, things can change for the worst even if things are done right. i could see if there wasn't any socialization, training, etc.

Have any of you breeders had a situation with a puppy that showed confidence early and then displayed these charactoristics later on even with socialization, training etc? would this just be a freak thing?

debbie

[cliffson1]

This is a loaded question because you must establish (for discussion purposes) if the shyness is genetic. If you are breeding strong genetic (temperament) stock and you come across the infrequent shy puppy, then many of the things that have been posted by others can occurr. The puppy may grow out of it, if put with family with children and in house often this puppy blossoms,intense socializations sometimes brings the puppy out,etc. Now if the socialization is genetics, I DONT HAVE AN ANSWER!. I have a good friend who is an American Showline breeder and she is estatic if she get one puppy in a litter that has working temperament. The majority of her puppies always have the worried look in their eys, loud noises startle them, and anything discomforting makes them place their tail under their stomach. (I have not, nor would I own, a dog that demonstrates that behavoir, even my 8 week puppies if they meet something overwhelming don't run around with their tail tucked under their stomach),this is so un German shepherd!
My point is that my friend's dogs almost never grow up to lose these behavoirs as adult dogs. I have seen many of them in ideal homes as adults and as soon as they are off of their property or new people come to their homes you still see this unsettling behavoir that does not decrease. So, in the first case if the genetics are strong and you have this type behavoir I have seen recovery with strong socialization, training, and good homes. With the genetic predispostion, I have found in the majority of the cases the dogs as adults exhibit the same behavoir because genetics don't change with socialization or training.JMO

[cliffson1]

the other thing that I notice alot with people that are breeding genetically weak dogs. There is always an excuse for the puppies behavoir. The dog was abused, cat scared it when it was 4 weeks, 600 pound man stepped on their foot when puppy, another older dog scared them when small, public works trash truck frightened them when he came in the yard to pick up trash.....whew I have seen some creative reasons why these puppies/dogs are so timid, but she still believes that she breeds good GS temperament, its just the circumstances always seem to happen.

[LHunter82FXRS]

I should have clarified...When I thought of this question I was directing it to the breeders on this forum. Who breed strong, stable dogs that have no genetic predisposition to shyness or weak nerves. I was thinking of the off chance that even with two stable parents, a shy pup is produced. What is done then?

[selzer]

Arwen is soft, but not shy. Dubya was hard. In the second litter were Heidi, Whitney, and Tori.

Practically at birth I knew I was keeping Heidi. I was not wrong, she is confident, beautiful, everything I could hope for.

Whitney I chose to keep because she seemed shy -- already mentioned. She if fine now.

Tori was the most confident, working personality in the bunch. The obedience trainer said she should have gone to a working home. I gave her to my brother. By end of puppy classes they were asking about special collars and alpha rolls. Then they gave her back to me, said she was defiant (about house training), and too interested in the cats.

Tori may have weak nerves. She may have had a vaccine related fearfullness. I really do not know. I do not believe my brother deliberately did anything to hurt that dog. She has never been abused.

She will be three in August. She has a CGC and a Rally title, but I will never breed her. She is actually really good outside of my home. She has no dog aggression, is good with cats, is great at the vets.

At home though, she is a barracuda in her kennel or crate if someone other than me is in the yard, snarling, barking, bared teeth -- scarey junk yard dog.

If I open the kennel door she comes out and goes to the opposite part of the yard from where me and the stranger is. Eventually, if we totally ignore her she will come over and sniff. She acts like a complete weenie.

When the mobile vet came over, I gave them Tori first, they took her to the van and groomed her without issues. I decided to crate them all afterwards so they could dry properly before going back outside. EVERY TIME the groomers came into the room where she was crated, Tori looked like she would have a stroke.

Tori is a nice bitch, loyal and loving to me, but she is not wired correctly. Babs, Jenna, Whitney, and Heidi are ok.

Tori will stay with me until one of us dies. If that is me, than Tori will be euthanized. She cannot go into a shelter environment and be gassed.