Fearful puppy or just too young

[gsmom]

I have been taking Kaya to my son's bus stop.
She cries to go back home, whether on leash or carrying her.
Also, twice she has barked at people as they approached us.
She is only 9 weeks and a cry-baby as it is.
What do you think? Is it too much too soon?

[southernfiction]

Maybe she's intimidated by the great big yellow bus. I drove a school bus for five years. What's inside them would scare anybody. And she is just a baby, like you figured.

[Stosh]

Maybe too much too soon.

[s14roller]

Try not to overwhelm her with too much going on at once. Get her socialized with many people at the house, then start taking her to bus stops, walking around the house, strip malls, etc.

She's probably showing fear at the young age...I think mine showed similar things up until 6 months...she approaches people much faster and willingly now at 8 months...

[s14roller]

Also - as she's still small, remember that it's the perfect time to introduce to people so she can socialize. I would bring her to places like Petco, etc., where there will be dog ppl who will come up and pet her (positive experiences to build confidence). You'll find in a few months, people are less inclined to come up to you since your GSD will be a bit larger by then...

[Lucy Dog]

Why are you carrying her?

[Witz]

You need to read the pup's body language and protect her. Introduce everything slowly and watch for her reaction. Negative experiences as a pup can take a long time to reverse. They get stronger as they mature if they are not pushed. If she reacts, then determine whether it was just an initial startling and then she calms down, then she is being exposed without negative reaction.

My trainer has always said that we, the caretakers of our dogs are responsible to protect them as much as we can from negative experiences, no matter the breeding or how tough we think they should be. He should know as he has trained 100's of dogs in his lifetime in Schutzhund.

To answer your question, both, a young dog who is not comfortable with a stimulus will exhibit fear.

[Jack's Dad]

They are all a little different as pups but I would guess too much too soon.
I would not however take her to Petco. She hasn't had all her puppy shots and is still vulnerable. Also in Petco you can walk around a corner and be greeted by a not so friendly adult dog.
You might try taking her where she can view people and dogs from a distance until she is more comfortable. Still have to be careful until puppy shots are done. A class would be good. They don't always have to have all their shots for some classes as lon as all the pups in the class have verification of the shots they have so far.

Good luck.

[gsmom]

Thanks for your help. I am backing off for now. The only reason I carried her was because she refused to move on the leash and loves to be picked up. Today she did great with new people and took a car ride and barely cried. She is now playing nicely with my other dog today too. I have to remember she is just a baby.

[MY_AMAZING_ABBY]

Hey I'm experiencing a similar problem I just got abby 2 days ago she's 15 weeks old the first day was very hard because of taking her from her mother today she came around but she won't walk outside she won't walk on the leash I carried her outside to get hero the area maybe shell walk on her own but nothing...I'm affraid that's she's so scared I out her at night in her crate with the door open today she ate a lot and she drank a lot of water not like the first day she would walk around the house on her own sniffing the place but when i want her to go even on her own she won't budge some advice will be great..