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New puppy, is this normal?

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  evgram 
#1 ·
I have a new german shepherd puppy. His name is Apollo, he is 14 weeks old, and has been with me for three days. He was kept with his litter mates until I got him. He hadn't been introduced to a leash or crate before I got him, but seems to have taken well to both. He doesn't pull much on a leash, typically follows me around with occasional pulls when he wants to go the other way. I tempted him into his crate and his outside dog house with treats, and he seems perfectly fine with both and will get in both of them to lay on his own. He is locked in the crate inside the house at night when it's time for bed. He whines a bit at first, but settles without much trouble.
My worries are that when he's inside and even in his pen outside, he doesn't seem to have a lot of energy or want to play much with toys. I have an assortment of toys for him: squeaky ones, rope toys, and balls. He plays a little but doesn't play much. He typically doesn't care if I have a toy and am trying to play. I'm his favorite person around, but he doesn't always come to me when I call and talk sweet to him. He sometimes even takes no interest when I have treats to tempt him. He will sometimes nose at treats but walk away when I try to get him to do something for them. Occasionally he will lay down across the room and look at me when I'm trying to call him to me. He is also shy around new people. He barks when someone unknown comes into my room, yet other than that doesn't show aggression, but neither wants them to touch him. He will run away when they bend down to try and pet him and doesn't want to come near to even sniff.
Is this normal? Is he simply adjusting to my home? Will he outgrow his shyness? Or is this part of his personality? Is there something I should be doing differently?

Thanks in advance,
worried new puppy mom
 

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#2 ·
Definitely normal, your pup will take a few weeks (possibly longer because he was with his littermates for as long as he was) to adjust to his new home. Take this time to bond with him, I know with my girl I did a lot of hand feeding her so she got used to me, try to make his life as easy as possible for that time. Simple training, nothing too fancy, and definitely no corrections. Lots of fun, let him know this new place is awesome, and he'll do just fine. In no time at all, you'll be wishing he was as simple and easy going as he is now lol. He's absolutely beautiful btw, congrats on your new pup
 
#3 ·
It is probably a good idea to sign him up for classes now.

Another idea is to keep him on leash next to you for a week or so. All the time, unless you are at work or at school. Teach him appropriate behavior in the kitchen, teach him to settle when you are on your computer, watch TV with him relaxed next to you.

Also get out there and do stuff with him. Take him for walks, and don't give him a lot of alone time in the pen. Don't get me wrong, I think all dogs ought to have a secure place they can be when you can't watch them and they may get into trouble in the house. But he is used to being with his dam and littermates 24/7. Outside alone is absolutely no fun when you are bored and lonely. You need to create a bond with him, and the best way is to be right with him. In this instance quantity does trump quality of time. Once he feels confident with you, he will probably feed off of your confidence when meeting the people you are around a lot.
 
#4 ·
Thank you both for the advice! He seems to be settling in just fine now and playing with me pretty well, although he's still shy around new people. I have him signed up to start training classes this weekend and I'm hoping those go well. I've also decided to start leashing him and walking him at parks and taking him to walk around in stores that allow dogs that way he will start getting used to strangers and grow accustomed to some people petting him.
 
#5 ·
Sounds like he hasn't met enough people where he grew up. He looks worried in your picture. Maybe he the camera looking at him too intently? Why did they adopt them out so late? What did they experience t the breeder? Make him associate new people with good stuff; play with him in the presence of people, have them feed him (your) treats. Avoid putting pressure on him in meeting others. At this age you can still correct some of this shyness but a lot depends on how you do it and on his genes. Get a good trainer involved very soon to make use f this impressionable time frame.
 
#10 ·
The picture I put was the day after I got him from the breeder so I would say he was still cautious of me then. He has definitely warmed up quite a bit. With his breeder he was left mostly with litter mates and wasn't socialized well at all from what I can tell. I'm hoping he overcomes the shyness. And thanks for the good association advice, I'll definitely have to use that!
 
#8 ·
Why was he kept with his littermates until 14 weeks? Why were his littermates not picked up before 14 weeks? I would go everywhere with him and just have fun with him, throw a ball let him chase it. You can build drive.
I've had puppies together at 14 weeks, without any problems. My last two went at 8 months old, and they didn't have any problems going into their new homes. Sometimes breeders hold puppies back for one reason or another, and home them later. Kojak was 12 weeks old when he was shipped to me. No problems.
 
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