[Calipso]

I have a gsd female that was given to me as a gift. Come to find out, she was taken from the litter at 5 weeks which of course was not a good idea. As a result, she was very timid for the first week or so. Fortunately, I have another puppy, a 5 month fox terrier, which has become her playmate and companion and has helped with her socialization.

Over the weeks, Sugar, now 10 weeks old, has become increasingly adventurous and curious about the outside world and enjoys playing outdoors with her playmate. This is much different from when she first arrived. However I have noticed that she is reluctant to be petted and goes into a full panic mode when held. But on the flip-side, she whines loudly when I leave alone to play with her companion for extended periods of time. I really don't understand this. She has not been abused and receives a great deal of attention since I work out of my house. I've owned a number of puppies of both big and small breeds over the years and I'm puzzled by her behavior. Is this some sort of phase peculiar to gsd's?

 

[tibvixie101]

Bear went through a phase like this for the first few weeks we had him. He only wanted to be pet on his terms, and hated to be picked up, he would wrestle and scream out like he was being murdered! But it turned out he was just seeing how courageous he could be. He was very into exploring when he went through this phase, so it could just be him trying to figure out his independence. Now hes our biggest lap dog! definatley a velco buddy! LoL

 

[shepherdbydesign]

See this is what happens when a pup leave their breeders kennel to soon. We socialize the **** out of our pups. I even work handling them by rolling them over and rubbing thier bellies from a couple of weeks old whether they want it or not. And then by the time they are ready to go they don't have these issues. If sugar has a problem with being petted than sugar needs more of that whether she wants it or not and she will come to enjoy it. Most of all our pups don't leave until 10 weeks old, I feel that it make a more social pup without issues. Take her out in public and car rides as much as you can possibly do. Good luck with her.

 

[Calipso]

Sugar hates the car. She screams the entire time she's in one.

What I have been doing is rolling her over on her back and rubbing her tummy. She's seems tolerant of that. Over the last couple of days, I have been picking her up and praising her, then setting her down and giving her a treat as a reward. I'm hoping she'll begin to associate being handled with reward.

 

[big_dog7777]

I have gotten a puppy too young (4.5 weeks) from a borderline BYB, and I have gotten a puppy from a well run breeder that does everything right (at 11 weeks old). Yes, the puppy that stayed with the breeder and was socialized properly was much better off and easier to deal with, but this is in no way mean your pup cannot grow into an affectionate member of you family. You just have to do the work that the breeder should have. Socialize the heck out of her and work on making her understand that being touched is a positive thing. Give treats and touch all parts of her body. Heck, I'd hand feed her for a while and for every bite she has to let you gently touch her.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Originally Posted By: CalipsoSugar hates the car. She screams the entire time she's in one.

What I have been doing is rolling her over on her back and rubbing her tummy. She's seems tolerant of that. Over the last couple of days, I have been picking her up and praising her, then setting her down and giving her a treat as a reward. I'm hoping she'll begin to associate being handled with reward.

Absolutely, you're on the right track! I got Chama at 5 weeks and she had been living under a shed with her litter mates and had been handled very little. She warmed up very quickly though. Just be patient and take it at her pace. Be careful not to push her over her comfort level and keep everything positive. I bet she'll be a big love bug in no time!

 

[Spiritsmam]

I'm going through a similar thing with Eli at the moment. I've had him 2 weeks now and he is doing well in a lot of respects - comes when calls, has very few accidents, goes to his crate when asked etc. he is terrible about being touched, especially his feet. Having hindlimb deformities he finds standing hard at the moment and from time to time will urinate on himself - resulting in a bath. Boy if you could hear him protest (I'm certain my neighbours can!). As the days are passing Eli does seem to be improving, so I'm hopeful that this is just a "phase" that he'll grow out of.

 

[onyx'girl]

Just posted this website on another thread It is a way of training through relaxaing circular motion touch http://www.TTouch.com, very interesting!