I have a 8 week old litter. Recently when outside playing I call all in and he does not come. He will run off to play while everyone else listens and comes in. Should I be training him right now with treats to come as he does not follow the lead of others? I will leave him out alone to see if he then realizes hey I am alone. But go out to find him happily playing.

I wouldn't call him anti-social. I'd say a bit more independent. Yes, start training with treats.

Do dogs get autism?

To Breeder who asked if dogs get Autism.
A few years ago we wanted te rescue a dog ,went to a shelter and the kids fell in love with a young female chocolate lab(but i'm sure she was mixed) she was calm almost to calm ,we decided to take her .On the trip back i noticed stranged things about her,first she wouldn't wag her tail,second ,she never looked anyone inthe eyes,her head would go right and left.At home the same,so i started to really test her,with noise ,different toys ,people we even had a chain saw,weird i know but we wanted to see some degree of awareness etc...nothing .The only thing that made her move were kids running and cars .So i called the shelter and asked them if they ran some test on her ,they said that they didn't have time for that only for the spay .For my own peace of mind i called my vet who referred me to another vet more specialized.Well the minute she saw her she knew but ran test on her to make sure.She had autism and she was deaf.That was a long time ago but i willnever forget it.

Take him into a veterinarian and have him tested for deafness....you state that when you CALL, he doesn't respond like the other puppies. Always rule out medical reasons for serious behavior changes before treating the behavior problem, especially at this young age. You can also try clapping your hands near him to see if he responds.

He probably just wants to play "chase me". That's a game humans shouldn't play with dogs (along with tug of war and keep away)! Seems there's always at least one in every litter. I feed their meal when they come back in so they usually are very anxious to come when called, but if someone hangs out, I just close the door and wait a few minutes. Then I open it and call again. Usually the lagger comes right in, but if he doesn't, I just repeat the process. I don't even step outside. Eventually the lonely pup does come inside. If you don't play the game, it isn't fun! Good luck!

A friend of mine had a very independent pup- played by himself and didn't seem to need much interaction with people as a pup. He won the National Retriever championship a number of years ago. Independence is not necessarily bad if the pup is otherwise normal.

My little singleton here is quite independent. She's not as people-oriented as I would like at this point, but I think it's because she got 100% of the attention with no littermates, and she didn't have to compete for attention, so takes it for granted. She loves people, though, so it's not what was described as the "autistic" dog, just a puppy who can take care of herself LOL.

There is a wide variation in personalities. A couple of years ago, I had 2 litters 2 months apart. In the first litter, it was a race to see which puppy could get to the edge of the whelping box first to greet people. In the second litter, a couple of puppies came to the side of the box while the others hung back and one even retreated to the farthest corner of the box. All puppies grew up to be normal adults. There is a very big normal range.

I've enjoyed reading this thread. I currently have 2 10 week old males that have night and day differences in their personalities, from birth. One is bold, jumps up, barks, bites, wags his tail non-stop and loves life and everything thing about it. The other is quiet, is interested in things but prefers to watch, observe and ponder. The two pups remind me of the story of Ferdinand the Bull. The "wild" pup is one of the fighting bulls and the "quiet" one is Ferdinand who preferred to sit under the cork oak tree and smell the flowers.

Try spending some one on one time with this pup. I had a pup that preferred to "do his own thing" and I admired it for a while. (these pups are only 7 weeks now.) but when I took them out to play he wouldn't come in with the others - like yours. He even avoided me - knowing he would be put away I guess. Well, 2 nights ago I let him into the house for a while, watched him, pet him quietly when he came near and held him a few times while stroking him and talking softly to him. I tell you he is a different boy now: He knows his name, comes and wags his tail when I call and walks past me back and forth like there is no problem. I'm convinced that the one on one time changed his mind about humans!

I am the owner of a once antisocial pup. During visits to the breeder I never witnessed him interacting with his littermates and he did not interact with me either. The other pups were fighting for attention but he was off doing his own thing. He was not timid/shy...just seemed to have his own agenda sniffing and exploring. Once home he was not any different. If I was in one room he would retire to another. If we were outside he would run off on his own..this was at 8/9 weeks. I was heartbroken that a little pup wanted nothing to do with me. He never ran to greet me and didn't wag his tail...he seem intent to stalk and explore the outside world. I almost returned him to the breeder. :( I started what I called wag therapy...wagging his tail for him. I smothered him with affection and got him into obedience classes thinking it would help us to bond. I can't believe how this boy turned out. He is the smartest, most dedicated, snuggly lovey boy! He adores me! I wouldn't trade him for anything!!
I really believe that he might have something like autism. I think the breeder did a great job placing him in a calm home where he would get one on one attention. I really believe it is why he turned out so well.