I have a 3 mth old female lab pup which I kept out of my litter who's very shy around people. Does any one have any helpfull ideas for me? Once she's familar with whomever she's your typical pup. I left her with my neighbors for a hour today & had to get her out from under there shed.......ugh. I've never had a shy pup! I started taking her to puppy class & I try to take her to Agway or Petco for socialization but that all just seems to be temperary doesn't have a lasting affect. Help!

Continue to take her places to socialize her, ask people to give her treats and to pet her. The transformation may not happen overnight, but don't give up. Even if she doesn't work out for you, she'll need the exposure for whatever her life may end up to be.

Don't reward shy behavior with any attention. When you try to reassure ("don't worry, it's ok") the dog interprets it as that there really is something to worry about. Another thing you can do is take a "bombproof" dog along.

Yes, I agree Nancy, they look to us for cues and for reassurance. If we just say "come on" and act normal, they figure all is well in their world. I retired a female to a pet home a year or so ago and like her dad, she didn't care much for storms. She never shook or shivered or whined, she just wanted to go off and sleep under a desk, or in the bathroom, just like her sire. The lady called me during a week of almost daily storms and said she was concerned. I asked what she was doing in response to the dog wanting to go off and mind her own business. The woman was using a baby voice and trying to reassure her and coax her, you know, "it's ok baby," etc. I explained exactly what you've said here and voila, things were fine.

I have to say, I have seen a little more of this shyness in pups lately. This is one of those things that you wish the stud dog owner could tell you. When you notice the same dog with pups from different bit..s that are a little afraid at first, it makes you wonder. Do you think we don't report things like this back to the stud dog owners enough or do you think they know it. I am just not use to it. I like the pups that go out and arn't afraid of anything and never meet a stranger. This is going from shows and talk with friends with pups. More efford to socialize them. Classes, pet stores, etc.

Thanks will keep working on it! I have hope since she's only 3mths

I have noticed certain stud dogs that seem to be behind most of the dogs that I've heard breeders talking about being insecure or shy or otherwise requiring constant socialization as pups.

One more thing to blame a stud dog for. The "blame" for shyness could very well be due to the combination of both parents, not just one. I don't mean to flame anyone here, but you always seem to hear all the "bad" is always the stud dog's fault.

I have a stud dog and I hate to hear complaints about just the dogs, but I have got to say with the ones I know the bitc..s have already had litters and very outgoing pups. Not talking just one or two litters. Some of these boys get used alot and you get to collect alot of knowledge on them. Good or bad. It just takes more time to deal with an insecure pup. Know alot will have to give up and let a very nice dog go to a quite pet home.

What I mention is two dogs *in particular* not a generality. Furthermore, with most of the dogs in question, they go back through the bitch line to these dogs, so you could call it their dam's problem, not their sire's.

Just as an example, and he's not related to what I'm talking about, my soft boy's softness comes directly from his dam. He's socialized to all heck, and so was she, but she was a heck of a lot worse than he is.

I think sometimes it's easy to blame the stud; but it's also easier to trace a problem TO a stud as he's generally used on more bitches. A bitch might be bred 4 or 5 times in her life, but a dog might be bred 4 or 5 times in a month.

Touch a sore point?????

I too disagree most the time with the 'blame the stud dog' routine. I don't care which side it comes from, the b9tch or the dog, there are LINES out there that do more often than not produce shy puppies. I got involved with one early on and have fought it for over a decade now, I have finally begun to weed it out and regularly have outgoing puppies.

Purina also did a temperment study, they took their colony's generations out 10x and still was producing fear agression.

So like it or not, there are boys that can produce shyness, just as there are b0tches that can and YES it is inherited (barring environmental factors of extreme neglect or abuse to bring it on).

No, but do you also moderate?????

You said two different stud dogs. And that is really what I am talking about right now. Sure they must be different ones. The two I am talking are two different colors also. Not related to each other at all. Which I guess is good. And no that is something I really don't want in my lines. So after hearing some discussion, I may need to rethink a female pup I have. It would be like any other problem trying to breed it out. Anyone else notice more of this. Just not the Lab happy temperment.

Puppies sometimes go through a shy period but
should always come out of it by 6mo. I raise
and socialize all my puppies the same way and
even they don't get out a lot, I can take them
to a show and they are so happy they almost
get wild on me:))

As far as heriditary shyness, absolutely!
Same as aggression or any other temperment
problems. I know, I bred to one! And what
a disapointment that was:(( I kept 3 puppies
until they were almost a year to try and get
them out of it. NOTHING worked. They of
course were placed in a pet home. I got 2
of them back twice because of their temperment.

I never told the stud dog owner. I also never
got and e-mail asking how my litter was????

How come you never contacted the stud dog to let them be aware of how many puppies in your litter had temperament issues ? If the stud dog owner puts his dog out there for all these bitches and no one comes to the stud dog owner to let him know how his dog is producing with various bitches, how is this doing their breeding program any justice ?

It may or may not actually be the stud dog's fault but at least the stud dog owner has a report of each litter he produces and he can make that assessment him or herself.

If a bitch owner sees that there has been a number of puppies in thier litter that has developed, let say, orthopedic problems, they should tactfully tell the stud dog owner without intent to blame but just for information shared about how the 2 dogs produced together. How else is a breeder to know how their dogs & bitches are producing if there isn't a level of honesty on both sides of the breeding ?

This isn't a time for breeders to get defensive when someone comes to them about a problem in their litter when they used their stud dog. It's a time to collect information and do more research on both sides of the pedigree, not put blame on any one dog unneccesarily.

I am sure the stud dog owner knew this already
as he had been bred extensivly in his Country.
I did mention this to the people that were
handling his breedings here in the U.S.

Denial,denial and more denial. I did meet the
stud dog and he seemed to be very sweet.
However, there was no way other than asking,
and I did, what type of temperment he was
producing because that was very very important
to me. It is hard to do research on a dog from
another Country.

Uh oh! There's that word again. You "knew" the stud dog owner knew. If that doesn't sound like an assume I don't know what does.

No excuses please. Please tell the stud dog owner.

That was not an assume! There is NO way they
could have NOT know! Come on..

Please don't start anything, I was just sharing
what happen to me. YOU do not know all the facts
nor do I want to share them with you.

Have a great day..