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My crapshoot puppy


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We've had Indy for almost 2 weeks now. We brought her home at 8 weeks. She was the shy/timid one in the back of the room, exploring on her own, a bit withdrawn. Which is fine, honestly. She has warmed up to our family and adores the old lady, our 13 year old lab. The lab tolerates her, but doesn't put up with too much either. She has become more patient with puppy antics, and Indy responds to her signals when enough is enough. Good news is she LOVES kids, is open to meeting any dog with a friendly demeanor, and accepting of most adults too. She was a little afraid of men at first, but we seem to be past that. When we're out and about, people think she is a mellow dog, but really she is just so busy taking things in she doesn't play and rough house the way people are accustomed to, which again, is fine :)

 

Right now, leash training is the struggle. She is afraid of vehicles between the movement and the noise. We can't walk because she huddles in the grass or next to a fence/building and won't go on. We've been using lots of rewards, but it hasn't improved much. She walks along just fine when our lab comes with, but man goodness, it's not easy to walk those two together! I think we're on the right track, I guess time will tell!

 

Oh and we've got sit, down, stand, and she chases rollers with the disc. This week we focus on recall.

 

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If I had a 10 week old puppy who was displaying that much fear I would absolutely not force her to go walking in those places. You may be overloading her, and it could have the opposite result from what you want - instead of becoming accustomed to the noise and movement she could develop a long-term fear.

 

I would take her someplace that is quiet and work on leash walking there, or do it in your own back yard, and not ask her to return to the noisy places for a few weeks, after she has the leash walking down pat.

 

It may be that she will be better able to handle it by then, but I would introduce her back to the noise as gradually as possible, only exposing her to it for one minute at first and building up gradually so that she can build up a tolerance for it rather than being bombarded daily.

 

Also, and of course you may fully know this already, I would not be saying things to her like "it's ok, don't worry" in a consoling tone of voice, because that simply tells the dog there's something to be afraid of. I would instead be very matter of fact and upbeat once you re-expose her to the traffic, and most importantly, limit the exposure to only one minute or less at first.

 

Best of luck.

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I will take that advice and use it! My lab was an easy pup and the last BC was a 2yr old shelter adoption with reactivity problems. I know sensitivities and quirks are part of it and just want to give her the best chance at it. My dogs have always been running buddies so I don't want to mess this part up.

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She sounds like she is doing great!

 

Two weeks is a blink of the eye, and she has already accomplished so much in that time. Remember that. She is still a huge baby.

 

I agree with D'Elle 100%. Her advice was the first thing that popped into my head when I read your post. Remember, she was/is a bit timid, and she is still a baby. Don't overload her. She is trying soooo hard.

 

My confident puppy (now 4 years old) was surprisingly timid when I took him to puppy class at about 10-11 weeks old. 4-5 weeks later, he was a very brave soul and has been very confident since.

 

Often they just need some time to mature. It is never a bad thing to step back a bit when they show that they are frightened. At this age, they often 'grow' out of it if given time.

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