Would you sell a very nervouse puppy or wait to see if the pup inproves.

I would`nt risk selling a nervous puppy (well could not afford to take that chance in my breed) I would certainly wait.

Is it one you have bred or have bought?

It is one that i have bred from this litter she is 5 weeks old

In what way is she nervous?

Hi Minnie Mouse,

In answer to your first question, no, I would not sell on a nervous puppy.   A nervous puppy has a stressful enough existence without coping with going to a strange environment and strange people and, equally important, new owners deserve better than having to try and cope with a character problem on top of the usual training issues.

That said, as the puppy is only 5 weeks, providing she is from well bred and good tempered parents and you work hard with the ongoing socialising of her, there should be no reason why you cannot turn this around - but you should run her on until such times as you are satisfied she has turned the corner or keep her yourself.  Failing that wait until you have a suitably breed specific experienced home for her that is aware of any issues and keep working with her meantime.

What are the rest of the litter like?
What is she like when mixing with them?
What things is she nervous about?
What socialising have you been doing with them?

Sorry, more Qs than As but all relevant.  Teri :)

Hi Teri The rest are all outgoing,She plays with them sometimes but mainly on her own.When you pick her up and when people come she go's into the cage & stays there. I have friends call also i pick her up a lot more them the rest talk to her tell her how much i love her, she is healthy eats fine but still nervous. what esle can i do.

It may be that she's just overwhelmed by the other pups' boisterousness and will come out of herself if she's on her own or with just one of the other pups, do you separate them from the litter for some one on one?  do you separate them into pairs to play?  Often its easier to see their personalities when they're not in a large group ;)

Do you let her come to you or do you go and pick her up?  Letting her come to you for some tasty smelly treats will build her confidence and teach her that people are nice to be around ;)

Hi again,

Socialising pups isn't only about handling - although that is very important - but she may be concerned about things in the environment, textures of different floor coverings, sights, smells, sounds and even vibrations of ordinary domestic equipment ;)  Is she alright with the vacuum cleaner, washing machine, dishwasher, radio, the toilet flushing, bath running, telephone (call yourself from your mobile during the day if it doesn't ring often ;) ) different channels of the TV such as music, chat shows, thrillers, western movies (LOL - you'll be amazed at the different reactions if you've not done that yet!)

Indoors, I would concentrate on splitting her socialisation into two quite separate categories, (1) where she is individually habituated to things and (2) with one of the bolder pups in the litter.   Sometimes nervousness means the quieter puppy can become overwhelmed by it's more confident siblings and other times it can be over dependent on them.  Try and establish which way (if any) she is more relaxed and confident.  If there is an obvious difference, you will know more easily how to progress.

Make sure you get them out and about too - in the garden is obvious and great for getting used to bird song, wind, people talking in other gardens, hedge cutters, lawn mowers & strimmers etc that neighbours might be using. 

There are lots of things you can do and introduce her to both individually and with a bit of moral support such as her dam or a littermate - but don't let her become completely needy of other canine company.  If you notice this is how she handles things best that's a start, but one that you have to be cautious of too.

If all of this has already been covered by you then let me know and I'll go onto the great outdoors - i.e. outside of the home & garden.  But don't want to either bore you or overwhelm you totally.

They are SUCH hard work - but so worth it!  Regards, Teri ;)

I  had a friend who had a pup that she thought was nervous at 4 weeks old when the new owners were coming to see them.  It wouldn't go anywhere near anybody and quivered away, at 7 weeks old she was the most outgoing and took her breeder a long time to think about selling her at all.  She's in a new home now and a little horror.

It's still early days for your pup and others have said she may just seem a bit overawed by her brothers and sisters, I wouldn't start worrying yet, you'd be surprised how much they can change in a week.  Hope all goes well.

We had a puppy who was just like this at 5 /6 weeks. she stayed at the back of the puppy pen and was always the last to come out for a cuddle etc. We kept her as we were worried about how she would cope and she has turned out to have the best , most laid back temperament of any dog we have owned. She is our Lily who works with me as a PAT dog with autistic youngsters, regularly represents the breed at Discover dogs , greets all visitors with gentle good humour and is simply a joy to live with( and has also won a Res CC in breed to boot :D) It could be that like Lily your pup simply has a quiet nature and is overwhelmed by her more boisterous brothers and sisters. Unfortunately Lily's mum developed epilepsy after the litter so we have never bred on from Lily and she has never had the chance to pass on her fabulous temperament. :(

Yvonne

hi all I have dediced to keep the nervous little girl puppy, she would get to stressed  out going to a new home. Thank you for all your advice i will be taking it.

psht

wat does psht mean mannyg? sorry for sounding dumb lol :)

I posted something innapopriate and i decided to edit it out with a "Psht" , clever huh?