Hi , i have 1 puppy left and just had a lady come out to see him and my puppy would not go near her, she fell in love with him but he was terrified, he is such a timid shy little thing. I had a lady come yesterday to look at 2 pups and my other pup sold himself. I think im going to have problems selling this pup as he is so frightened with strangers. He is fine in my home and gives lots of cuddles, not sure what to do, any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

I would get him out carry him around to socialise him let strangers gently stroke him and cuddle him if possible ... invite friends around to meet him ...have you had him vet checked??

Yes he has be vet checked, i do carry him around the park with me when i take mum, he even gets scared being in the garden when a dog barks, i am now thinking of maybe taking him to puppy classes but it means holding on to him abit longer, he is 10 weeks old.

How is he with house noises too?

As well as carrying him around and doing some socialising as already suggested, particularly in the garden, shut the door so that he can not run in the house, and sit on the paving/decking/grass with him, playing with a toy or some food, so that when he hears a dog bark a bang or anything that spooks him, let him see that you do not react, sit calmly don't fuss him or be protective, by all means allow him to run to you as he should, but just say in a nice happy go lucky voice, hi puppy, and play.

He is reacting very sensibly, a dog barking could mean attack, a bang or strange noise could mean danger so he is acting on his instincts, the other pups should have all given him the security to not be afraid as one pup will always investigate and the others will then follow, for some reason he has not gained the confidence he should, the worst thing you can do is fuss him, the best is to stay upbeat and happy as though there are no worries about anything, spend a lot of time with him aswell as other family members, hopefully this will help him to realise he is not in danger and he will relax more.

Hi Carrington, he is scared of things like the hoover, hairdryer, dogs barking in the garden etc. I have just taken him for a ride in the car and he cried all the way and back again.
All my pups have gone now, apart from the one im keeping, he always seem to be a bit of a loner when i had other pups but he would play with them for a bit then take himself off to bed while others were playing. I didnt realise he was this scared until someone came to view him today, he wouldnt even take a treat of her. When other people came to look at my pups they always ran to greet them so i didnt really notice how timid he was until they've all gone. I have just taken him to my brothers whom he has never seen before and he wasnt too bad, alittle scared but not as bad as today, not sure if he just didnt like this lady but she was real friendly. This little pup was mine and my daughters favourite, now im thinking that maybe its my fault for giving him too much love, as he always wants cuddles, but hes so cute i cant say no, anyway i will give it ago with what you said, he actually loves it in the garden so shouldnt be too hard.

hi was he one of the smallest in the litter? he may have been bullied by his litter mates, try and ignore his winging and his clinging, and try and take his mind of the situation through play in the garden he may think he is going to be eaten when he hears the dog barking ignore him in the car when he cries no matter how hard it is otherwise you could be making a rod for your own back or someone elses, if there is no improvement in his behaviour another trip to the vet may be in order incase there is an underlining problem,it could be that he just did not like this lady i would personally keep him on for as long as it takes to build up his confidence  it could be he is just not ready to go and face his new world, when he has had his vacs take him to a training class for a while so he can get use toother dogs, people etc it shall do him the world of good and you shall be able to get a lot of help and advice from the trainers, all the best of luck to you and your pup.

Hi , i have 1 puppy left and just had a lady come out to see him and my puppy would not go near her, she fell in love with him but he was terrified, he is such a timid shy little thing. I had a lady come yesterday to look at 2 pups and my other pup sold himself. I think im going to have problems selling this pup as he is so frightened with strangers. He is fine in my home and gives lots of cuddles, not sure what to do, any advice would be appreciated.
You need to get him to associate strangers with nice things. So don't get strangers to pat him etc just yet unless he shows confidence (as pushing it too far could backfire) but do take him out and about in arms and get people to visit your house. Take things at his pace - he must be comfortable and not pushed too far or he could go right backwards.

Take extra tasty food out with you and when strangers appear give him some of it. Its called classical conditioning - getting pup used to strangers = nice things :)

When people visit, get them to firstly ignore him, and then to drop food on the floor. If he loves games/toys, get them to gently start to play with the toy and then roll a ball or his fav. toy gently past him. If you are lucky, he may start to play with the stranger and his toy. Never let people overdo it, err on the side of caution but do expose him to people every day if you can, even if its just a walk in arms along the road.

Re puppy classes - badly run ones, of which there are too many, can make things worse. I'd suggest looking at www.puppyschool.co.uk and possibly www.apdt.co.uk but do go along first and check out the classes. Check out the puppyschool website for the sort of criteria which makes a good pup class :) and don't leave it too long as spaces get taken fast ...good luck!

oh yes do your homework on the good and bad puppy training classes look for maybe an accredited training club with the k.c all the beat.

sorry i meant all the best with your training but i put in my last post all the beat sorry my eyes are going.

Took my other 11 week old pup to puppy classes today and he loved it, he did really well for his first time, anyway i now want to take my other little timid pup, tried him on the lead today and he will not walk at all, sat his bum on the floor and would not budge, tried his hardest to try and escape off the collar, he pulled his head back, he jumped, just didnt like it one bit, so before i can take him to puppy classes i need to get him used to the lead, my other pup is no problem walking on the lead, even tried walking in front and offered him a treat, he just sat there, any suggestions would be grateful.

let him run around with the lead on but dont pick it up try it in the garden play with a toy or food he likes then when he has forgotten about the lead pick it up for a few moment then let it go again.

I dont really worry about a puppy and the lead if you can train him without it ie walking to heel and recall why worry?
as he gets older he will be so excited to go out he will be begging you to put it on!

At training when I have a pup I do a lot of training off lead if you are the best thing since sliced bread and they cant take thier eyes of you, you dont actually need it.

Im no expert, but I do have a timid dog here (she is over a year old) and can see what it is like to have a dog like this.  I have contacted many people (on here, and with other people and trainers) and can offer some suggestions as to what they have said.  I did try it with the dog I have here, and it helped some. 

1) when a person comes to you, asking to pet your dog, shake the persons hand first, and lead the persons hand down to the pup.  So your hand is also there, and he feels confident about you, and will show interest.

2) take him out, but keep the lessons short.  If you overwhelm him, it could make him shut down

3) have different people give him treats.

4) let him go up to people, but have the person ignore him until he does.  Dont force an issue.  

About the carrying thing, the only thing I see wrong with that, is that the dog doesnt learn to live at "his level".  I see this with toy dogs, that the dogs are always up in the persons arms, and when you put them on the ground, they dont know how they are supposed to react.  Seeing a person from 5 feet off the ground, compared to 10 inches off the ground, the later could be scary to them.  Yes, there are times when you need to carry the pup, but I wouldnt do it too much.  If he is nervous as well, in your arms about strangers, than he also doesnt have a way to escape.  So the reaction could be a snap (since its either fight or flight, and you took the flight option away).