We got a female pup when she was about 6-8 weeks old. She's now four months old and she's not warming up to us. There's no cuddling, kisses, she won't even let us pet her. She always pulls away from us. We have four other dogs, all are inside. She gets along great with the other dogs, they all play together really well. The vet thinks she may be bonding with the other dogs and not us. I can't say this goes on all the time, every now and then I'll get to pet her for a minute or so before she runs away. We just don't know what to do to get this dog to bond with us. This is our third Shepherd and we've never had this trouble with any of our previous dogs, shepherds or otherwise. I'm afraid of the long term effect this may have. Any suggestions?

What i would suggest is spending a lot of time with her individually - training, walking, playing. Make it fun and put emphasis on manners - for example, her sitting before her lead is taken off and she runs off, etc.

Hand feeding her her dinner may help, or using it as a reward in training; and try to find a toy she really loves - most Shepherd types love the Kong on a rope. IMHO it would also be worth taking her to classes (go to www.apdt.co.uk and look for a trainer in your area) and considering at a later stage, agility or obedience for fun - any activity you can do together will help.

Good luck

Lindsay

This can lead to problem as you probably know, were her dam and sire OK and have you spoken to her breeder, if could be they will know the problem and may say something like (oh yes she will grow out of it) and put your mind at rest but if they cant help I'm not sure what to suggest. May be someone who is used to handling difficult GSD's could help, I do hope so. For a GSD to be timid is not good and I think you are right to try and deal with it as soon as pos.

Sorry not much help to you, all I have done is agree that something is wrong, can anyone do better for the owner please.