Really shy new puppy?

[Marie Wilson]

I was at the kennel today looking for a new puppy, and i saw one, maybe a small German Shep mix, that was with her 4 other brothers, probably 4 months old id guess. They were all really shy and very skinny so i knew they weren't treated very well. When you'd stand up they'd kind of back up and shy away from you. After about 10-15 minutes of me sitting by their cage coaxing them sweetly, they came up and sniffed my fingers. We decided to play with they girl and the employee went and picked her up, the puppy was scared and froze, but she didnt growl or bite. We gave the puppy space at first, it was literally frozen and shaking, i felt so bad. It never ran away from me, but you could tell it was still very scared. I made sure to get low so she wasn't too intimidated and she allowed me to pet her for a while, but i never really tried to pick her up, so i wouldn't overwhelm her. After a while i kind of backed up a foot or two and called her and whistled and she walked towards me a bit, which i thought was a good sign. She was also very open to sniffing people. When i got up and walked away, she froze up even more, and lost all the relaxation.

Anyways, do you think if i adopted her she'd end up coming around and sort of step out of her shell with me? Or is she just too traumatized?

picture of the dog and i:
https://twitter.com/i/#!/katherinermarie...2Fccu0ljmS

[Bigred]

She is a puppy and will get better with time like any dog. A puppy will do better faster.

[Molly]

The dog Definatly sounds traumatized! Don't ask the owners about it, because they may have abused the poor puppies! It sounds like
The girl was getting comfortable with you, so I totally think adopting her would be a great idea as long as you're comfortable with the idea of having a dog

[Jason]

if she does come out and be mentally healthy it will take a patient and good trainer who understands her fear and trains her

[Starry Eyes]

She'll probly be fine. When I got my dog he was so shy he wouldn't even come up to people and sniff them, but now he jumps on people which is a horrible habit I didn't want him to have but oh well it's better than before. If she let you pet her that's a good sign, better than when I got Mayhem.

[Semi Sweet]

i would not get that dog unless you know for sure that you would be totally committed to it. A dog like that cannot just brought home, played with for a bit, and left alone for the rest of its life. You would need to really work with her. Be around her as much as you possibly can. NEVER use negative reinforcement, which means no hitting, no kicking, no slapping, no spanking. And NO yelling the first week or 2 shes there. You would have to keep her in a small room (like perhaps your bedroom or the bathroom) in a crate so that she always has a place to go when she is scared, like a sanctuary. Also if you have small children in the house, or if you have drama going on, I would not get her. Dogs can feel stress, trust me I know. I got into an argument with my mom, and my dog was sitting next to me shaking like a leaf. You dont want to expose a frightened dog to that.

If you know you can stay committed to this dog, and give it all the attention it deserves, AND know that you have the correct house environment for it. Then give it a try. But I would do a little extra research on how to handle dogs like that first.

[Lianaa]

shes obviously very scared and doesnt have confidence around people as were much bigger than puppies its like us seeing dinosaurs. we would think they would hurt us becuse their much bigger than us. so its the same. yes adopt her and make her get use to humans and how u will treat her. it will b a great idea ! have fun. make sure u care for her very much if u do decide to adopt her. play with her lots when u first take her home and train her so she'll b a genuis !

[Connie]

Sorry can not open pictures. So I go by what you wrote. You might get the puppy to come out of it's nut shell per se, but to me it sounds more that they are not shy but sick, very sick and malnourished. You will have nothing but trouble with it and mighty Vet bills. Never pick a overly shy puppy they will sooner or later develop behaviour problems like fear aggressions.

[Max McCoy]

You don't tell enough for us to rule out "mistreatment" as a second factor. But THE big factor is going to be genetic, not helped by the dam almost certainly having a poor temperament.
In addition, if your guess at the age is correct, the pups are at the end of their "need security" period that usually runs from 13 through 16 weeks old.

The easy period for puppy familiarisation & confidence-building is long-gone. To take full advantage of that priceless period you need to bring a pup home at 7, 8, or 9 weeks old.

I don't believe that you went to the breeder's KENNEL - I think you mean the SPCA or a rescue group. But if they are at their breeder's, never go there again. Tough on the pups, but they should never have been born, and giving that person MONEY for any of them will just encourage him/her to do it again.

However, if it is, as I think, a rescue group situation, your first - and URGENT - step is to ask around (Animal Control, vets, SPCA warrant officers, police) about the operator's record. Some people CLAIM to be operating rescue kennels but are actually unscrupulous con-artists or "collectors".

If the litter is genuinely in rescue, I personally wouldn't go near it - my aim is to have only typical breed-worthy GSDs. But your goals are obviously set much lower.
Firstly, the pup WILL be neutered before you get it - that is what the adoption fee from genuine rescue groups tries to cover.

Secondly, examine your goals VERY intensely. People who adopt a pup because they feel sorry for it almost always end up feeling sorry for themselves.
Accept that your pup will NEVER be your guardian. Indeed, she is very likely to be ultra-dependent on you, a clinging vine that relies on you to protect her - which many people mis-identify as "extreme loyalty".
If that clinging "loyalty" is ALL you need, then go for it. But accept that all progress will be very slow. She will NOT be confident enough for you to join a training club with her at 18-22 weeks old, which is the ideal age to start a new pup on formal training, so that YOU get coached before you make too many mistakes in your voice tones & rhythms, your body language, your consistency & awareness.

Be aware that you should not get another dog - and DEFINITELY not a puppy - while she is alive. A GSD should last 12-to-15 years.

Your twitter page must be huge - I eventually got sick of waiting for it to arrive through my tedious 2-to-5kB/s dial-up connection, so went back to the Question with no idea as to how old you are.

Max McCoy, first pup in 1950; GSD breeder & trainer as of 1968