I have a 10 week old GSD. She was described to me as a laid back, submissive, attentive girl, perfect for our family. Obviously, she's still a very young puppy, and I do realize that. My big question is...is it at all typical for such a young pup to completely ignore her owner/handler, and always want to go in the opposite direction, no matter where that is? I'm puzzled, as I have read time and again that it is natural for a puppy to follow. Whenever I try to do anything at all with her, no matter what, she will completely ignore me, and try to avoid me. This is strictly on leash, attempting to go in the opposite direction. Obviously, since her goal in life seems to be to stay away from me, she stays on leash. The "feeling" part of me says she hates me. LOL I realize that's a human thing, but I do think it's clear that she's already decided that I am not worthy of being her pack leader. If that's the case, I'm in BIIIIGGGG trouble. She's only 10 weeks now, I can't imagine what things will be like here when she's a "teenager". I have done quite a bit of research over time on Leerburg, and even purchased videos. I just never expected that the pup that I spent so much time and effort learning about and preparing for, would end up not wanting anything to do with me at all. Even when I have food. :-( Help?!? I'm really trying to follow the methods I've learned, but it's getting discouraging to have her not respond to me at all. I'm not sure if I am overreacting at this point, or if I am right that I am going to be in bigger trouble than this as she gets older.

They can be a little independant sometimes. Is there anything she really likes? A certain toy or food? Once she learns that comes from you, that can convince her that she really does love you.

Yes, she loves her toys, and her treats, etc. I've tried using that so that she will follow me, especially to get her out the door to go potty. But, for example, earlier, I lured her out of her ex-pen, gave her bits of treats along the way, and when we got to the door, she darted away from me, a couple times, before I was quick enough to grab more of the leash so she couldn't do that again. But, she fought me all the rest of the way out the door, even though she really wanted to go out, and normally, she has no problems with doorways. It was just at that moment that she decided not to let me lure her anymore, and decided to go in the opposite direction again. I guess she is quite independent. But again, that's not the way she was described to me, so it definitely caught me off guard, and I'm here thinking maybe I'm just TOTALLY inept. LOL I hope you are right, though, that she will see that all good things come from me, and respond accordingly. I just don't see how it will be of any help to our relationship building in the mean time, if I end up having to always force her to follow, because, I'm definitely not going to follow her around the house, and allow her to have endless accidents because she doesn't want to go MY way. You see what I'm saying? Many times she would rather refuse the yummy treat, than come with me. :-(

im gonna try to keep this bit of advice short .

im presuming ( like all of us do here on LB , apparently lol ) that you are undertaking marker training with this pup .

critical point : the dog has to want what you have , in this case : FOOD .

so if you have to miss a couple of meals to up the dogs food drive , so be it . the only food the dog gets comes out of your hand , and keep her hungry .

also , a little social isolation can help the situation . if you are to be the dogs primary handler , make sure she isnt getting all the attention she needs from others in your family group . this aint a popularity contest , but remember she needs to fit into your pack , not the other way around .

hope that helps , looking forward to updates

Tether the pup to you! One end of a leash on the pup and the other tied to you. Where you go the pup goes. Keep it like that any time she's not in a crate. If she fights you going out the door just keep walking. Stay calm!!!
What your doing now is giving her choices and those choices will only get worse.
When you are training, train with markers!

Could it be that she's just timid? Sensitive, submissive pup that goes in the opposite direction kinda says avoidance to me.

But whatever the issue, tethering and marker training will really help.

Mara asked a good question. If this is a fear/nerve issue then it's a different problem from an independent pup.

I was afraid that it would come across as a fear issue, by the way I was describing it, so I should have mentioned that our first impression of her was that she was fearless. And I haven't changed my mind on that, except, of course, she does have a prudent hesitation when she's not sure of something or someone. She decides rather quickly that everything is ok, though, and then she's very outgoing and confident. :-)

ian bunbury..."so if you have to miss a couple of meals to up the dogs food drive , so be it"--I wanted to ask about this point, in particular, because I thought that such a young pup should not be missing meals like that? Am I mistaken? Yes, though, she could probably use a boost on the food drive, considering that she is willing to refuse a treat. Otherwise, though, I might need to find something that whe WON'T be willing to refuse. Maybe what I am giving is not high enough value to her highness? ;-)

Yes, working on marker training.

And...nobody else in the family really cares to give her much of any attention, because she's so mouthy right now. So, yes, it's pretty much just me giving her the attention. But you'd think the others were doing wonderful things for her on the sly, because she's SOOOO focused on them when she sees them!

One more thing...Bob, I already feel like I'm micro-managing every little aspect of her life, and when I feel her pull in the other direction, I have stubbornly, purposefully, kept going where I mean for us to go. That's been something that I've felt is not working at all, and I wondered if I was totally wrong, or what. That's why I attempted luring her, but she will allow herself to be lured, and once she gets the treat, she runs off in her own direction. So, if I'm giving her too many choices, does that mean that I'm giving her too much leash, if she has the ability to run off like that? Should I be choking up on the leash all the time, not giving her any room to run in various directions?