Hello everyone,

At the onset let me please thank you all for precisely answering my questions all the time. Thanks again.

I fear that my 10 week old GSD from German Showline may turn out to be a shy adult dog. Could you please let me know what you infer from my observations provided below.

1. He is very attached to me and my family

2. He plays actively with me and my family

3. When some stranger visits my home, he sometimes greets them and sometimes gets suspicious and starts barking.

4. If the stranger talks to him he gets friendly.

5. When I take him out of the house, when he sees some stranger he gets alert and sometimes bark.

6. Sometimes, he is very friendly with strangers and sometimes suspicious.

7. Once he was barking at a stranger. When the person started walking towards my puppy, he took a few steps backwards and started barking again.

8. You can see the pups pictures at the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cosmicvision2007/Rocky9Weeks

9. My pup's parents are very friendly and well mannered dogs.

What should I do? I also eagerly seek your comments on my pup's any other aspect which appears to you in the pictures.

Your pup is such a cutie.
Did you get the dvd 8 weeks to 8 mnths from the Leerburg site? It was packed with useful information. Every puppy owner should have one.

I am a first time GSD owner and my boy is 8 mnths. I have been very proactive with socializing. I like that he is aloof with strangers. I do not need a lab in a shepherds body, but I do want a confident dog.

I spend a TON of time getting my dog out to new situations. I try for one new outing a day. Examples: Airport, daycare, lowes, fire station, strip malss, construction site, hospital.... Also I did puppy class, then basic obedience, now advanced and he is starting herding clas.

At the end of the day I just want a well behaved companion. I feel the more you put into your dog in the first two years the more you will get for the rest of his life.

I think your pup is developing normally for his age but you need to keep challenging him to help his confidence and socialability.

Best of luck. He really is a cutie.

I've run into this behavior with my now-adult, then-pup.

Socializing and familiarizing, as Michelle mentioned, is really important and easy to do.

Equally important, IMO, is how you handle your pup when he's acting wary and shy. A calm, relaxed, matter-of-fact attitude can go a long way in reassuring your pup that this (insert person/situation) is OK. It took a lot of self-control on my part not to over-react to my pup's behavior.

With visitors to your home you can set the stage and set up your pup for a positive experience. Have guests ignore your pup when they come in...no eye contact, no talking to him...until he's calm and quiet and relaxed. When he's quiet calmly praise and treat.

You can also crate your pup when guests come over so he can observe the goings-on from the security of his den. Wait until he's quiet and calm before releasing him.

If you have a willing neighbor, you can do the same thing and set the stage out on walks. Your pup will learn through positive experiences that not every approaching stranger is a reason for fear.

I'd say my dog is wary/fearful around new people...especially men...and will probably always be like this. I can't change his basic nature but I did learn how to handle it in a way that ends up positively for all concerned.

And I completely agree with Michelle...your pup is adorable!

Dear Sarah and Michelle,

Thanks a ton for your suggestions, reassurance and compliments.

I started his socializing schedule yesterday, and can already see visible positive results.

I took him to a nearby park where there were people whom I already know. When my pup started getting anxious, I maintained my calm and other people ignored him. When he got calm, one person gradually approached me for a handshake. My pup was anxious again. The person gently called my pup by his name and calmly sat down on the grass.

After a few seconds, my pup approached him and got over his fear. Few minutes later, he was happily approaching everyone around without any fear or anxiety.

Thanks again for your feedback.

I had the same issue and got great advice here. Another thing you can try is asking people if they will give your puppy a treat (keep treats in your pocket). Ed recommends this in his puppy DVD.

One thing that helped my puppy is "no talk no touch no eye contact" in which I had people sit or crouch on the ground and not make any motions to the puppy or even look at him, and allow the dog to approach on his own.

Good luck! and keep at it! Take him to lots of new places, getting busier and more crowded as his confidence improves.