Aloofness in puppy

[Cathy and Daisy and Harper]

I am working with a trainer with my 11 week old girl Harper. The trainer has mentioned a couple of times now that she is not interested in people and rather aloof. To me this seems like it would be rather common because as a puppy her attention is everywhere. I do believe she is not a cuddly dog though. I hope she grows to love people!

[Lisa & Sunny]

I can only speak to what my puppy is like.  She is very interested in people, and if we encounter someone new will make every effort to get over and greet that person.  I have noticed that she is more interested in people than dogs and wonder if this is the norm for puppies.  Today we had a playdate for her with two other dogs, and she was definitely more interested in the other people who came than their dogs.  I would not exactly describe her as cuddly, but she is very excited to see me when I get up in the morning, and also in the evening when I come home from work.  When she is tired, she typically sleeps next to either me or my husband.

[Dolly Dykhouse]

Henry is 13 weeks and loves anything that moves; two legged, four legged LOL. I take him for walks in our neighborhood and if a human walks by he immediately starts wagging his tail and heading in their direction, our pool man and landscapers are his buddies and he is beside himself that our 9 year old puggle doesn't want to play with him every time he wants to play. Henry cuddles when Henry wants to...sits in my lap and tolerates me picking all 24# of him up to hug before wiggling like mad to get loose. I think every puppy is different and might mature at different times? Henry is my first puppy in 20+ years and my first ALD so I don't have much experience or exposure in puppy behavior. 

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

I'm 71 year old female and have had 22 dogs of various, and unknown, breeds and sizes through the years. Some dogs love and initiate contact. One dog I had had not been touched very often so when I got him I sat on the floor four times a day and hand fed him. After two weeks he came up to me and said hello. He really preferred dogs since he spent the first part of his life with his brothers. We had our grand dog. She was a dachshund. She really enjoyed our woods and wasn't a dog or people person. That being said she would engage with my husband because he taught her to greet and play. So. Sit on the floor. Encourage him to play and sit by you. He can be socialized.

Our current Shih tzu says hi in the morning. She comes by me if she's not feeling well. Our labradoodle is a love. She reads people so well. She will be friendly to anyone who likes dogs. Good luck with your pup. The most fun is wondering what they will end up looking like. We have two great dogs. Susan

[Elizabeth Harlow]

While our Hayden has always been interested in anything that moves he was far from a cuddly puppy. He wouldn't let me rub his tummy, which made me a little nervous. But after his first birthday he is Mr. Snuggles. I walk over to where he's laying and he bares his belly for lovin'. I feel that dogs are like kids like that - they grow into their personalities. 

[Laura and Angus]

Our doodle, now almost 3, was never a cuddly puppy when he was really little. He is very high energy and when he was a baby he wouldn't sit still long enough for cuddling - he mostly paced around or went off exploring. Now he's a very lovey pup and any time we are in public he wants to greet everyone and will often lay down immediately and roll on his back when people walk by at stores or when we're out and about. He even paws at us as we walk by or rubs up against us to scratch his backside (kinda like a cat haha). I agree with what was already said - your puppy will grow into their personality. You'll see some traits early (we saw that our pup was smart and mischievous very early), but others will kind of start to appear as you bond with them and work on training. Most, or at least, many doodles seem to be VERY people-oriented and loving, so I'd say your puppy will likely grow into this. What you're seeing as "aloofness" might be distraction or independence (or even curiosity!). 

[Emery & Watson]

my pup loves to see and be around people but sometimes he needs to warm up to people before he lets them pet him. Its confusing for children because he is so happy and excited to see them that he will run up to see little kids but he'll dodge their hand if they try to hold it out for sniffs or pets. It usually isn't more than a minute but can feel like forever.  

Also, when he was a puppy he wasn't much of a lap dog.  I think part of it was that we brought him home in the summertime and he was just perpetually hot and didn't want more body heat surrounding him.  Now, he's two and is a big cuddle bug.  If i sit on the floor (he isn't allowed on the couch) he is in my lap and we have regular cuddle sessions all the time

[Dolly Dykhouse]

It's funny, Henry seems to behave the same when it is hot. We had our first week in the 90's here and I swear he would have hot flashes, I could even see his skin tone on his belly deepen to a bright pink and he would just lay there and pant. His favorite place to hide out during the day was under our breakfast nook chairs (they're upholstered and have a long skirt) because they are on tile floors. I laugh because I hate the heat too and stay downstairs as much as possible because of the tile floors keeping the first floor cooler.

[Amy and Annabelle]

Annabelle will be 3 in August and is very cuddly and loves to be petted...now. If I am sitting on the couch reading or something, she will crawl right under my arm, so I have no choice but to give her a belly rub. The other day at the vet some older guy was there. He was waiting on his wife and dog to get out of the appointment. He sat down next to Annabelle and to my astonishment, she was actually loving on him. His wife comes out and sees him sitting next to me getting kisses from my dog. She said, I don't know what to do, laugh or cry. However, when she was a puppy she was either busy playing or sleeping. Even eating was at the bottom of her list. She was not the cuddly little puppy I envisioned. The most she ever did her first 6 months besides bite me, was come sit on my lap for 5 minutes before she went to sleep for the night. Then she would stand up and get right in my face, and that was her signal to me that she was ready to be put to bed for the night. She has come a long way since puppyhood, actually she has changed so much in her behavior that you wouldn't even know she was the same dog. She also loves other dogs as long as they aren't too big. She is a 15lb mini and is kind of afraid of bigger dogs. But that is because she had a couple of bad experiences in training classes with big dogs.

[DonMarie and Picco]

Picco is still shy around people but is very, very cuddly with me and my husband!  He trusted after a couple weeks after I got him but a little longer till cuddly, and it took a couple years before he was really close to my husband. But I spent almost all my time with him (either took to work with me or worked from home) while my husband worked long days away.  After he gets to know our friends then he's okay but doesn't necessarily initiate the contact.  He is very comfortable around other dogs, no shyness there!