Puppy shaking when we met her

[Amy]

We just met our soon-to-be pup.  She is 4.5 weeks old.  When we held her she was shaking and even "crying" a bit.  She calmed down after about 15 minutes.  After a half hour, she was asleep in my sons arms.  Does this mean she will be a shy pup?  I know no one can tell me, but I guess I am just looking for reassurance.  Anyone else have a pup who was afraid when you first met her?  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Four and a half weeks is extremely young for a puppy. I have never met any of my dogs at that young an age. I am sure most dogs would be frightened by meeting multiple strange people at that age, especially if there are also excited voices, etc.

I hope your breeder does not let pups go home until they are at least 8 weeks old. 

[Deborah Brown]

Did it seem that the breeder was socializing the pups?  This is young but they should be around people regularly and used to being handled.

Years ago we had two litters of puppies with our standard poodle.  I don't recall this type of behavior from any of the pups but that doesn't mean it is necessarily a red flag unless there are other issues.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

Doesn't that seem kind of young for this?  I feel like normally they'd be six weeks or so before you meet them.  Also I don't know that what you describe necessarily indicates fear.  But in general my thinking on this is that everyone judges puppies based on how they react to them (the potential owner), but what is probably more important is how they act relative to their mom and other litter mates

[Deborah Brown]

Good point!  People always want the playful, active pups.  I used to tell single and older people that, no, they'd probably be happier with a quiet and calm puppy.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

I feel like sometimes the really dominant and high energy ones, the so-called "pick of the litter", put on a little show for potential buyers.  But most people probably don't really want that hard of a dog.

[Jay, Lola and Colonel Esau]

To clarify, Lola is a very dominant and high energy dog, I love her madly and would never want her any other way - BUT she is definitely a handful and requires strong guidance and a ton of exercise.  I had never had such a dominant and "hard" dog before so it definitely took some getting used to on my part too.  I think she is perfect just the way she is but a lot of people would probably have trouble with her.

[Amy]

She won't go home until 8 weeks. Honestly, I am not sure how much socialization they have had. The breeder has a young daughter who he said plays with the puppies, but I don't know how often. I plan to talk to him and tell him my concern and see if he can be sure she gets handled and interacted with in the next few weeks until we come pick her up.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I raise doodle pups and you can't tell a THING about that at that young an age--they have only had their eyes open for 2 1/2 weeks! And they are so vulnerable in terms of germs that you really can't exposed them to too much at that point--but the time for socializing starts at 51/2 to 6 weeks and continues from there, so do not judge the pup yet. 

I let someone visit my litter once at 4 1/2 weeks when everyone else that was getting a puppywas going to wait until 6 1/2 weeks to visit (they had a deposit on one of the pups and lived nearby). I told her NOT to judge them, that they were too young! At the end, she pointed to a pup that slept a lot and was a bit aloof and said that she didn't want that puppy...I was very aggravated with her. Today, that pup (who went to a different person who loves him to pieces!!) is outgoing and happy and as smart as can be. He goes back and forth between his country home (near me) and NYC and is well balanced and sweet. So, you can't judge them yet!

That said, if she is still a bit timid when you get her, be sure to get her out and about right away--but carry her since she will not yet be fully vaccinated...she will be fine.

[Amy]

Thanks Ginny!! That is reassuring.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I have had the privilege of closely observing young pups.  Webster's breeder has become a friend and, over the years, I've helped her with various litters.  This breeder does the Early Neurological Stimulation and age-appropriate socialization, her pups grow up to be confident, loyal, wonderful pets.  Some of the little pups will shake like you mentioned and I think a lot of it is that they are simply cold and a little nervous.  (I know that when I'm a little nervous, I feel cold and tend to shiver.)  The pups spend their day in a small room which is kept warm, they have littermates and mamma with whom they cuddle.  I wouldn't judge a pups personality based on this experience, I would look at the personality of the parent dogs and the environment the pups are being raised in to give a idea of their personality.

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Our breeder does not allow visits until the puppies are 8 weeks old and it's your time to pick the new puppy based on your position on the wait list. She also does the Early Neurological Stimulation and temperament testing. So I've only seen pictures of my boys when they were this little, and I did not know which puppy would end up with us. I did a no-no and fell for Monty based on his picture, but fortunately, all three male puppies were very similar in their temperament. When choosing Auggie, I only asked to see the "more mellow" puppies of the litter. Our breeder pointed out two, so these were the only two pups that I interacted with. The other boys were all jumping up in their play pen for attention, these two did not seem very interested in us. Kind of stand-offish, but warmed up after few minutes and started exploring. Auggie is definitely not the same stand-offish pup he was when he was 8 weeks old. He is overly friendly to anyone and everyone, to the point it can be annoying. Not scared of anything and loves to explore.

So puppies change. Your puppy is extremely young. You won't even recognize her at 8 weeks when you come for her. And if she is still a bit skittish afterwards, just make sure you introduce her to the rest of the world very gently and get her exposed to different people, sounds and situations. She will be just fine.