Hello there, My partner and I are picking up our new black Labrador puppy in 2 weeks time - when he will be 9 weeks old. We got lucky with a great breeder and pedigree, with the dogs coming from excellent lines of show dogs and champions in the UK / Wales, and someone happened to drop out of having a pup so we got the last one. We went to view at between 5-6 weeks old, and there were 3 boys. One was clearly dominant, very confident, no issues coming straight of the crate they have been living in to say hello. Next was a little nervous at first but soon became bouncy and playful. Third one (our puppy), didn't come out of the crate voluntarily, but was lifted out in the end by the breeder. He was nervous to say hello, but once I held my hand out for him to sniff, he was playfully biting me (as were the others), and playfully giving me his paw. He did too muck in with the other puppies running around the room. However the level of play was definitely less energetic than the other two who were jumping up at me and wildly trying to nip me! Our one was happy to be held, and not as energetic - should we be worried? We have always been told to not go for the 'shy' or 'nervous' puppy, and the breeder did say he is the noticeably quiet one, and he was definitely nervous to come out of his crate. When we put them back the other two were at the crate walls wagging their tails but ours just lowered his head. I might add that out of the three, our one has the nicest coat and was the 'cutest' looking facially. He's definitely the best looking dog and we're so excited to welcome him to our family. Can puppies change their behavior? We know he was only 5 weeks old at the time and quite rightfully dubious of new big humans in the room, and it's not as though he cowered the whole time in the corner, he was running around with his brothers in the end and did play with me (all be it more gentle play). Any advice would be great as we do worry about having a shy puppy and how to approach life with him in a few weeks if he needs some extra encouragement. Thank you
Hi @Lucy Hopkins Ask the breeder to go back a couple of times before you take him home. Tell your breeder you'd like to help and build a relationship. Why? You need to bond with him. Show him he has no reason to be nervous. That your both calm and fine. You might find he has changed too. As for me, I would be concerned if your puppy has not been reared inside the home where he has had a good exposure to start acquainting himself with the 'music' of a home.
In adddition, if you've not much experience with dogs, then one on the quiet side may be the right choice for you. Ask the breeder for honest advice. It will also depend on what you want the dog to do. Working out a specific dog's personality at 5 weeks is largely guess work. How he turns out is going to depend on you to a considerable degree.
Hi @Michael A Brooks thanks for the response. Unfortunately the puppy is a 3 hour drive away a we did our research and wanted to seek out a responsible breeder who breeds for health and performance, and have 4 generations of beautiful dogs to view (working dogs who do live outside). This makes visiting difficult for us, particularly with a holiday for a week before we collect him in two. (Planned way before the pup became available). The puppies are however being raised within the breeders family home, along side their 3 children. It was a small litter, with us having effectively 'last pick /allocation'. We did fall in love with him even though he was quiet, we're just hoping he won't be too apprehensive. The last time we went we spent around an hour playing with the puppies, and I spent most of my time with him, holding him and playing with him and he wasn't too nervous of me after the initial meeting and getting him out of the crate- but in general he was the more unsure of the three. He was huddled at the back of the crate when we arrived, behind his brothers, and seemed to do the same when they were put back at the end. I'm hopeful that the fact he is playful (although not to the degree of his bouncy brothers) means that he just needs a little more confidence, maybe he'll come into his own away from energetic siblings! I'm hoping he might be less boisterous which could work in our favour. I'm glad you think it will be down to us to a degree as we are definitely keen to put a lot of time and training in, and like you say, who can tell at 5 weeks. We hope to expose him to as many smells, noises and people early on, I just don't want to have the opposite effect and traumatize him by too much too soon if he's nervous.
Hi just wanted to say that our first black lab was exactly the same at the breeders as yours sounds,very quiet,shy and submissive. We spent all our time training and encouraging her and most of all loving her and she turned our to be the most loyal,loving wonderful dog who we had the privilege of having as part of our family for13 brilliant years. we were so pleased we choose the"quiet one" Good luck
My youngest pup was the smallest, quietest pup. I've now met the other two bitches in the litter. She is now the tallest and is confident. I'm training my pup to pick up on a shoot. She has a huge hunt drive, the other two don't. she lives to retrieve, the other two don't. One of the litter mates lives on a large estate and only gets to exercise there and has little socialisation, she is timid and has little desire to retrieve. The other is a family pet, has no prey drive, little retrieving drive and just wants to play. It's nurture not nature in my opinion and you have a huge part in how your pup will develop.
We went to see Tilly several times before we got her, but with Cooper, we saw her when the Breeder brought the the two pups we had a choice of to Portland (300 miles) when they came over for a field. We trial. We had seen videos of the pups, and pictures of the sire and dam as well as their titles. We could not be happier. Most field dog breeders here do not raise the dogs in the house, but do socialize them with people and dogs. Cooper,s breeder also exposed them to birds. Most Lab breeders here still want to place the pups at 7 weeks. Tilly's mom was a Master Hunter and her dad was a Field Trial Champion. Tilly is probably the least birdy Lab I have ever seen, but she loves to catch and retrieve tennis balls. Cooper's mom is Senior Hunter and her dad is a Master Hunter. Cooper is very birdy and has a lot of prey drive, but still loves her tennis balls.
Hi Lucy, Your puppy sounds just like the one we will be homing in a few weeks. I wondered how you are getting on now, a few months down the line? It would be nice to know if there’s any tips to helping a quieter puppy settle in its new home. Many thanks
