When we went to pick up our chocolate labrador puppy from very experienced breeders I was confident the parents of the litter would be typical friendly labradors. The mother however was very timid and distrusting. This wasn't solely due to the pups as the breeders said she was always like that and the puppies were 10 weeks at this stage. We were in a large open garden and she kept a great distance from us and growled if we attempted to get closer to her. She was not protecting her puppies as they were inside the house at this time. The father of the pups showed more usual labrador characteristics. It might seem like she was merely wary of us harming her litter but I'm pretty confident she would have been like that regardless. I've been near mother labradors before far sooner than 10 weeks after they've given birth and they still didn't show the same hostility. I'm just curious as to whether it might be possible this is an inherited character trait my pup might grow up to display or could it be the mother was like as she was not properly socialized by her owners?
Re: Might my labrador inherit its mother's hostility and timidness? I think you've answered your own question [quote author=shawnow link=topic=10424.msg153538#msg153538 date=1427916248] it might be possible this is an inherited character trait my pup might grow up to display or could it be the mother was like as she was not properly socialized by her owners? [/quote] There's definitely an element of inherited temperament but that is also tempered or exacerbated by socialisation. Now you know what mum's like you can do a thorough job of socialisation to give your pup the best chance of being happy and confident. Best of luck!
Re: Might my labrador inherit its mother's hostility and timidness? Welcome to the forum. Yep, lots of socialisation, different people, places, animals. You name it, and try and cover it. Stations, trains, ambulance sirens, etc. it all helps. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Re: Might my labrador inherit its mother's hostility and timidness? Welcome to the forum! Using treats in training and keeping training fun (with lots of easy things and enthusiasm on your part), is also a great confidence builder. Try to make every new experience a fun, relaxing one (lots of treats and gentle pats and not getting too close to scary things too quickly).
Re: Might my labrador inherit its mother's hostility and timidness? Welcome! You've had great advice already. Some things are certainly inherited, and I see elements of my puppies' parents in both of their temperaments, but you don't know what was causing that hostility. She may have been scared, she may have had some history of being mistreated. She might not have liked your shoes! There's no saying whether her problem was environmental or genetic. My pups' mum is a working gun dog (both parents are), but she is terrified of storms. There were lots of storms in the eight weeks before we brought Willow home. I was really worried that this fear would have transferred to the puppies, because we get a lot of storms here, too - often one a day throughout August. I needn't have worried; storms came and went and they didn't bat an eyelid. As Rachael said, keep her confidence in you high by making everything fun and rewarding and I'm sure she'll end up a happy, well-adjusted dog.
