Hi, I'm fairly new to breeding and I've never had this problem before so would greatly appreciate any advice. My bitch had a litter of 7 this January, all smooth sailing and 6 of the pups have now gone to new homes. I decided to keep one of the females and had not noticed any difference in social behaviour between her and her litter mates, all were very confident and friendly. However since the last pup has gone she is now acting very shy and nervous whenever anyone other than my direct family arrive at the house, or anyone we meet on walks. She never exhibited this when she had other litter mates with her, and all the new owners have said their pups are socialising fine. This might sound stupid but could she be associating new people at the house with one of her litter mates leaving?
Hi @El Welcome to the site. You say that your dog is now nervous when she meets new people in the street, which speaks against viewing strangers as taking her puppies. Presumably the strangers did not take the puppies when she was in the street. I think some more information would be useful. How old is your dog? How long did you keep the last puppy?How friendly to strangers was she before having the litter? Could you describe her behaviour now in some detail? And I'm confused. Are you discussing the mother or the puppy?
Not every labrador loves people. Unless you feel that she is really scared, I would let her be and you never have to worry about her jumping all over strangers. If you want her to feel more comfortable around new people, ask them to toss a few treats in her direction, but avoid 'staring' eye contact. Don't be tempted to force her close to anyone she's not comfortable with.
I'm a bit confused... is it the pup you kept or the mum who is showing signs of nervousness? I see Michael has the same question! If it's the mum - her hormones will still be all over the place after raising a litter of puppies, and the best thing you can do is try to return to a familiar routine that she knows well and give her some time and space to settle down physically. I doubt this involves inviting strangers over to the house regularly(!) or regularly meeting people on walks. For mum, I would actively avoid anything stimulating like this and protect her for a good few months until she has recovered. Meanwhile of course the pup still needs socialisation and to meet people, so you will need to separately take the pup out (which you should be doing anyway) daily to meet new people - and that way, the pup will not pick up on the mum's fears.
A critical time for your puppy's learning is 7 to 16 weeks of age, so you could improve her social ability within this period. Use some treats to attract her attention while you walk your pup. Bring her to some dog friendly places (such as parks and stores) is a good option, which helps your pup be exposed in the public and desensitizes her to the outdoor noises.
