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Will my husky puppy outgrow her timidness?


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My boyfriend and I got a husky puppy and we named her Koda. I love her so much but she is afraid of ALMOST every stranger. I do not think the breeder socialized the puppies very well. They said their kids played with the puppies everyday, and the breeder would feed them but they didn't get any interaction from anyone else.

The first day we brought her home was fine. She sort of slept most of the day in the house which we expected due to it probably being an overwhelming experience. We had our two roommates over, and 3 other people that day. She didn't run from anyone just sort of stayed sleeping. When she was awake she would follow me everywhere. I noticed the first week that she loved my boyfriend and I but wasn't warming up to my roommates at all. She would run from both of them if they tried to pet her (fast forward to today and she is fine with them now). 

When new people come over she makes a whining noise, will sniff them but any little movement they make she will run. She is now 14 weeks old (got her when she was 8 weeks). Very little to no progress made. We take her to the park and just let her watch people walk by to hopefully teach her people aren't harmful. We give strangers treats to feed her. She carefully takes the treat and backs away. HOWEVER, she was great with my whole immediate family, a friend of mine, and a couple my boyfriend is friends with. She warmed up to some of my cousins very quickly. But then she HATES my boyfriends parents. 

Now, I don't really care if she doesn't run up to everyone with a wagging tail like she does with the people above I listed. I would just like it if she wasn't so skittish every time a new people was in her surroundings. I want her to be okay with it, and possibly just lay there while people pet her. I try not to get frustrated but its hard (I know she can probably sense my frustration) but I work on her socialization every day.

It worries me that the "socialization period" is almost up and she hasn't made much progress at all. I don't want her fear turning into aggression. She loves other dogs and is a little more confident with another dog around. My roommates are getting a puppy this week and hopefully he will help (their breeder says he's a very social puppy).

Sorry for the long story, but just wondering if there is any other advice or something I'm missing to help her out. She's great with obedience training but can't take her on long walks because she gets scared about 15 minutes in. Will she outgrow her fear? We met the mother and father husky and they both seemed very social and friendly. Also, i'm worried that getting her spayed will worsen her timidness.

Thanks in advance!

 

 

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Give her time, it's ok for her to not want to interact with everyone that includes on walks , instead of them giving her treats where I'll assume they're leaning over her to give them which can be very scary for a small pup , get them to just throw the treat and ignore her , god knows i wouldn't want to shake hands with everyone I come across dogs shouldn't be expected to either, let her approach people if she wants to , don't force her

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Oh and spaying won't affect her at all in that sense , tho atm she's too young for spaying

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15 minute walks is about right for her age, rule of thumb is 5 mins per month of age until adulthood (you can take her out more than once a day though!)

Patience is key, don’t overwhelm her and be consistent. As Nix said above don’t let people lean over her all the time! Also I wouldn’t make her interact with everyone, when she’s fully grown trust me it’s a different story not everyone wants to meet a fully grown husky and you don’t want her to assume everyone will

With your housemates getting a male dog you will need to be careful when she goes into season, I’ve only ever had male dogs but I’m pretty sure you have to let her have at least 1 season before getting her spayed. However as above spaying won’t affect her timidness, she will just be a bit sore for a few days


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One thing to bear in mind the latest research shows that spaying or neutering too early increases the chances of conditions like hip and elbow dysplasia  -  the latest recommendation is two years old  -  when all the growth plates are fused.   Evidently  early neutering interferes with the sex hormones - which also affects/alters the growth plates somehow.

As for her timidness  -  with patience and love she will grow in confidence  -  and as Rachael said  -  you do not want her to want to meet everybody  -  believe me  -  Marley has the opposite problem  -  he has confidence overload  and expects everybody to want to fuss him and play with him  -  and not everyone is happy for a strange dog to pull excitedly towards them, up on his hind legs.

 

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Everyone has given great advice.
Just remember, she is only 14 weeks. Meeting all these people in & out and having a lot of roommates are things that are making her overwhelmed and a lot to try to grasp at such a young age. She's scared because too much is going on too fast. She probably needs a little more time with growing & adapting to everyone & the busy environment. Going to the park may be too much for her right now.
Do you have a quiet place for her to rest and relax that can be her safe place?? That would really help her.
Taking baby steps will help with all the adjustments she's going through.
She's just beautiful and precious!!
[emoji4][emoji191][emoji252][emoji259]

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