Our Goldendoodle puppy is 17 weeks old; we’ve had her since 8 weeks old. We live rurally, and therefore taking her out and about (beyond our road) to socialise is a bit more difficult.
She’s good in the car (was scared / anxious at first but has gotten consistently better each trip) and pretty bomb-proof at home. However, I noticed on our walk today – meeting several different leashed dogs and people – that she’s vary wary and unsure of meeting other dogs specifically. She seems to want to, but then runs and hides behind me. (All the dogs she tried to meet were very calm and well behaved). When we encountered one of those dogs for the second time (we looped in opposite directions) she was quite a bit more confident, albeit still shy, and ended up just getting pats from the other dogs owner. She does seem interested, just uses me as a safety measure. (Investigate and retreat, repeatedly).
I’ve only ever raised one other dog myself from a puppy; he’s a golden retriever (still with us, but not up to big outings anymore in his senior years). Senior dog has never met a dog he doesn’t like (he’s met some that don’t like him, and always accepted that easily) so this is new to me.
I’ve noticed her personality in general is much more cautious at first than my senior dog ever was – but with everything else she’s been exposed to, she just needs a little time to acclimatise and then she’s good. Should I assume this is the same and just keep doing as we are?
submitted by /u/TypicalLynx
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