What would you do? - Page 1

Ok, say you put a deposit on a puppy with the knowledge that you are looking for a certain temperament. Confident (which she was) VERY handler oriented, med high drive, dark sable normal size, for future PPD and Schutzhund work. It was agreed that if no suitable puppy was in the litter, a normally nonrefundable would be refunded. Fast forward, puppies are ready to go home. Puppy is selected for you, a few shaky videos are supplied. Rest of the payment is sent after asking breeder if he was sure this puppy was what you want. Puppy arrives, great out of the crate at the airline. No issue there. Puppy gets home and wants nothing to do with you or your family, only your other dogs. Other dogs are not in contact with puppy. You handfeed puppy, try and play with puppy, try and get puppy to engage with a rage and get a halfhearted chase and bite, no desire to hold the "catch". You take puppy out every 2 hours to potty, puppy will not follow (acre's worth of distance) and sits in the middle of the yard staring at you. Do you send this puppy back and ask for a refund? How long do you wait before you send puppy back? Do you try and make it work? Puppy is from the same lines that you keep and work, puppy is nothing like the dogs you already have, from the EXACT same lines (not as puppies, not as adults) What do you do? You paid A LOT for this puppy... $2000.00 after shipping.

Melissa

I should also say, you are not an inexperienced dog person (Not an expert by any means though) and have raised and trained more than a handful of puppies from birth to K9 cert and have never seen this type of puppy turn out as the type of dog you want to run on.

Do you still have the puppy? if not how long did you keep the puppy? Some dogs need a little more time to bond to a handler. Did you seek help with getting the puppy to bond??

Sounds Like a Puppy to me. Some take a bit more time to come around and start interacting with the handler.  Some pups are just a Bit slower then other and those tend to be the really nice pups. I would wait it out and work with the pup for a Bit. I have had some all of a sudden get all the drive in the world at 6 Months. Lots of females are slower to bond and slower to Build drive. Take your time and don't just expect it to happen right off the bat work with the pup and Build them up to where you want them.

I am an experienced trainer of 10 years... far from an expert but i don't believe I need help bonding with the puppy. I've bred and raised many dogs from birth to police certification. I'd like to hear replies before I divulge any more info on the cureent situation. How much time would you allow?  Puppy will not play with or follow you or your children around. An extremely independent dog is not what you wanted, period.

But what if puppy doesn't come around? I don't know about you, but 2000.00 is a lot of money for a pet, when you have limited time and cannot keep buying dogs and keeping them all. I would never sell a puppy like this as a working dog. Never. In picking puppies for working dogs i have NEVER been wrong. 

I would have to say next time you Buy a Pup go and check it out first and decide for yourself. I never have a pup shipped in I always pick them up so I can see for myself. I would give the Pup at the least 2 weeks to settle in. Each Line is different and Build up at different rates. It's not easy to pick the right pup at times But it's a chance we all take.

Hard to say. I had a sleeper pup and he turned out to be exactly what I asked for, though he wasn't as independent as you described. I asked for a SchH prospect, not over the top (a dog I could *live* with), but a dog that could be competitive regionally or even nationally. My puppy never showed any fear or lack of confidence, but for the first month or two was very dog oriented, not all that interested in toys, food motivated but certainly not over the top. Kind of a chill dude. Not a bad puppy, but nothing impressive.  Then at 7 months he just woke up. Prey drive, ball drive, biting, fighting, focus, retrieving. He went from knowing very little to BH very quickly, he was ready for a BH about 3.5 months after I started his first steps heeling but was two weeks too young to trial so I had to wait until the first trial after that winter. Now he is owned by someone else but is 5x SchH3 including two SchH3 at national level competitions, several V scores, and he is 4 years old.

How old is the puppy??  Obviously you trusted the breeder and the bloodlines enough to buy her sight unseen ( other than video ).  I doubt that the breeder would send you a puppy that was likely to disappoint knowingly so I am thinking something happened to throw the puppy off her game between the breeder's hands and yours.  I would keep the puppy for 2-3 weeks and give her a chance.  If shipped by air perhaps her ears were affected by pressure changes and she will get better??  Is she teething and how old is she??  Fever or any signs of health problems??  Maybe she had a vaccine jab before shipping and she is having a reaction to the vaccine that may get better.  Good stools and good appetite??  Withdrawn and hugging the crate or out and about looking at things??  Maybe she thinks she has been kidnapped and her owner is coming to rescue her.  Maybe just homesick??

EXPERIENCE...Experience...experience...Having said that...I have seen...been around...and trained a lot of dogs/puppies...and the one thing I know is that I NEVER think one puppy/dog ever is like another one...I think each one is an individual and I don't try to guess what another will be like...

I do know I've seen puppies who have traveled...changed homes...and people...Not even saying food...and sometimes languages...It's very hard for some dogs/puppies to adjust...Sometimes this means a peak into the future and sometimes it doesn't...Sooooooo

How is the Prey Drive in this puppy? Ball...Kong...Rag...Toys....?

Whether to return puppy or not...depends on a lot...Is this from a breeder in the country or is it an Import...So on...

I've seen dogs...and I always give dogs/puppies...two weeks to adjust then it's what it is...But...I've had dogs that have taken a month...then they're great...So go figure...If you know the bloodlines it helps...

~Bob~