New female is acting shy! - Page 1

Hello, We recently got a new female in whelp she is about 44 days pregnant, we have had her for about a week and she still is acting shy. Is this normal for a female who is pregnant to act shy or is this a nerve problem?BTW she is from working lines! Thanks, Max

Max, Having a new dog after only a week, especially when she is pregnant, is not the time to tell what the female is really like. My guess is that you also do not speak her native language around her, so everything is NEW to her. New climate, new language, new owners, AND she's pregnant. She needs time to bond with you!!! Give her time, feed her by hand, get to know her, and let her know you can be trusted. Once you have had her for a while, I am certain that she will settle in. Good luck!

Thank you vom Felsenhof! I will give her all the time she needs. It's just that we had dogs imported before and none of them acted quite like her.I don't think she has ever been in the house before either. We let all our dogs come in the house and she avoiding coming anywhere near it.So for the most part she stays in the kennel.

I should say, that she is the first pregnant female we importet and owned. I really don't know how they usualy behave when pregnant. Max

When we got our female she was 3 yrs.old, she was a bit shy and very nervous around our children. Now a month later and few days she is a whole different dog, she looks as if she has been with us from day one. Like Vomfelsenhof says feed her by hand and let her come to you , don't force the bond.She'll come around and good luck with her litter. I love the working line, they seem to warm up slowly but once there they are great. Best wishes!

each dog is different - and hopefully she will adjust and settle into her new life and you'll never see the unsureness/shyness again. However, I have imported/shipped many females, a couple arriving pregnant - and I like to see them come out of the crate with head and tail up, confident and interested in looking around, if they ignore me or anyone else they have never met before that's fine, but I don't like for them to act afraid or unsure. The first moment out of the crate is the first test of a new dog - if they fail that test (by being shy or not wanting to come out of crate, spooky etc) then I would definately keep a sharp eye on her - if she were mine, she better recover very quickly and never show it again, or I would be unhappy with the temperament of the dog I just purchased as a breeding female. molly

I would say with what you describe she is confused to say the least. Give her some time and she will be fine. Could you come back after the birthing and let us know how she handled the whelping and if she allow any assistance from you at all(displayed any trust). I am just curious. Good Luck! Stephen

Yes please share your experience after she whelps. I accuired a female and recieved her pregnant as well. She did not let us handle the pups and it was a hard ordeal, since she did not trust us. 7 months later and she is a different dog. I'm sure it wont take your dog as long to warm up as mine. My dog had other issues we needed to workout. Good luck and I hope she comes around quick.

I most definatly will let everybody know! Molly; my point exactly! I have imported a lot of dogs and puppies,never a pregnant female. None of them acted like she does. I want to give her time, but on the other hand if her nerves are not any good I do not want to hang on to her for too long. Thats why I need to know if the pregnancy could do this to her. Also she is like that only in and around the house. We just came back from a walk in the park and let her bite the tug. She seemed fine even with some anoying kids on the motorized mini bikes. Max

Max, when I purchased a male 2 yrs. of age, he had not been in a house before eighther and I thought he was gonna eat me, But after about a week, he settled in and is now a family member, He had little to NO socialization at all and our home compared to his 2 acre yard he had, was very different for him. Time will be your friend, and I'm prety sure hormones are all kinds of wacky right now for her, poor thing. But she's in good hands, give her time and try to spend as much time with her as you can, drag her inside if you have to and just let her follow you round the house for a few days, dramatic changes you will see. Wish you the best of luck with her, and with your new babies !!