Hi everyone,
I’ve had an Australian Shepherd puppy for a week now. As I expected, the move was very stressful for him at first, so he was quite frightened. But for the past few days, he’s finally started coming out of his shell and seems to be at home in my house.
However, it’s a different story when it comes to the outdoors.
Firstly, when it comes to crossing the threshold to go outside, he’s very hesitant at first. Once he’s through, it’s a bit better, but it’s as if he simply doesn’t want to go out; I have to persuade him to come out by calling him and crouching down.
Then, once outside, he sticks right to my feet, circling me with his tail down and sitting in front of me throughout the whole walk. I live in town, so I thought that all the cars and noises were new to him, so it was normal for him to be scared. He’s also frightened of people when he spots them, but when they approach, he’s happy to see them and jumps up at them. He’s also scared of other dogs and barks when he sees one a bit further away.
I called a dog trainer who told me that this wasn’t normal behaviour for a puppy, and that they’re supposed to be adventurous and not show this kind of fear initially. However, I’d rather ask for a second opinion here because I can’t help thinking she might just be saying that so I’ll sign up for a puppy training package with her (not that it’s necessarily a bad idea, but I still wanted to get an outside opinion on my puppy’s behaviour).
In conclusion, is it normal for a puppy to be hesitant and fearful during the first few days, and will it change, or is there really a behavioural issue with my pup?
Sorry for the long message, but I wanted to explain the situation as best as possible.
Thanks, everyone!
