Lethargic 13 wk Aussie Pup

Question
Hi,
I got a now-13 week old male Aussie pup a week ago from a local breeder
hearing great things about the breed's intelligence, energy, loyalty, and ability
to learn.  When we got the pup he was timid and shy, not to be unexpected as
he was in a litter of 8 on a farm going moving to a smaller house.  It's been
over a week and he has improved, he is more playful when it comes to chew
toys and treats, but is EXTREMELY scared of other people and shows now
excitement when seeing me or my girlfriend.  We do not leave him alone for
extended periods of time (2+ hours) and are house training him.  He sleeps
a lot and shows no signs of loving us other than when he is scared of other
people.  Just to mention, he is scared of others when they are 2 ft away or 200
ft away.
He eats 1/2 cup of food 3 times of day and has ample water, but I'm
extremely concerned about his reserved and timid behavior.  He shows no
signs of wanting to go out and frequently hides when we take him out to go
to the bathroom.  I grew up with dogs and I have never had a pup this timid
or unloving towards his owners.
Any thoughts/suggestions/advice would be a huge help as this is certainly
not the traditionally advertised Aussie.  Is there a chance that he is going
through an adjustment period?  Or does it appear that he is bound to be a
scared/timid dog the rest of his life?  The breeder is willing to give a full
refund but I don't want to give the dog back if this is normal behavior.
Thanks for the help!  

Answer
Dear JB,

Get the pup checked at the vet's if you haven't already.  You need to rule out any medical or physical reason for his behavior.  Once you've done this, I'd chalk it up to his personality and adjustment. Usually a pup gets taken by the new owner at 8 weeks of age.  This is not necessarily a good thing, but it could be why most pups are better acclimated to their new home by age 13 weeks.  The fact that you have said "he has improved, he is more playful" after just one week makes me think that he just is taking a little longer to come out of his shell, not only with visitors but even with you, his new owners.  No one knows what his experiences were before you got him, and this too could be a factor in his behavior now.

However, he does seem to be predisposed to timidity in general, unless we find out for certain that he was abused or badly neglected.  Either way, he needs gentle socialization NOW AND for a long time in order to get him to be the dog you expected.  Keep having visitors over and better yet, get him out to dog parks or a reputable cage-free dog daycare (tour the places and interview the personnel before choosing one) at least 2x/week, preferably more.  The more the better.  That said, don't overwhelm him or put him into a situation where he has no escape, which will scare him even more.  He may need to be held for a week or so in these situations, and any time you can feed him very yummy treats in the presence of anything that scares him, you should.  Take him on frequent walks in populated areas and do not coddle fear reactions; praise and treat any non-fear reactions you see.  Bring him to the local pet store, and anywhere else you can.  Let him approach people and dogs at his own pace, and keep him safe from harm but keep him mind that he has to experience life in order to learn to trust it.

Get him into a positive reinforcement puppy training class (go to http://www.apdt.com to find good trainers in your area) where you are heavily involved in the training and no physical manipulation or pain is used.  His breed wants a job and obedience is a good one to start with.

Good luck and thanks for writing.
Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysusa.com