My German Shepherd

Question
QUESTION: Hey I was wondering if you could tell me if this is normal or not. My girlfriend and I just bought a German Shepherd puppy that is 9 weeks old two days ago. When we first got her home and when we set her down on the ground she just laid there on her stomach. Well we introduced her to her cage and now she wont come out if we call for her. We have to drag her out to play with her. And thats the other thing she will play for a couple of minutes and run right back into her cage, where she just sleeps alot. She has been very good about going to the bathroom outside, but when we walk her if she doesnt want to go anywhere she will drag herself. Are we doing something wrong? Also the breeder gave us her first shot to be given to her that we will be giving her tomorrow. Any help please?

ANSWER: Hey, Vincent,

It sounds to me like your puppy is in shock. It's not uncommon. You just have to give her some time, get down on her level as much as possible, feed her from your hand, talk to her in a pleasant encouraging tone of voice, and don't drag her out of her crate. That's her safety zone right now. If you fight her over that she may develop a bit of distrust toward you. She's very young so most of this stuff will be forgotten in a couple of weeks, but don't drag her down the street, or pull her out of the crate. Coax her instead, using treats and your voice.

She's sleeping a lot because her "circuits" are overloaded with new sensory data.

I don't know anything about how to give a dog shots. Sorry. I'm not a vet.

I hope this info helps! If not, let me know.

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: ok I will give everything you said a try. Another thing though her ears arent standing up yet. Any specific time on when they should or should not stand up by? Thanks again.

Answer
Hi, Vincent,

Again, this isn't a behavioral or training question, so it's outside my area of expertise. However, my understanding is that the ears on shepherds start to stand up anywhere between 4-1/2 to 6 mos. But I could be a little off on that.

Best of luck with her!

LCK