rescued

Question
I rescued my puppy Lili today and she seems pretty scared of things. She
always wants me to hold her and any sudden movements or other people
sometimes scare her and she makes a weird, quiet grunting noise.
She is only about six weeks and sleeps A LOT,  falls asleep almost instantly.
She plays some too but i'm not sure what to expect from a dog so young. She
is a half chocolate lab half german shepherd mix. Also her eyes seem to
faintly shake back and forth, almost like a vibration. Any ideas?

Answer
Hi Lexi,

At just six weeks old, your puppy is just a tiny baby. Six weeks is actually a little too young to be separated from her mother and littermates. It's usually recommended that a puppy be adopted at 8 or 9 weeks of age. Those few extra weeks really matter to a small puppy. That probably explains a lot of her fear.

You can expect your puppy to sleep a lot, but you should also see periods of play which will become longer and more active as your puppy gets a little older, over the coming weeks. If your puppy seems to sleep too much, or if she doesn't seem to want to play, you should have her examined by your veterinarian.

Keep your puppy warm, and reassure her. Any dog or puppy when it's first adopted has a period of adjustment after arriving in their new home. This may take about 1-2 weeks, for a young puppy.

It's best to keep your puppy inside and away from other dogs until she's 3-4 months old and had all her shots. However, it's okay to make short trips outside at 9-10 weeks old to start learning potty outside.

Best of luck!

Patti