Puppy terrified of everything

[Copperjack]

We brought home our puppy earlier this week. He is 15 weeks old. We have an older dog too. The puppy is terrified of our older dog and screeches every time he sees her. He’s also terrified of the cat and make the same sound. He is very timid.

I thought I’d asked all the right questions and done my research but I’m now wondering if he has missed out on the key socialisation time. He also hadn’t been vaccinated (has now had his first one) so we can’t try walking them together. He’s going to puppy class next week.

Can we fix this? The noise he makes when he sees the dog or cat is awful. Any advice greatly appreciated!

[missbattenburg]

Where has he been until now? i.e. what kind of environemnt was he in before?

[Bananarama12]

Is he from a puppy farm? When is his second vaccination as you still need to wait two weeks after this to take him out and about :( I hope he gets some confidence, lots of positive training!

[fivedogstofeed]

Was there any reason for not getting him at 8 weeks? Was he still with his mum until you collected him?

[Ticcinalong]

What is he like with people?
You can still carry him to places without putting him in the floor. I’d say this pup was sadly at more chance of harm (being taken to a rescue/ ultimately even put to sleep) due to poor socialisation than the risk of death from parvo/Lepto etc.
However his socialisation window is nearly closed, and he sounds very scared, so the usual advice for an 8 -14 week puppy (take everywhere and anywhere to towns, bus stations, meet lots of people etc) won’t apply as you risk traumatising him further. You need to contact a specialist behaviourist ASAP.
I’m sorry to sound dramatic but the importance of the first 14 weeks cannot be understated. Not to say you can’t help him, but I think you will need specialist help.

[AgathaF]

He's going to take a lot of work to overcome the lack of socialisation but with patience and perseverence you'll be able to make a big difference to him. How is he with you and other people he's met?

[Copperjack]

Thank you for all your replies. He was with his mum (who we saw) and littermates in a house up until now. He’s good with us and our children, no fear of them at all. He’s slightly more nervous of other people but doesn’t cower or make any noise - he’s happy to be stroked and talked to but I don’t think he would approach them himself.

Not from a puppy farm. The breeder is a friend of a friend. I think they were considering keeping him and his 2 brothers but decided they couldn’t keep all three. I don’t know why they hadn’t vaccinated. I feel stupid, I think I was more complacent because the breeder was not a total stranger.

I know the socialisation window is so short and I’m worried he’s missed this chance. We took our other dog everywhere (we had her from 8 weeks) and she is very well socialised.

We will be able to talk to the behaviourist at puppy classes which start this week.

[fivedogstofeed]

Having an older, well socialised dog will help a lot as the pup will observe how the older dog responds to situations. Also, as long as your dog ignores the screeching the pup will eventually stop.
Hopefully he's still light enough to carry everywhere! He needs to get out and about with you, loads of short car trips, sitting on your lap in outdoor cafes etc