Puppy shy and nervous around new people - is this a sign of a problem?

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We have a 10 week old puppy who came from a reputable breeder (kc assured). She is very well settled within our family and clearly loves us as we do her. but is really quite nervous of new people. People who come to the garden she has approached for a treat but very apprehensively and children coming over to see her makes her anxious and she tries to hide behind us.
I know she was brought up in a household with teenagers and used to general household noise. But I am concerned how normal this is. I am worried that I could end up with a fearful reactive dog who can’t be trusted. I thought at this age she would be a bit more bold and friendly. It’s obviously even harder than usual to socialise a puppy so I am a bit anxious now myself how this will pan out and how she will react once we eventually bring visitors in to the house not just the garden.
She seemed friendly to us when we went to the breeders house so there weren’t any signs when we collected her that this would be an issue.

Completely normal in a young puppy. Some puppies are bolder than others, but personally I quite like the fact that ours is nervous with strangers. She's unlikely to go of with anyone else and warns us if someone comes to the house, that is part of her job.

Just to reassure you, our youngest dog (now almost a year old) was like this when she was younger, and is still not a big fan of crowds, but we had visitors yesterday and she was very interested in saying hello. She is also increasingly enthusiastic about greeting strangers when out on walks. It helps that we have other dogs who are very sociable with people, but don't panic, just keep introducing her to situations that don't scare her, but push her to the edge of her comfort zone. Get her happy with that, and then move on to the next phase.

Also, when she's a bit worried, don't croon at her with the whole, 'Oh, sweetie, it's alright, don't be scared' because you are effectively rewarding her anxieties. Be very alert to her frame of mind, but aim more for a bit of jolly hockey sticks: 'Oooh, look, that's new, want to take a closer look? No? Well, never mind, how about we look from here, that's all fine, isn't it?' Of course she won't understand the words, but the tone will convey that you are unafraid and can't imagine why she should need reassurance.

My puppy was similar..and one thing I would say is don't push it. We tried TOO hard to socialise our nervous puppy and with hindsight it made her worse. Respect her boundaries.. let her see new experiences and people..but at a distance.. don't let strangers expect to pat her (imagine seeing that big human hand coming down if that was your little head!).
If you have people round ask them to ignore her.. she will investigate them at her pace.
Mine will never (or very very rarely) go to strangers..but why should she; she's ours and loves us and only us. She's gradually gained confidence with known people, and known other dogs but is not going to be a social butterfly.

She doesnt need to be handled by lots of noisy unpredictable kids (or adults) just to see them from a distance!

Thank you that makes me feel a little better 😊

Just to add - ours was exactly the same. Don’t force it. They get there in their own time - you might find the same with walks as well- just take a bit longer to like new things.
Ours absolutely loves new people now that come to the house but still is a little nervy when people go to pet him in the street. To be honest I’m quite happy for it to stay that way!

Hmm, I’m going to go against the grain a little.
I haven’t actually come across any puppies nervous like you describe, all friends/families puppies I’ve known have been very confident.
My dog as a 10 week puppy was extremely confident and she’s a breed known for nervousness.
I would be a little wary.
Yes she might mature fine and I certainly hope she does but I would be prepared for the possibility that she may also mature into a nervous adult dog.
I’d socialise her very carefully, at a distance making sure she isn’t uncomfortable or overwhelmed at any point.

Yes tread carefully. Don’t overwhelm her or force her into accepting treats. Let her see things from a distance.
And KC assured doesn’t mean reputable.

Ours was wary at first - not trembling or hiding but deffo cautious. Still is in that she won't gambol up to someone and jump up but will sniff a hand and wag tails. There is a correlation in friendliness is they smell of dog treats! She's not unfriendly but still a little cautious. I think this is normal in a collie dog though.

Do you have a border collie lostarcher?

No, a rough collie (like Lassie). Had a bearded collie years ago - she could be a bit wary too. Collies like their herd!

I think this is normal in a collie dog though
I have a working border collie.
While I do agree that herding breeds are prone to nervousness, I am still of the opinion that puppies generally are quite hardy, confident little things.
I would be wary of a nervous pup.
It could turn out of fine of course, but I’d be wary and prepare myself for the possibility that it also might not.

I think it just needs time and some understanding people who know to approach a stroke under the head rather than on top. I wouldn't say that ours was nervous, more stopping and thinking. Shows no signs of nervousness in any other area and we had people over on Saturday and she was fine.

Our last dog was very wary of people as a puppy. Not exactly scared, and he'd be wagging away just not quite confident enough to approach, and when he did if they reached for the top of his head he'd run away. We did tons of work multiple times a day with a positive, jolly attitude with lots of treats and it worked to an extent. I never forced him to go to people but focused more on him learning to sit quietly and ignore them, and if he chose to approach he was quietly rewarded. I was also concerned he'd be even more reactive as an adult but actually he isn't.

He just isn't much in to strangers, generally avoids them and ducks away from those that try to pet the top of his head too fast. He has about 5 or 6 people outside the family that he completely adores and he's the cuddles dog ever with them. He also loves the vets.

In some ways it's quite good, he never bothers people out on walks. He is never bothered about strangers coming in to the house and conversely he is very confident with dogs and strange objects/ noises. If he had a problem with those I'd have been more worried.

That’s interesting apinia. I don’t yet know what she is like with other dogs. Going to start puppy classes soon hopefully

I've got a 3yr old that was nervous as a pup - just her personality. The plus side is that she never approaches people she doesn't know - she was never that bouncy pup jumping up at strangers. I had to teach her not to be nervous of children though. I've had multiple dogs for over 30yrs, and they do have very different personalities - even within the same breed.

Like @alpinia pup mine doesn't want strangers to pat her on the head, would never go off with a stranger, but is very happy to accept new people into her life, once she knows they are OK - a complete contrast to the pup I got after her who thinks the whole world is going to be his next best friend..... I have to put him on lead when I see people approaching who don't have a dog, he thinks it's his job to convince them that dogs are wonderful.

Being a nervous pup does not mean being a dog with problems so long as you don't try and force her into situations she can't cope with.

Shy but gentle isn't a bad thing in a puppy. If not overwhelmed but given plenty of exposure to people and experiences, she is likely to be a polite adult who doesn't interfere forcefully with strangers. The best thing that happened to my slightly shy young dog was moving to a busy working farm with lots of staff, none of whom had much interest in him. To this day he tends to tactfully avoid white women as they are the group most likely to pursue him for unwanted self-fulfilling contact. Try to get your friends to come around as much as possible (within Covid rules etc) and when they do so, ask them to ignore him completely.