The American Beagler Forum

Where does shyness come from? How does shyness get bred into a dog? I used to think it was how they were raised, but now I know different. I know of different litters of pups raised where every precaution was made to keep them from being shy, they were still shy. They were taken from there mother early {so she could not be an influence}, still shy. Pups were even born and taken from their mother and raised by an overly friendly dog, pups still shy. Tried playing music and banging on pans when they were pups so they would be used to noise, still shy. Tried total silence, still shy. Brought them in the house and raised the around kids, still shy. I know this may not be a problem for most, but does anybody have a clue where this comes from. It also seems some bloodlines have this more than others.

i know what you mean. I think the crutial socialization time between 6-12 weeks pups should be handled alot etc. Should not be taken from the Dan earlier than 6-7 weeks also. They learn alot when with thier littermates too. raised as close to people as possible would have to help, but not all of them.

It is a combination of breeding and socialization.
Some dogs are well socialized and still shy.

Sounds like your pup is the result of a bad cross. You should let the breeder know the problem, and hopefully he won't make that cross again.

SilverZuk wrote:It is a combination of breeding and socialization.
Some dogs are well socialized and still shy.

Sounds like your pup is the result of a bad cross. You should let the breeder know the problem, and hopefully he won't make that cross again.

The cross is: "Branko" {Lumberjack} linebred on the top side and "Bredemeier" linebred on the bottom. But we have tried everything in a 5 year span with 4 different litters trying different things with the same results. I think you may be right and I may have to just go another direction. It really is a shame, they all can just pound a rabbit the way it should be, it's just this shyness.

some are just that way.........fact of life

Its in the breeding.......everybody braggs about the father/daughter or littermate crosses they make, not realizing that subsequent breeding produce some real fools. A shy or spooky dog should not be bred if bettering the breed means anything to you. Shy is not a characteristic of a beagle and should be culled out.

In reference to taking pups away from their mother at a young age: This can cause shy pups rather than preventing it. There seems to be a new fad (Ive been guilty of it as well) of trying to get the pups off mom by 5 or 6 weeks. Mom has valuable things to teach pups and the last bit of nourishment they get from her milk is important to the pups immune system.

Socialization is very important. I have been given pups at 8-12 weeks of age that were spooky and shy and the owners were fed up with them. Two weeks with my 4 kids and they were bold and agressive. This is still not a fool proof method.

I think it is safe to say there are multiple reasons for why a pup would be shy but if its in the breeding or they dont out grow it they get culled pretty fast from my kennel. I have a friend that says he likes shy dogs so no one can steal his dogs. Problem is he cant catch them either. When we finish the hunt I leave him there for an hour or so to catch his dogs. These dogs are all from a popular bloodline that you all would recognize and when I see guys talking about inbreeding the line I can only pitty them.

yes my beagles its in the breeeding ,, but no just cause u do a father daughter cross doesnt mean they will be shy ,, itas in the bloodline somewhere u just gotta figure out which side it came from a stay away from it. i have crossed some dogs pretty close never had a shy on eye ,, but if it was my bloodline of the dogs i breed with it would come out some., i hate shy dogs with a passion,,if they were born here which so far they havent been they would die quick,...

Lumberjack has thrown alot of shy hounds, but was he shy himself ? I never heard he was, but have seen enough shy pups that have him in their ped. up close. We have 2 pups now with Lumberjack in them that are shy. The one that is inside getting more socialization has become much better than the one that is outside kenneled with 2 other pups.

I like to buy dogs in pairs as puppies or get one that is 6-9 mos old that has been raised with litter mates!

They are close with each other and seem to have confidence in theirselves.

If they are still shy by the time they are 9-12 mos old, you better get use to it or cull them as I don't beleive they will work outof it.

Shyness isn't the worst trait in the world, especially if they can run a rabbit!!!


Good Luck

I think years ago beagles always had a timid nature. It seems to me there much more agressive than in the past. Remember at one time the beagle was the number one house pet.