A relative of mine has 2 mixed breed dogs and the female may be pregnant (by his male). I wish that he had spayed/neutered his dogs but I doubt they have the money for that, that is a whole other issue.
My question is, is fearfulness, timidness, shyness, whatever you want to call it, an inherited trait or is it environmental? Both dogs were found abandoned, the male as a pup and the female as an older pup, maybe 6-9 months. The male is a mix of a lot of things but they believe based on his traits that he has some boxer, pit bull, and lab (probably a whole host of other things). He's maybe 40 lbs and is dark brown and black (brindle). He has a ton of energy and is very friendly and extremely well trained. The female is very dark brown and they think she is a mix of shepherd, lab, pit bull (and again, some other breeds) and is also around 40 lbs. She is also very well trained. I have only met her twice and the first time she stayed in the shadows and I barely saw her. The second time (last month) she growled at my husband when he was examining their oldest son (my husband is a physician and was examining the boy for swollen lymph nodes, stuff like that). Then the dog growled at me while I was holding our infant (I was just standing there and talking). They put her in the other room thankfully. It is scary when a dog growls at you when you are just standing there, not doing anything threatening. I wasn't even looking at her! Like before, I didn't even notice her because she had made herself invisible. I know from what they have told me that she has growled at their childrens' friends, as well as at anyone that dares step in their yard. But she is good with their 3 boys (8, 12, & 16).
Is this a trait she is likely to pass on to her pups or do you think she was just not socialized/had some previous experience before they got her that made her fearful? We may consider taking one of the pups but I am hesitant because of the female. I do want my next dog to be protective/guard dog in nature but I don't want us to end up getting bitten. Breeds we are considering are GSD and boxer, to name a few (all mixes, we are looking to rescue but would like the predominant breed to be one that we know we could live with).
I trust their male with my kids and he loves to interact with them. They are both easy to train, another trait I am interested in. They don't shed and both have shorter hair so they don't need professional grooming (another must for me-Lucy and Koda are enough for me). They are a decent size, don't demand a ton of exercise, basically have all the traits I am looking for in my next dog, except for the female's fearful nature.
What do you think? Other than the fact that these dogs shouldn't have been allowed to mate!
My question is, is fearfulness, timidness, shyness, whatever you want to call it, an inherited trait or is it environmental? Both dogs were found abandoned, the male as a pup and the female as an older pup, maybe 6-9 months. The male is a mix of a lot of things but they believe based on his traits that he has some boxer, pit bull, and lab (probably a whole host of other things). He's maybe 40 lbs and is dark brown and black (brindle). He has a ton of energy and is very friendly and extremely well trained. The female is very dark brown and they think she is a mix of shepherd, lab, pit bull (and again, some other breeds) and is also around 40 lbs. She is also very well trained. I have only met her twice and the first time she stayed in the shadows and I barely saw her. The second time (last month) she growled at my husband when he was examining their oldest son (my husband is a physician and was examining the boy for swollen lymph nodes, stuff like that). Then the dog growled at me while I was holding our infant (I was just standing there and talking). They put her in the other room thankfully. It is scary when a dog growls at you when you are just standing there, not doing anything threatening. I wasn't even looking at her! Like before, I didn't even notice her because she had made herself invisible. I know from what they have told me that she has growled at their childrens' friends, as well as at anyone that dares step in their yard. But she is good with their 3 boys (8, 12, & 16).
Is this a trait she is likely to pass on to her pups or do you think she was just not socialized/had some previous experience before they got her that made her fearful? We may consider taking one of the pups but I am hesitant because of the female. I do want my next dog to be protective/guard dog in nature but I don't want us to end up getting bitten. Breeds we are considering are GSD and boxer, to name a few (all mixes, we are looking to rescue but would like the predominant breed to be one that we know we could live with).
I trust their male with my kids and he loves to interact with them. They are both easy to train, another trait I am interested in. They don't shed and both have shorter hair so they don't need professional grooming (another must for me-Lucy and Koda are enough for me). They are a decent size, don't demand a ton of exercise, basically have all the traits I am looking for in my next dog, except for the female's fearful nature.
What do you think? Other than the fact that these dogs shouldn't have been allowed to mate!
She's a pro trainer, and this wasn't her first puppy, so she did know the difference between "good" socialization and "bad" socialization and all that. The puppy is two years old now and still is extremely fearful of new situations, people, dogs, etc. She was afraid of the fire place at the beginning of winter (her second winter in this house, no less), and wouldn't come into the living room for like 3 weeks until she got over it. 
