My sister has just bought a labradoodle pup (12 week old bitch), she is gorgeous, and we were able to view her with her siblings and her mum. She seemed fine, but now she is home we have noticed that she is a little clumsy and slightly pigeon-toed. She also doesn't get very bouncy although she likes toys, she seems to just want to sit and play with them, and doesn't ever really charge around. I have two Australian doodles and they are quite high energy.

I did think that the clumsiness might be down to the pups being fairly confined where they were living, or that the car journey had upset her.

She is a beautiful dog, but I am concerned.

It could well be the anxiety of her new surroundings, Immi was the same for the first couple of days. However you should take her into your vet asap for a checkup, which is advisable to do with any new pup. Also check her for any obvious signs of infection, look in her ears and give them a sniff. If there is excess wax or a bad smell she may have an infection. Also check her poo to see if it is solid, there is a high possibility of worms in pups, an infestation can make an animal lethargic. Do you know her worming schedule?

If she's only been home a day it's very early to say - Barney slept for most of his first day home. It could be she's very tired and over stimulated?

Having said that, wanting to sit down rather than stand etc doesn't sound the norm, and she's quite an old pup. I'd be trying to get her into the vets asap.

And just so she's aware, anything that is discovered now isn't likely to be covered in insurance, she'll need to have cover for 2 weeks. I'm not sure if you can back date it?

As Immi says, any new pup needs a vet check, and hopefully that will put your sister's mind at rest. A lot of pups bumble about in a clumsy way -especially the doodle pups who have the lab build, but any worries need to be discussed with the vet, and if there is a problem, then talk to the breeder as well. I hope the little girl is fine, and just being a puppy

Cleo was like that for a couple of days when we first got her.
Saw her with both parents and siblings and she was full of life very excitable, but the minute we arrived home she just seemed lifeless. Leaving mum, her first car journey, new surroundings all added to her anxiety. Then there was the Vets on day two and puppy injections. She also could quite cope with her big feet and would trip over herself quite often, was cute an funny, but also a little sad to see.

However, within a week she was back to being the puppy we had originally chosen, bounding around jumping up and getting into all sorts of cheeky mischief. Infact, sometimes I wish she would go back to that quite shy nervous puppy we first brought home (especially at 9pm when me and Mrs N are tired and want to chill out in front of the TV, yet Cleo decides now its playtime!!

Don't panic. Take her to the vets for a check-up and give it a few days, I'm sure Immi will settle in pretty soon.

Hi, teddy was very subdued when we first brought her home - in fact it took about 3 weeks for her to start to come out of her shell. After that, when she had adjusted she would play and stuff and up until about 5 months I thought I had the best behaved puppy in the world (apart from the bouncing ) however, I guess she was just a late developer because once she hit about 5/6 months she turned into a normal doodle puppy monster In fact she still acts like a pup now even at 14 months. I think dogs are like kids, some take longer to develop than others. As long as you get her checked out by your vet i'm sure it will be fine
(even at 14 months Ted still thinks her reflection is another dog )

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I feel very reassured by your experiences. I think that one of mine was quite subdued and slept all of the time, and she is still a bit like that until you get her out in the fields when she runs like the wind. My younger doodle was a monster from day one, and so full of energy. I guess they are all different. I watched the pup tonight and she already seems to be coming out of herself and showing interest in my dogs. I think that is what unsettled me the most, she seemed to ignore the other dogs and they ignored her. It was all a bit strange. Much happier now, and I will let you know how she goes on.

Thanks again.

ahhh, people said to us for weeks how calm and relaxed Murphy was, not anymore!!!

I would still get him checked just to be on the safe side, you'll sleep better then too!

Good luck and let us know
xx