Puppy doesn't like strangers- Is this normal?

Hi,

My Staffy is now 5 months old but has never liked strangers stroking her & she seems a little wary of people. She seems to growl at some people when she's had enough of them. I've socialised her as best as I could by taking her daily to a local Coffee shop & sitting outside/inside from 10 wks old. I live in an inner city area so she had always seen people etc. However, she's fine when she's left alone & not given any attention or when passing people on walks & is generally pretty good. She doesn't seem to mind other dogs either. I thought initially if was a fear period thing but it seems to be continuing on. Unfortunately, I have no car so I can not attend classes but do the usual obedience work in the real world e.g treats when ignoring dogs/people.  Does anyone have experience of dealing with this issue? Is it simply a case of it being the dogs personality & as long as she's behaving ok to simply accept it?
Many thanks in advance

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Your pup (what's her name by the way?) may just need people to keep their distance until she's ready to accept them. Have people gone 'puppy silly' in the past & loomed over her with hands & heads in her face? If so, she possibly just wants a bit of distance & manners from humans!

Try asking people to just talk quietly to her from beyond arm's reach & let her decide who she does or doesn't want to interact with. If you try & force it, she may well snap or (heaven forbid) nip. Listen to what she's telling you, that growl is her only way of communicating her discomfort with the situation.

It's a bit like people - very few people wants strangers getting in their face or hugging them out of the blue.

It's quite possible that she just needs to mature to gain that vital self confidence to meet & greet without fear.

Has she been spayed? If not (great), leave her be until she's at least 2 years old,which will allow the hormones to let her mature mentally as well as physically.

Hi,

Her name's Daisy. I'm quite shocked as to how some people have been behaving. They simply stroll up, stand over her & stick their fingers in her face etc. or they'll just stare at her whilst telling me how cute she is. I resorted to a lead cover sign which states 'do not pet' to keep people away but then I had someone asking me why I had the sign? I was a bit concerned as I feel that she does lack a bit of confidence but hopefully she'll mature. I was considering a behaviourist but they charge too much money. Thanks for the reply.