if only I could go back and have a second chance! I really believe now that us keeping Audrey away from other dogs til she was 16 weeks old made her completely unprepared to handle it when she was attacked. She has no problems with people, unless they run at her like they are crazy or from behind her, but with other dogs she is a wreck.

Cathy
when she first came home

I have my puppies evaluated by a very experienced dog person using the Puppy Aptitude Testing method at 8 weeks of age as part of the many things I do to help me pick which pup to keep and what pup would be best suited to what type of home for those I'm not keeping.
Over the years of using this series of tests, I have found it to be a very accurate predictor of the dog's adult personality traits. Another way it is very valuable to me is IF there is something about a particular pup that I'm not crazy about, it gives me guidance on how to work with the pup to overcome the problem, and I can provide the pup's new owners with direction on how to continue to mold the pup.
So in my experience, the personality a pup has as a youngster is what it will have as an adult, unless there is work done to enhance it, OR, there is some event(s) that has a very negative impact upon it. All socialization has to be done at an early age, much of it prior to the pup having all it's vaccinations, but it is so important.

Here is a link to the website of the testing method my friend uses, it explains how it is done and what each type of response indicates.
http://workingdogs.com/testing_volhard.htm

That won't make it better or make it go away.
Just take away what you can learn from the situation and move forward so you are in a good frame of mind to help Audrey from here on.
I know this is easier said than done, I'm my own toughest critic.....

it would be so much easier to handle if it wasn't something I did, or more like didn't do. I just feel so TERRIBLE.

Cathy
when she first came home

About 4 years ago I had 2 litters in a summer, 2 weeks apart. (very unusual for me as I normally do just 1 litter a year) Anyway, both litters were singleton pups, so I figured I could put the 2 pups together to help socialize them both.
Except the older pup was much smaller and mellower than the younger one and all the younger one learned was to beat up on the older one. It also didn't help that the younger pup's mother decided her duties were over when the pup was 10 days old. So I had a challenge on my hands.
As a pup she was handled a lot and exposed to known gentle dogs. We did a Puppy class as soon as I could get her into one, Obedience classes as an older pup and adult, Agility classes too, and lots of trips and social opportunities, etc. As she got older, her dog-to-dog interactions got worse and worse. So I haven't yet found the right method, FOR HER.
Today she can come on strong with people, too strong for children or timid folks, but overall does well enough and she is a very loving dog towards me. But other dogs are a different story. She is convinced she has to be the Queen and isn't shy about making any other dog aware of it. She is a handful to have in an environment with other dogs and needs to be closely managed at home. Certainly NOT what I wanted or worked towards, but she is what she is and what I have to deal with.

Clovis was by far the most shy and quiet of her littermates. She stayed in the back of their kennel while all the others ran to the front for me to pet them. But not long after I had her home, she became very outgoing and playful but fortunately has never displayed any alpha traits. She is just the sweetest thing, never picks fights, never growls at me, etc.





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And click here for puppy photos of Boo & Clovis:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/glandry113

Chloe loves people... all people... always! she does approach them submissively in what we call the "playfull puppy pose" (head on the ground, butt in the air). She has been that way since we got her at 10 weeks!

~Kellie and Chloe~