I got a gsp puppy a little over a week ago at 12 weeks old.  She seemed fine at first, but once I started socializing her, she started freaking out.  She is afraid of everything and everyone, including my boyfriend who I live with.  She either runs away and hides if anyone else but me is around, or she goes "catatonic", stiffens and shuts her eyes and doesn't move no matter what you do to her.  She does this with people or other dogs, she will not play with people or dogs.  She will play fetch with me if we are completely alone, and then only for a few minutes, and then she goes to lay down again.  She is not sick, I took her to the vet and she checked out ok.  She follows me around the house when it is just me there, but  as soon as she hears my boyfriends truck park, she hides under the couch until he leaves.  She hid for over 12 hours yesterday.

We have never hit her, and we do not even yell at her cause she is so sensitive.  When I am alone with her, a simple no is fine, and she never need scolding when the bf is around because she is just hiding.  She screams bloody murder when another dog comes close to her.  The only other dogs she can handle is older dogs that basically ignore her.

I live in a tiny, extremely isolated town.  We do not have the option of "doggy daycare" and any training courses would be over an hour drive each way, but I've been taking her to friends and neighbors for socialization.  She is ok as long as it is a small group and everyone ignores her until she comes up to them.  If anyone even tries to pet her, she runs.  If my boyfriend is there with us, she hides right away without even giving it a chance.

The plan was to train her to hunt, but she needs to be able to travel with me and hang out in the pack. We tried to hike with her the other day (my bf and I), but she bolted back to the truck and hid under it, refusing to go.  What do I do with a hunting dog that is afraid of the woods????

Any advice?  What is going on in this dog's head?  I'm not seeing any improvement and I'm beginning to think that she is not a good fit in our pack, and it breaks my heart.  My boyfriend has already told me to take her back to the litter, and I'm starting to agree with him.  I'd hate to be that person, though.  Help please!!!

 So if I take her back, do I demand my money back?  This seems like a really bad situation...I'm basically taking her back and saying that they are bad breeders, why in the world would they give me my money back?  The guy said that if for any reason I cannot keep her, to bring her back, anytime, but this is different.  

Do I just take her back and forget about the money?  I'm poor, that was my tax return that I spent on her.  I know you can't answer these questions, I've gotten myself in an awful situation.  No solution seems fair to her or me.

 She is not food motivated at all.  I even tried offering her a piece of steak the other day when she was "catatonic".  I didn't even make her take it from me, I just left it in front of her nose.  She ignored it.

I'm afraid of putting the time and effort into her and then one day she bites someone who just wants to pet her.  I'm afraid she will bite me when she gets scared, and she's only 13 weeks old.  

 She's about 20 lbs. right now.

I agree with Eleanor on her recommendations. The more you can just hang out with her in different situations the better. Exposure to all kinds of things and often, but with no pressure. You have to be confident though because dogs pick up on our emotions so easy. My oldest GSP was deathly afraid of anything with wheels so we spent a few minutes every day just sitting on the corner of our street watching the kids ride bikes, cars go by, etc. At first she got behind me and hid (she was on leash so she had to stay with me), I let her. Eventually she would just lay next to me and watch. As she improved I had one of the neighbor kids help me with his bike. It was slow going, but Belle is now a therapy dog and is totally oblivious to wheelchairs. She was terrified of them when we first started the wheel therapy.

Your problem is a little different because you don't know what she is fearful of besides larger crowds and your boyfriend. So aside from what Eleanor recommended, I would work to find a treat she adores (liver or cheese or hotdogs usually work well for most dogs, mine also like very ripe bananas so I have a banana treat I make as well). Once you find a high value treat get your boyfriend to help. Start with her on a leash and have him come over (just have him act normal and greet your normally as if the dog was not present) and watch TV or just talk. He should not look at her or even notice she is there. Since she is on the leash (or use a crate) she won't be able to leave. Make sure your boyfirend has some of those high value treats and is holding them. Just have him sit with the hand open and at some point I suspect your pup will get up the nerve to investigate. If she does, your boyfriend should continue to ignore her and not reach or look at her. Eventually she will take the treat. (BTW it may take many days for her to work up the nerve to approach you boyfriend.) You guys just have to be patient and help her work through this fear. 

It will not be easy and it will likely take quite a bit of time. Training will help give her confidence as well, so start with basic obedience even if you have to get a book and do it yourself. I would not give up on this dog as she is young enough to work through this, but you have to be committed and willing to invest the time. One other thing that might work is getting her around a bird pin so she can watch and smell them. Awakening her prey drive will overcome allot of issues with fear, but you have to be careful here too because it might frighten her too. Just go slow and steady and be confident.

 Thank you everyone for the advice, stories, etc.  Laska did a little better last night, we went for a hike (just the two of us) and she was a normal crazy gsp.  She played with my boyfriends puppy after that for a couple hours, on and off, and even dominated her a little.  I didn't mention it, but my bf got a 5.5 week blue heeler who is about 7 weeks now.  He left his puppy with me last night and went out, and it was one of the first times the two of them have played.  When he got home, she crawled behind me on the couch and that's where she stayed until bedtime, which I think was an improvement over crawling under the couch.

Today i had to bring them both to the office, and I just had to put one in the truck for a while because they were being so rowdy and romping together.  This afternoon I will drop Laska off at a friends house for a little daycare.  I'm not as worried after last night and this morning, she has been acting more normal (again, for a gsp).  I did not contact the breeder, I think I will wait a little longer and see if this improvement lasts.

I asked the bf to follow the advice of paying no attention to her and giving her treats if she comes near him on her own.  I will keep updates on whether or not they can get along.  Obviously, him being a blue heeler kind of owner and me a gsp, we are very different in our breed preferences (like, exact opposites), and I just don't think he appreciates the breed like I do.  Hopefully that will change.

I have owned a gsp before, which is why I chose this breed, my last dog died this winter of old age and I am not comfortable going in the back country without a dog...there's so many bears, big cats, coyotes, and other dangers around here (even in town).  I know the breed from having the Coco for 7 years, but I got her from a shelter at 4 years old, so I have never been through the gsp puppy years.

Anyway, thanks again for all the advice, and I'll keep updating her progress.  I'm sure I will have more questions as I try to figure this out.