Periwinkle is not, in my mother's estimation, acting like a normal puppy. She's 12 weeks old. She's not very friendly. If you try to pet her she shrinks away as though she's afraid you're going to hit her. She doesn't mind being held, but that's only if you can manage to pick her up to begin with; she runs away when you try to. She barks at new people (or people she's already met that she hasn't seen in a few hours), but doesn't approach them to check them out. She and my boyfriend had a long barking conversation with each other, and when he took off running she chased him and kept barking, so that was encouraging; it looks like she has some spunk. But in general she is just ridiculously timid and, as you can see in the pictures, tends to stay right by my mom's feet.
My mom got a really funny vibe from the breeder she bought Periwinkle from and is afraid it was a puppy mill. She said Periwinkle is everything they tell you not to look for in a puppy but that she felt so sorry for her that she had to bring her home. I don't really know anything about puppies, but it seems really weird that she's so afraid of being touched. If you approach her reeeeally slowly she is okay, but if you try to pet her like a normal dog she freaks out.
What do you all think?