Extremely timid dogs

Question
Almost a solid year ago my mom and I adopted a Aussie Cattle Dog/ German Shepherd mix who was terrified of everything except other animals. She had a litter of 11 Red Wolf/Great Dane mix puppies and we kept one who is now 6 months old. Our mother dog is almost beyond helping but she's slowly starting to except people...Very slowly. If we take her for a walk and she even hears a stranger's voice she tries to bolt. Her first instinct is always to bolt but she's getting more curious now that she's spayed. Unfortunately she's also displayed some aggressive behavior after getting spayed too. I don't even know if it's worth it trying to help her anymore or if it would just be a waste of time... And the puppy we kept love everyone that lives in my house and she is also obsessed with my brother and his family, until recently she would actually urinate on herself when she saw them because she was so excited. But when she's around strangers she's a completely different dog, she's fearful and she tries to hide and she's even started resorting to fearful snapping lately. It was my dream for her to be a rehab dog and she loved seeing all of the patients at my mom's work when she was a baby but now she's so scared of everyone I don't know if I can turn her around. I recently found out that almost the entire litter is beginning to act this way, even the very socialized puppies that used to love people. Is there anyway to turn this around? Like I said her mother is terrified of just about everything and almost everybody and the father is very aggressive. I would really appreciate any help you could give me on this.

Answer
Dogs have been domesticated since before civilization. For thousands of generations friendliness has been bred into them. Wolves are not. They are selected by nature to be unfriendly and suspicious. That is how they survive in the kill or be killed wild. Friendliness is not just learned, it is also genetic.

Also, pups do not just learn from people. They also learn from observation. If the pup has observed fearful behavior in his mother, he is likely to display that behavior as well. The mother was probably not properly socialized when young and that is a difficult problem to overcome. Neither dog is ever going to be 100% safe and friendly around people but there is hope that with careful training they can be good family pets. Just remember you will always have to be careful with them when strangers are around.

I'm not touching this from this distance. It would be irresponsible of me. These dogs need intensive behavioral therapy, especially the older one. You absolutely must hire a professional to come out and help you with these dogs. You may even wish to ask your vet if he can refer you to a veterinary behaviorist. See if there is a trainer near you at betterdog.com and check with your vet.