Very Timid Rescue

Question
My family recently rescued a large breed puppy (Akita/Belgin Shepard mix), 4 month old female and we've had her now for about a week. She was captured living in a woodstack wtih 4 sibblings two of which were put down for fear biting. Our little girl shows no signs what so ever of biting, but is very very shy. She wants to play and wants to be loved, but won't really let us touch her yet. She follows me into every room and will lay down a couple feet from me. If I move toward her laying down she will often let me pet and love her, but otherwise she runs from us all.  Do you have any suggestions for bringing her closer to us? We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and she walks right up to them and licks them so she's not afraid of them at all and we make sure they don't hurt or scare her, but I'm worried that if she stays afraid that down the road fear biting could be an issue. Like to nip it in the bud.

Answer
Leeza, The best thing you can do is what you are doing now.  Just take it very slow with her and don't push her.  Let her follow you around and approach her slowly.  You can try sitting on the floor and calling her to you but don't look at her in the eyes.  Give her a treat and a gentle pet when she comes to you.   It won't take long before she becomes more trusting.  At that point, SLOWLY start to show her things outside.  Walks, brief trips to the park on a leash, trips to Petco or Petsmart.   It can take a while before shy dogs turn around.   It is really good that she is not afraid of the kids and that to me shows that she will be fine in no time.  You might try taking her to training classes in a month or so to help with socialization.  The more you can socialize her the better. She will gain confidence day by day.  She is lucky to have a patient family to love her.