Need help with my yorkie pup!

Question
I have a 5month old female yorkie/bichon pup my family has had her since she was two months old. My pups is scared to death whenever any human comes around her even if we are just walking by to go to the kitchen she'll run into a corner in her cage. When we try to let her out she'll hide in the house and then we have to find her. She wont eat her food if anyone in the family is around. I have tried letting her out just to sit around the family and she runs back in her cage. My family has had a pit bull that we gave away bcuz he was too strong for my small children and we have never had any problems like this with any other pup we had. this dog is very anti social and i am running out of ideas. I bought this pup online so not seeing her in person and seeing how she would react with us i think was a big problem, i do not want to sell her but i dont want to keep an unhappy pup that may get agressive with the family later on....please help

Answer
Hi! First off, dogs exhibit behaviors that foreshadow what they are about to do. If your dog is going to be aggressive she would be growling, lunging at the person, nipping, and so forth. Obviously she is the opposite extreme and very scared.
When getting her use to the family start by blocking off an area with a baby gate where she can see the family but your family leaves her alone. Allow her to simply observe. Next, find the person in your family she is least fearful of and have them throw treats (something she really really wants like people food) start by throwing them far away from you and slowly make them closer and closer to you. Do this daily and with different family members.
Is it possible that your small children have done things to her when you weren't around that has made her fearful. It's so important to ALWAYS supervise kids when they are around dogs. Never allow the kids to play with her when you can't watch everything.
Hope this helps!
Lesley