mom-dog stopped feeding but wants puppies

Question
two months ago someone dropped off a smallish brown mutt (25 lbs.)   The dog was skittish and wouldn't approach anyone.  We've left food outside for her and she ate it. She looked starved when she arrived and was getting fatter.  So we thought. In Feb she disappeared for a week and reemerged with teats.  About a week ago, we heard puppies crying at night loudly and for long periods of time in an old barn. We waited for 2 days but mom was nowhere in sight--we usually would see her running around.  Her food dish would be empty but there are lots of raccoons and groundhogs around, too. We found 1 male puppy in the barn, dirty and terribly hungry and stuck in a pile of wood in the barn.  We fed him and put him in a puppy box (big enough for mom) back in the barn.  More crying at night.  Next day we found a female puppy--very very hungry.  We fed her and returned her to barn in the box with her brother.  We fed goat's milk and puppy supplement in bottle. After about a weed we saw no evidence that mom was feeding.  She reappeared but puppies would be ravenous and their bellies would appear shrunken and wrinkled. We've now found a 3rd puppy and have brought everyone in. All are thriving but mom hangs around outside.  She is a brave good dog but she won't nurse her pups and she's terrified of us and our house dog, a weimaraner.  Is there any way to reunite mom with pups at this point?  Should we encourage them to play together?  If we take pups out mom appears--barks at us with her hair up on her back, sniffs pups and stands well out of reach. She's obviously distressed but still won't nurse. The pups appear to be 4 weeks old, teeth are emerging and they now eat a mush of puppy food and stage 2 puppy milk.

Answer
Hi Jen

At this stage of the game it is not likely that the pups and mother will bond.  The pups are better off in your care.  

What you want to do is try and catch the female and get her shots, dewormed and spayed as if a few months, you can expect the same scenario.   A dog can be "rehabilitated" or at least learn to trust you with kindness and good food.  

Good luck