I adopted a puppy from a shelter. they said they found her when she was
about 8-10 weeks old and I adopted her at 12 weeks. I know she's missed
some crucial socialization period, but I would like to know if the
effects will be permanent. So far she's afraid of everyone except me.
she runs and hides behind the couch when the kids come home from
school..they are giving her plenty of space to adjust. she freezes up
when we put a leash on her and is terrified of leaving the house, even
for a short ride in the car. during the rest of the day when she's with
me, she plays and lets me pet her and sits next to me, etc.
We've had her for a month now. House breaking isn't going to bad. I
take her outside to the yard at frequent intervals, but sometime she's
more interested in playing and forgets what she's there for( we have
two other dogs as well).
The other dogs play gently with her and they all seem to get along, but
it seems the bigger dogs are having 'accidents' in the house lately. Is
this normal marking behaviour?
As you can see, we're having a bit of trouble adjusting but I really
don't mind.. I'm just wondering if there's a way to offset the puppy's
hard start in life and to get my other dogs to quit their sudden
backsliding.

any help would be much appreciated!