I'm wondering of "intense" socialization would help. Sort of the stuff you do with a puppy but she missed because of her illness and isolation. Some of the ideas would be:
checking into a local training center to see if you could find a class of similar dogs, with similar problems or small dog socialization time. The more people and dogs she meets with "nothing bad" happening increases her comfort with meeting new dogs and people.
try finding a group of friends/people willing to help...and take her on her regular walk, have the people (with or without dogs) casually "meet" you, let her go up, sniff, get a treat then walk on...sometimes you can use the same people and just keep circling the block until she has greeted and met so many people with the same reaction that she begins to look forward to seeing people on her walk.
at home/yard, you could play the "pass the puppy" game. Again, a group of friends would sit in a circle, call the puppy have her sit, give her a treat and then someone else would call her...repeat, repeat, repeat.
If you want to get her used to going out and about with you...keep taking her on small trips...if her barking seems to make others nervous...I would let them know...she is afraid, and we are trying to help her overcome her fears...ask if they would be willing to help by giving her a special treat...sometimes the answer will be yes, sometimes no...but I find that most people want to help small dogs...they just don't know how.
Best of luck...unfortunately there is no fast and easy answer, but the work will be so worth it! I love being able to take my girls everywhere. |