Wow, this thread is great! I read through the whole thing before I realized it is 2 years old. Not that it matters, the tips are still helpful.
The best tip I got was from my trainer at Petsmart. He suggested a squirt bottle to spray water at Roxie when she is misbehaving. Works like a charm. When she barks at the vacuum, she gets a spritz. When she freaks out over us cleaning the hamster cage, she gets a spritz. When she is barking uncontrollably, she gets a spritz. She hates it, and most times all I have to do is pick up the squirt bottle and she runs away.
