"Aggressive" "Reactive" -- Either way, this book looks good...

Okay...now you have some idea of how long she can hold that calm.

Set her up for sucess. Do something before that 30 minutes is up and  before the barkfest begins.

Like maybe move her to a calm, quiet area. Or do some "clicking calm behavior" work.

Do you see where I am going with this?

She was fine, but got overwhelmed and lost it.

It is your job to catch it before she gets overwhelmed....and be proactive....manage the environment (and her mindset) at this point so she cannot carry out those behaviors.

I went downstairs to watch some tv... she was wooonderful for about 30 minutes then went on a barking spree (more barking though, less jumping for hands, etc.), and I called her downstairs, and she came running right away.

I think this is all good stuff, guys...

ORIGINAL: bichinpanda
I think this is all good stuff, guys...

Hooray! It's really smart of you to write down what went well. In fact, it might even be helpful to keep a little journal, jot down a few notes each day about what works, what doesn't. It'll help you learn!

ORIGINAL: bichinpanda

Dweezil uses a normal harness and still pulls, but the only reason I prefer it to a normal collar is because she doesn't choke herself to death with it...

When it comes to pulling:

its an extremely difficult habit to break, but can be done with patience. Joy still has pulling issues after 4 months, bt all in all are mostly receding. DOGS ONLY DO WHAT WORKS FOR THEM. PULLING IS SELF REINFORCING!!!  By letting your dog pull, you're telling her that it's ok to pull. When the slightest bit of tension goes on the leash, stop immediatle! Don't pull the leash, but stand there. As soon as she stops pulling, c/t. That is teaching her that pulling on the leash doesn't get her to her desired destination, rather stopping pulling gives her a tasty treat.

After about five minutes of this, she finally saw another walker, and instead of my having to click first or call her name, she turned to look at me first, before doing any barking! YAY!

 
YAY indeed!  I would've jackpotted this!  What a clever girl []
 

  Set her up for sucess. Do something before that 30 minutes is up and  before the barkfest begins.

Like maybe move her to a calm, quiet area. Or do some "clicking calm behavior" work.

 
This makes so much sense but I would add that 30 minutes might be TOO long with a different guest... the fact that this one was pretty unbothered probably helped her a lot, so bear that in mind and don't be discouraged if she responds a little less well another time.... err on the side of caution and remove her for quiet time after only 15 minutes or even 10 unless the guest is similarly "unbothered" like this one was.  Does that make sense?

err on the side of caution and remove her for quiet time after only 15 minutes or even 10 unless the guest is similarly "unbothered" like this one was. Does that make sense?

 
Yes, completely makes sense, thanks! I usually do remove her from the scene pretty quickly especially when I can tell the person's going to be annoyed with the barking. Thanks for the advice and encouragement! []

I finally took Dweezil on a walk at a time of day when we might see people... I'm noticing more now than before, and I'm not sure if it WAS there before or if I'm just seeing it now ... that she's REALLY fearful. She's so absorbed in looking around her and acting in a paranoid manner (kinda jumpy, etc), that she won't hear the clicker and she won't take a treat. She actually had a treat IN her mouth at one point and dropped it because she was so busy checking our surroundings. But other times when she's really at ease, she hears the clicker instantly and stops to look at me.
 
One good thing...but I'm not even sure if it's a good thing ... a couple was crossing the street close behind us, and Dweezil saw them before I did, and wouldn't take a treat, but when she saw them ... she didn't bark or growl or ANYTHING, she turned right away and dragged me towards our house (it was within sight). She completely ignored them, but the fact that she turned and started pulling tipped me off that maybe she was scared.
 
She didn't bark at any people today, only other dogs. No huge tantrums though.
 
My mom seemed concerned when I told her that Dweezil seemed more scared than she was before, and asked if we could stop the clicking. It is confusing...I'm not sure where this is going! Help!

Poor pupper! What have you noticed *does* make her calmer and less fearful when out and about?

I really have not noticed anything...putting myself in between she and the stimulus doesn't help, and she just pulls more when she's starting to "freak out" about being somewhere unfamiliar. And then I of course start to feel bad because I have to yank her back to get her to sit or to get a hold of her harness so I can pet her and tell her it's okay. I'm glad we're working with a harness so it's not painful (though I do wonder if the pulling hurts her legs...). Ugh. I'm considering getting a Gentle Leader just for the pulling, like everyone was telling me I might want to... but I don't know how to fix her being afraid. [] 
 
But yes back to the original question--I haven't really noticed anything that truly comforts her when she's in a stressful situation.

I feel for you, it can be hard work!

Please stick with the harness!

Here's a couple of articles on the head harnesses:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/tsuro/_articles/gentle_leader.html
http://www.flyingdogpress.com/headhalters.html

Here's a suggestion, try tying her leash around your waist, so that you aren't using your hands to pull the leash. This will help you remember to not pull quickly or roughly on the leash, too - that could be scaring your dog. When I was desensitizing my dog, I got pretty anxious and frustrated - trying to manage the walk, the leash, the treats ... all the while looking for the next trigger. If you keep your hands off the leash, she will feel your less of your own nervousness.

Instead of pulling her back to you when she starts freaking out, calmly, slowly, steadily walk backwards, keeping your hands off the leash, and saying nothing - keep quiet!. Doing this will be a gentler and calmer way of moving her away from the problem, and getting her turned around, to rejoin you. She's more likely to begin walking toward you if you use a slow, steady, gentle pull with your body, than an excited, jerking tug with your arm. Ideally you want to get her to turn around and face you, while you are facing the source of her barking, so you can keep an eye on it. Be calm! See if just having her get close to a "calm you" calms her, if not, try laying a hand gently and quietly on her shoulder or rump, which ever you think would be more soothing. Try some different things like this to learn *what* actually calms your dog.

Talking, clicking, petting, and treats excite my dog, so I dont use those when she's freaked out. When I want to calm my dog, I become very quiet and still. I kind of ignore her, and just focus on being calm inside myself. I imagine we are in a peaceful blue bubble and that nothing can touch us. Somehow my dog senses my calm, and she calms down, too.

I think it would also help to walk in familiar places for a while, till you both get your routine down. Even if you're just walking around the block or up and down the street, that's ok! Work up to new experiences and distractions slowly, as you are ready for them. As you're walking, do exercises to help you learn to observe your dog better. If you're busy trying to follow the click to calm protocol, you may not have enough attention left to simply see what's happening with your dog.

It's important to learn, by watching, when is she at ease: When you put the leash on? At the front door? On the front steps? On the sidewalk in front of the house? Does pulling on her leash make her jumpy? Is she calmer in a large grassy lawn or on a concrete sidewalk?

It's also important to notice when you are calm, and what calms you down! Try walking her in "easy" places, and slow down your approach to other people so you can really watch the stages she goes through. When you learn to catch her early, it'll be easier to "talk her down."

These kinds of observations are what you need to know how to help your dog! Try some stuff! []

Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for the comments. Yes, I needed to find a way to keep from having to tug her back, because her legs are so short, I hate pulling back. Ugh! The head halter just didn't look friendly...I actually went to the store last week to look at them and walked out with some treats instead...
 
Like I said before, YES it is SO overwhelming to manage treats, leash, clicker, and poop bags. Poor Dweezil. Ugh. I can't help but feel like since I'M actually learning with her, she's going through crap. But I do NOT want to find professional help until I've really gone through with all of this myself.
 
As for calming her, I always thought it'd be best not to touch her when she was reacting, but now that you are suggesting these things, it might actually help her. I will give it a shot tomorrow when I walk her in the morning...and update again.

...and thank you thank you thank you again! [] Dweezil thanks you too []

Ixa and I wave back and wish you a bright day tomorrow! [] Dweezil is lucky to have a loving mom who's willing to work at making her life better!

he's so absorbed in looking around her and acting in a paranoid manner (kinda jumpy, etc), that she won't hear the clicker and she won't take a treat. She actually had a treat IN her mouth at one point and dropped it because she was so busy checking our surroundings. But other times when she's really at ease, she hears the clicker instantly and stops to look at me.

This behavior should be your clue that you are working too close to whatever is distracting you.  So, when she's too nervous to take a treat, you back away from the stimulous, and when she can take food, you click for attention to you, and reward her like crazy (what Chuffy referred to as a "jackpot").  In this way, you will gradually desensitize her to the appearance of scary things, and she can begin to work ever so slightly closer to the distraction each time until she has so much confidence in you that she will be able to work wherever you want her to.  This process does not happen overnight, and some dogs remain leery for a long time, even though they get better and better. Have patience and you and Dweezil will do fine.  You have already had the one "aha" moment when she faced you instead of the people walking by, so are already primed to build on that. []

Hi spiritdogs! The thing that baffled me was that there was nothing there when she was jumpy. In the past, this hasn't happened; there was always some kind of a stressor around. I guess it couldve also been a sound that I hadn't taken notice of. But it was just that we weren't close to anything ... confusing!

I don't mean to sound sharp but I don't understand why you two are walking right now when she's very unstable. If you want her to get over her fears, you have to set her up to succeed over and over again. If you went for awhile without running into scary things and are trying to test her out, well, now you know. She is not yet ready to face those and to continue on.
 
When my dog was super fearful, I walked him in a very quiet place that had no distractions. While we walked, I worked on commands with him--with my clicker and treats in hand.
 
Now, should we come across something scary (to him), he can do the Watch Me with me and follow through on commands after that. Should he not know the Watch Me, I'd be in a world or hurt because once they zone out/into their fears, it's hard to break through. 
 
If she's too afraid to leave the house, I'd practice in the yard and then slowly, very slowly, introduce her to more.