Fear During Walks

You have to let her now that since you are the leader of your "pack" you are in control of the surroundings and your dog can trust you on handling every "dangerous" situation, your dog could be afraid since he does not know if you are capable enough to "fix" those situations
 
Conact a professional behaviorist so he can help you to reach that goal

I think your trainer gave you excellent advice.  It's hard to not want to reassure them, but it does seem to reinforce their fear instead of calm them. I think the same will be true for walking, but I would caution that you take things slowly.  I wouldn't venture into places that are going to seem frightening, such as near a dog park or past the house with the mean, barking dog.  Walk in places that are safe and relatively quiet until she seems to have adjusted and then slowly add in more challenging places.  I do think that there are times when redirecting the fear towards attention to you is appropriate.  Not coddling, but there may be times when for example you see a dog coming towards you, maybe barking or pulling and can sense the apprehension in your dog.  In those cases, I step to the side and have my dog sit calmly.  I may use a treat to get her to focus on me until the other dog passes and then continue on our walk.  It's taken time, but it's much better than in the beginning.

I've been doing everything I know to establish myself as leader.

- I leave and enter the house first, telling her "OK" when she can follow
- She waits to eat -- always politely, except for the occasional head-on-leg with big "I'm hungry" puppy eyes [8|]
- I keep her at my side when we walk, but she'll try to pull ahead about every 5 yrds
- Wants are fulfilled only when she performs a command
- I try to stay calm-assertive a la Cesar Millan

I'm not quite ready to put up the $$$$$ for private training.

I've been working on getting her to sit during the walks. It took me a long time just to get that basic command, and I still have to touch her to get her attention. Today she did two heels after I let her out to the full length of the lead, so things are getting better.

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of good routes in my area for a long walk. The one I am using takes us by a few dogs, one of whom is a berserker. The first time we went by his yard he surprised both of us by charging up to the border of his electric fence, barking non-stop. Not surprisingly, my dog struggled against the leash; she now walks by without too much pulling, and looks at him and whines (?).

Tomorrow I'll try walking her back and forth in a smaller, more predictable environment to see if her behavior changes.

On walks, however, she has always been nervous/vigilant and sometimes shakes when we are starting out

 
I would suggest you walk without hesitation and keep her moving.  Also try and keep the things she is afraid of in the distance at first.  Find better treats if your using +R training.  I had the deli cut me a hunk of bologna and cut it up into small pieces my dog would do anything for those bites of yummies.
 

I keep her at my side when we walk, but she'll try to pull ahead about every 5 yrds

  I don't think walking a little ahead of you is an issue.  But if she is pulling you, than use the freeze method.  Just stop and don't move until the dog simmers down.  If she dosen't, bring her home.  What worked well with my dog was just turning around and going the other way until he calmed downed and then I would turn and go back.
 
My first thought is that these two statements  above are contidicting maybe.  Fearful dogs that don't want to go for a walk and seem nervious don't usually pull ahead, or is it that there are things on the walk that make her nervious?

I would suggest you walk without hesitation and keep her moving. Also try and keep the things she is afraid of in the distance at first. Find better treats if your using +R training. I had the deli cut me a hunk of bologna and cut it up into small pieces my dog would do anything for those bites of yummies.

That's what I've been doing. If I stop when we are still in sight of home, she will sit or lay down and refuse to move until I turn around. Once we get going she stops lagging behind and begins trying to move ahead of me. The pulling may be due to her having been raised with a flexi leash.

I don't think walking a little ahead of you is an issue. But if she is pulling you, than use the freeze method. Just stop and don't move until the dog simmers down. If she dosen't, bring her home. What worked well with my dog was just turning around and going the other way until he calmed downed and then I would turn and go back.

The worst pulling happens when there is a scent just out of reach of her. I do freeze, then go, then freeze... again and again, so long as it is safe. I'm thinking about putting down a hotdog or some other tasty treat for her to pull towards in the yard.

My first thought is that these two statements above are contidicting maybe. Fearful dogs that don't want to go for a walk and seem nervious don't usually pull ahead, or is it that there are things on the walk that make her nervious?

She is never very relaxed, whether outside or at home, or even sleeping (nightmares []).

She is never very relaxed, whether outside or at home, or even sleeping (nightmares ).

 
Just out of curiosity, what kind of dog is she?  How old?  How long have you had her?
 
My lab is rarely very relaxed either and dreams like crazy when sleeping.  I prefer to believe she's chasing bunny rabbits and not demons chasing her.  It's hard when you don't know what they've been exposed (or subjected) to before they came to live with you but it sounds like you're caring and commited to helping her overcome her fears.  I do think it takes time, patience and consistency, but my girl's come a long ways and I'm sure yours will too.

Sceilge, are you using any kind of halter or anti-pulling device on your dog?  A lot of us here agree that a Gentle Leader is best to start off with. 

And as a previous poster said above, use better treats outside.  I use hot dogs with my dog.  But even then, it was very hard to get his attention outside.  Train outside your home before you try it on a walk.

Go for a walk first, so that you drain some energy (yes, I watch Cesar too!) and then practice the commands outside of your house.  Wait a while if your dog doesn't respond.  Jean Donaldson says to tie your leash to your belt while you wait 2 minutes for your dog to become "bored."  Once he starts looking up at you, then start. 

Just out of curiosity, what kind of dog is she? How old? How long have you had her?

She is a Whippet mix, about 9 months old, and I've had her for 3 months.

My lab is rarely very relaxed either and dreams like crazy when sleeping. I prefer to believe she's chasing bunny rabbits and not demons chasing her. It's hard when you don't know what they've been exposed (or subjected) to before they came to live with you but it sounds like you're caring and commited to helping her overcome her fears. I do think it takes time, patience and consistency, but my girl's come a long ways and I'm sure yours will too.

I'm willing to wait, I just want to be sure that I'm doing the right things in the meantime. Her history before the shelter is completely blank. I don't think she was abused, but she definitely wasn't socialized well.

Sceilge, are you using any kind of halter or anti-pulling device on your dog? A lot of us here agree that a Gentle Leader is best to start off with.

And as a previous poster said above, use better treats outside. I use hot dogs with my dog. But even then, it was very hard to get his attention outside. Train outside your home before you try it on a walk.

Go for a walk first, so that you drain some energy (yes, I watch Cesar too!) and then practice the commands outside of your house. Wait a while if your dog doesn't respond. Jean Donaldson says to tie your leash to your belt while you wait 2 minutes for your dog to become "bored." Once he starts looking up at you, then start.

I started using an Easy Walk after she gagged herself on a standard buckle collar. It doesn't work very well at forcing her to face me because the size is slightly too large; if I go down to the next size the straps are too small and irritate her skin. The GL looks like it would be much more effective, provided that she would wear it without a struggle.

Today I got her to eat a few chunks of cheese during the walk. They were much bigger than usual... she probably ate more calories than she burned up. I'm not sure the +R is going to influence her when she is so fixated on watching her surroundings. She takes the food like it is a nuisance to eat it, then quickly swallows it. I'll add a few hot dog chunks into the treat bag tomorrow to see what happens.

What worked wonders for me, and which you may or may not have access to, is working with other friendly, well socialized dogs. If she has other dogs that she knows and is friendly with, taking her for walks at the same time as them, may allow her to realize there's nothing wrong here.

For the too-big Easy Walk, try washing/soaking it in hot water.  Mine shrank a little when I did that. 
 
If you move to the GL be sure to introduce it very gradually using lots of treats.  Many dogs really don't like it so it's worth the groundwork to make it a positive experience for them.