dog fear or anxiety

Question
I have an amazing 9 month old german shepherd puppy. Her name is Kate and has been a wonderful addition to our family. She is well behaved and does well with other dogs when they come to visit. She has shown no aggression towards anyone that comes to our hame although she make some noise. She is a little excitable when company first comes but she gets over it quick and usually calms down within a few minutes.
I just recently started taking Kate to obedience training because she could be deemed a vicious dog because of her breed. A new side of Kate appeared at obedience. She is terrified of other people (especially the dog triainer) when we are out of our house. She even goes to the extreme of trying to jump on my back (ouch!!) whenever someone comes near her at the obedience training. Kate loves the other dogs and plays freely with them. She is not mean in any way shape or form but when another person takes Kate by the leash, she turns into a manic bucking branco. Its crazy! She has never lunged at anyone but she does everything in her power to get away.
Our trainer is very concerned by this and thinks that Kate may become a fear biter. I will stress that when Kate is off leash, she will go up to other people but if they grab her leash she automatically tries to pull away towards me.
When we are at home she is smart and sweet. I would like to find out how I can help her with her confidence. I never hold her back from people and she sees different people all of the time. She makes a lot of noise at first, then she's your best friend. Please help...

Answer
Hi,

It sounds like you and your puppy are very bonded to each other and you love her very much. I can tell by the way you describe her that you are putting a lot of time and attention into your relationship with her, and that will pay off. Its just that right now, she does have to learn that it is ok to be left with other people.  And she has to learn how to socialize appropriately. Taking her to dog training is the best thing in the world you can do for her.

Part of dog's basic training (which she should be in, a basic class to take the Canine Good Citizen Test) will be getting left with someone else while you leave the room. When that time comes, you turn over the leash and walk away. Don't look back.

It's really likely that when you come back, Kate will be sitting calmly with the trainer - and if for some reason they need you, they will come and get you.

There are also some things you can do at home. When someone comes to the door, make her sit. behind you,  when you answer it. Don't let her run through the door, or push in front of you. Ever. When you feed her, do it after you've eaten, and don't let her beg you for food. When you practice your sit and stay with her, do it a little longer each time, and when you say 'come' don't let her jump up on you. If she is sleeping with you, you need to get her off the bed, and into her own crate or sleeping space.
These things will let her know you are in control and she doesn't have to be so "with" you.   

About her bucking and squirming and going off on other dogs -  The reason is, she is fixating or focusing on some other event or person/thing, and not listening to you, and to stop it, you have to anticipate the event, and when its about to happen, say 'sit' and 'quiet' and 'good girl' and praise her, so that she doesn't have time to fixate on whatever it is that gets her going.  Breaking the fixation is the key to this - and timing is critical. I have found that for some dogs, a very mild 'bark collar' will work, as it will give a little tingle the moment they start the barking. I have used this only when all other means have failed. It will stop the barking and going crazy.  And, when the dog is not barking and going crazy, she *can* focus on you, and you can direct her to do desireable things.

Hope this helps!