Need advice on how to help a friend with her overly anxious cattle dog

I agree this dog needs more relational work, starting with more structured activities that will build her ability to focus on her owner in the presence of distractions. But honestly it also sounds like your friend is going to need more (and better) professional help from a properly credentialed trainer and/or a veterinary behaviorist. There are several good books about reactivity out there, but it really sounds like your friend is going to need some professional support, and like the earlier trainers either weren't good ones (it's an unregulated field, literally anyone can call themselves a dog trainer) or else their protocols weren't implemented very fully. It's really tough for a first-time owner of a high-drive, high-energy breed to make much progress with a reactivity problem on their own, especially when time and space are short.

/r/AustralianCattleDog Thread