About 6 months ago my wife and I rescued a ~1y/o Basenji/Pitbull mix. She is absolutely the cutest thing, and is typically well behaved. She is extremely submissive. She is a fast learner and knows sit/stay/rollover/etc etc. We have completed a basic training class (which she passed despite having to sit behind a screen away from other dogs due to her excessive excitement). She picked these commands up quickly and will execute them on command when she feels like it. If there is a distraction or she decides that she isn't in the mood I have found nothing that will persuade her. I have tried high value treats such as meats, cheeses, and other goodies but when she is distracted or in a mood she ignores them. She is extremely ball motivated, but even that fails to get her attention when she decides she doesn't want to listen.

Every morning she whines and cries excessively because she wants to go play. I take her out pretty much first thing so she can get all of that pent up energy out, but sometimes I need to do other things in the morning first -- shower or whatnot. During these times she just continues to cry and whine. Additionally, whenever she is excited she whines and trembles. For example, when taking her for a walk in the morning she will start to whine and tremble as I put her harness on. Often (but not always) this continues throughout the walk. When other people see us I get strange looks as if I'm abusing her. She does this in many situations both in the house and out, both with the harness and without. We have tried a thunder shirt and it did nothing. On top of the whining she like to bark at every noise, bump, or sound that occurs outside of the house. We typically don't mind this as much, but have been working to stop that as well. After she barks we wait for a moment of silence, give her a cue and reward her for the silence. She seems to have learned and still chooses to bark. Since teaching her 'quiet', immediately after barking she becomes very submissive and acts guilty.

In addition to the whining and crying we have been unable to teach her to walk with a loose leash, or to stop jumping when people enter the house. It seems to me that any time she gets excited she just loses all focus and any ability to control herself. When walking she always pulls despite working with her to stop, and it makes our walks all the more aggravating. We have tried treat training, as well as stopping and turning in a different direction when she pulls. She'll get it for a bit and walk on a loose leash, but any time we continue in a straight line for more than a few feet she starts to pull again. At this point I think we're both frustrated. I feel awful about it, but I don't know what to do anymore. Without something that will consistently motivate her I have no idea what to do or how to proceed. It scares me to think that I will be dealing with these behaviors for the next 10-15 years of my life as I'm already so frustrated by them. I plan on hiring a professional, but wanted to see if I can resolve these issues myself first as she is wonderfully smart and obedient when she wants to be.