I have a 7-month-old dog that loves meeting people and other dogs, but novel environments are her kryptonite. A trainer that I was working with regarding this once suggested carrying her through area that she is afraid of (like through the doorway) and setting her down inside. I've had moderate success with that.
It recently occured to me that if I could take her to new environments in a backpack that she is comfortable in, and feed her an obscene amount of high value treats that she ONLY gets in new environments, then maybe she might begin to develop a positive association with new environments. Set her down after two or three visits in a new area for a few months until she's more confident. I don't know -- I have to play it by ear with her and go at her pace.

She doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body. She just goes into meltdown panic mode when she is in a new place. Freezes, trembles, tries to flee, and just kind of shuts down by laying down in place with her eyes closed when she can't flee (if a bush or other form of cover isn't available.
Any thoughts? Is this a bad idea?