<human>: Posted this a few days ago and didn't get any responses, trying again.

New to this sub, thanks in advance for any help.

Nora is a medium sized mixed breed rescue, she's roughly 8 years old and I've had her for about 7 years. She was abandoned and had terrible separation anxiety, which she no longer has issues with. She has been a great dog. She is well behaved in the house, gentle, and very responsive.

However, she still suffers from general anxiety and neurotic behavior. She will often exhibit obsessive behavior such as licking, "nibbling" on her blanket or bed, and barking. Sometimes she can work herself up to the point where she seems out of control; her heart rate gets high and she barks obsessively.

I've learned to live with it and mitigate it as much as possible. I can rub her belly and speak softly to her and that helps. It also seems to help if I make her do some easy tricks like "sit" and "lay down," it seems as if it helps her gain a little control over herself. I know this is generally frowned upon, but I experimented with a shock collar for barking. It actually seemed very helpful, she didn't seem frightened and it seemed to prevent her from working herself up into a frenzy. I was living in an apartment at that time and the barking was a major issue. I recently moved into the country so I haven't been using the collar. Exercise helps, but doesn't completely solve the problem. Her anxiety is at its worst at the dog park; she is much more comfortable around people than other dogs. About a year ago I rescued a second dog (a young pitbull), and that has helped her social anxiety a bit. The first few months were a little rough, but now they cuddle and groom each other regularly.

Overall, she seems like a very happy dog, but I know the anxious episodes can't be fun for her. Now that she is getting older I worry about her heart, and to top it off she has a genetic heart murmur. Any advice?

Give me a shortened version of the text
<bot>: Dog exhibits anxious and nervous behavior. We have made some big progress, but she still has doggie panic attacks fairly regularly. Any advice or tips would be much appreciated.