A week later. We're following the advice here. I tend to go a little goofy-nuts with research and joined a shy dog list on yahoo. The coolest thing I have learned so far is that Simon is barely shy at all. Yes, he is a little. But man, there are some severely shy dogs out there in the world.
We are, luckily, a clumsy household, so there is plenty of clanging and banging, and he barely seems to notice this anymore. He likes the people in our lives, mostly adult children and their buddies, and the little kids across the street. I have been taking him down the street to watch and listen at the playground. He seems to think that's fun 
I think a lot of his initial concerns were a response to transitioning from rural New Hampshire to suburban Virginia. The trash trucks are still Wicked Scary.
But I suspect most of our focus for now will be on his nervousness about strange dogs. Just neighborhood walks, which we can't really avoid, are still pretty hard for him. (Again, compared to the shy dogs on the shy list, he's downright outgoing!) We bring a lot of treats and talk and tell him about the airplanes and so forth. I hope this is going to be enough to make him at least relaxed about walking, since we are walking fiends.
He's doing great. He adores clicker work. He wants to chase the long-suffering cat. He is funny He's snuggled up next to my leg watching me type this.
