Advice needed for nervous dog hiding

[LisaK]

I'm in need of some advice please. (I hope you don't mind me tracking you down Emmabeth!)

I rescued Tilda an 8 year old Springer from living in a field next door two years ago. She's a very nervous dog at the best of times and is even frightened of people she doesn't know. Shes obviously been beaten before as anything pole shaped used to send her running although she seems to know now we arent going to hurt her. She's panics if if in a situation that she's not happy with and tries to run back to safety, be it the car or the house. but has come on an awful lot in the time I've had her though and will now look to me for safety rather than just run. She's generally the happiest dog despite all of this.

She's always spent her days after her walk on her back on the sofa. Her safe place is under my bed and that's where she sleeps at night. Something appears to have scared her though, I think when I wasn't there, and for the last 7 weeks she's spent her days under my bed too (not the whole 7 weeks we've been away camping a couple of times with her). Noises frighten her even down to the rain so I think a noise was the culprit. We live next to an airfield and they do let off a bird scarer but that's been going on for a year and although it frightens her at the time, she doesn't normally dwell on it.

She seems happy enough under the bed and wags her tail when I go up and talk to her. Mostly she's asleep. In the evening she's happy to be downstairs with us (which is why I think it's something that's scared her rather than a problem with her). Just as an example, it took me around 6 months to get her to go in the garden on her own before bed in the dark and even now I still have to be in sight of her. She was always ok during the day though.

How can I encourage her to stay downstairs? I obviously don't want to block her safe place off completely but there's only so many treats and chews I can give her. She will come down and play ball but as soon as they game is over she's back upstairs. She's very good orientated but when she feels nervous that's the first thing to go.

The kids have gone back to school/college so it's just me,her and my other dog in the house all day.