Yes total agreement,some dog breeds have quite high gear factors,worst I some breeds than others,we have have two gorgeous staffs,brother and sister,Tilly the little girl is scared of so much and acts just like your dog does,Tilly is frightened of ,plastic packaging,people wearing animal hats,especially panda hats,wheels on a wheely bin, guitars,stuffed toys of dogs,any power tool, red balls ,pigeons,shoes and much more! Max the older brother hates
noises, he will pant and walk about,and not settle,but Tilly will do all these and wet herself!
Our dogs respond to calm voices,letting them go to where they feel safe,if you over fuss them ,it's giving them the message it goodmto be scared.let them sit near you and talking soothingly.
Often chewing something is the answer as it produces a feel good hormone,in time your dog will calm down somewhat,and some fears can get better,a lot of dog are very scared the first time they see something new,and once it's been seen ,the next time it's better,and gets better each time they experience the fear.
Tilly was also very frightened of swimmers at the beach ,road signs and chinese people!! And she is fine about all these now,
And the signs your dog is showing are typical fear symptoms.