Nervous fear?

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Our lovely little rescue dog Milly is such a conundrum that I hope someone can help us with. Most of the time she's a very timid little dog (JRT Cross) but on occasions she turns into a snarling, growling, snappy little terror. For example we were out in the car and I had to stop and ask a man for directions. As soon as he leaned down she started growling and barking and appearing really vicious. The same happened when our electrician called around to the house on Fri evening. At one point I really thought she was going to bite him.Shocked I was trying to get her to settle by sitting her down beside me while he worked and when she barked/growled I would shove some peanut butter into her mouth. (this may not have been the correct thing to do but I thought I was reconditioning her)

It appears really extreme, especially when a man is involved. I've tried getting the visiting man to throw treats to her etc but she's not interested. The worst thing is that I cannot get her to pay attention to me when she's like this so distracting her with the normal things don't really work that well.

Simple things like a walk thru town is almost out of the question because her head is constantly turning looking for danger. Having visitors is another chore, particularly male visitors. I can't really bring her home to visit my parents because she is scared of my father and brother. I love her to death but its becoming hard work.

I really don't know what to do about this. I know this is because she missed out on her socialisation period as a puppy but what can I do to help her? Would an animal behaviourist help? And if so can anyone recommend one (am in Southern Ireland so you may not be able to)? She is such a sweet little creature and is missing out on so much love that people want to lavish on her and I hate to see her getting so distressed Plus its exhausting for me having to manage not just her but everyone she comes into contact with.

Thanks everyone.