Nervous about meeting a dog

[LightningOne]

I've never had pets as a child, nor been around any. The only dogs I've seen are the ones I pass by in the street. They often stare at me intensely, moving their head to keep staring at me as I walk past as well as often parking loudly and trying to jump up at me. This is true of almost every dog I've met, reinforcing my originally existing fear of them.

Now, my date really wants me to meet his dog (big staffordshire with pointy teeth that weighs nearly 60kg (heavier than me). This is kinda unavoidable and I can't keep avoiding them forever. He kinda said he'd could muzzle him for the first meet if I like but then said, that would make things worse as the dog is less likely to become comfortable around me if he has to be muzzled when we first meet.

I'm very anxious about being bitten, etc. especially as that dog can demolish dog toys into shreds within a few minutes.

Any advice?

If you're scared you're scared. I'm currently sitting here with my big lump of a rough collie lounging on me nuzzling into my neck but I'd still be scared of a 60kg mastiff!

My tips for meeting new dogs:

• never look them straight in the eye,
• only present the back of your hand for them to sniff if and only if they come towards you,
• don't go to them and please dont try to pat their head!
• if it's somewhere that isn't the dogs 'territory' which they may be protective of then that might help.

The @Drum2018 could you give me some details about that class or who runs them?

@Barbarara I'm in Ireland. It was a local dog kennels and the owner trains dogs (and their owners ) and she ran a class for people who were afraid of dogs. If you are looking for someone I'd suggest contacting local dog trainers to see if they could do similar classes. If they don't they might just take the idea on board - I'd say there are plenty of people who could use such a class.