Uh-oh, I feel another trip to the vet coming on, with a dog the size of a barrel.... I would call Willow the perfect dog with others. She's not really interested in playing with most other dogs, but sometimes one will encourage her into zoomies, which is lovely to see. She generally tells boys off if they get rude, but it has never escalated beyond a snap and growl. The worst occasion was with the dogs I was talking about, where they just would not leave her alone, so she kept on telling them off, until I could get her away from them, being pretty domineering towards them with my own body language. But I never feel uncomfortable with her meeting new dogs, she's just brilliant. I don't know if it's because she's a bitch or just her personality.
A bit of both I would guess. But on the whole, and in my experience, I do think bitches are less confrontational than male dogs.
Which is certainly something to keep in mind in the future. You know, when I need to add a choccy to the collection
I think you done the right thing. When I done an adolescents course we practised walking past each other, allowing them a few seconds to say hi, then saying 'come on' and walk off and praise and reward. If I see a dogs body language change, or Harleys change, I call her back and carry on and praise her. Sounds like they are both doing really well x