VApeople, I'm with you, and I'm not at all afraid of dogs, of any kind.
But.....There is one thing that does make me afraid of a dog of any size: when they come on aggressively,
and the owner does not, or cannot, make him obey. To me, that tells the dog "go ahead, intimidate all you want".
Ignore people here who want to make you out to be a
suspect!