That said, your dog is a fabulous prop. Get a dog that is approachable and sweet. Women will walk up without hesitation to pet your dog and then, talk to you. This conversation can easily take you to discussing dog stuff. Involving her dog makes the whole thing much more casual and ultimately less threatening or intimidating to her. A girl’s rational is a guy with a dog is gonna be a good guy. After all, he loves his dog, right?

So if you are friendly and interested in her dog, she will instantly like you. She won't walk away from anyone who is being kind to her dog, especially if you know how to pet (the dog) and sincerely like the animal. Although if you mistreat or have an aggressive dog, forget about it. Now, she may not immediately like you enough to say yes to a date, but she’ll probably chat each time she sees you in the neighborhood. You can continue to unfurl your charming, up-beat, and friendly self every time she comes around. I’ve watched it happen.

You can also tell a lot about a person by how they treat their dogs. Do they run and play with their dogs? Is it a fit, healthy dog? Does she dress it up in little outfits? Different personalities have different kinds of dogs. You will discover that a lot of times you can tell if you’ll like the woman by spending a few minutes with her and her dog. The breeds people select also give much information about their personalities. And remember, she’ll be drawing her own conclusions about you and your dog too.

The dogs can be the easy choice for initial conversation. First, complimenting the dog is almost as good as complimenting the owner. Then, how long have you had him? Where did you get your puppy training? Any advice on how I might get my dog to…whatever it is you are training her to do. These are open-ended questions, so she can’t just give a yes or no answer. Then, sharing stories easily follows and before you know it, you’re talking about what you do for fun, where you each live, and hey, wanna go hike together with the dogs later this week?

A friend of mine has met his last three girlfriends inviting ladies with dogs to come over to his fenced-in, dog-friendly yard and play. Worked every time. Then you can offer her a beverage, a seat, a snack and maybe plan the next play date before they leave the yard. It’s not such a big risk- because it’s about the dogs.

This works great for a woman’s psyche as well. There is no pressure and no rush when it’s about dog play dates. She won’t have her guard up so much; you have an immediate commonality- something that you both value. This makes her relax and open up more quickly. If it isn’t happening, there’s no rejection, really, as a neighborly relationship has already been established (and that means too, that if you are smitten, there’s always going to be another chance to meet up with her and her adorable dog), so you didn’t have to put yourself out there as much as when you meet a woman under other circumstances.

You may want to test this theory out before you go spend several hundred bucks. Dogs are definitely an investment in money and time (Piece of advice: avoid puppy mills and pet stores when looking to buy a good dog). Borrow a friend or neighbor’s pet and take it out and about. Key dog-walking times are mornings before work, until about 10:00 a.m. and evenings between 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. You will meet females. Guaranteed.