To be on the safe side, wear a leather glove/s.
(you can manage the food better with Leather gloves and better protection)
Leo's had a go at my wrist, hand but he was trying to get me to let go, never has since I started giving food
I've gone out wearing body armour!
Leather gloves
Wrist bands-like tennis players wear or elasticated wrist supports (offer lots of protection)
Wear a coat
So you get a reputation for being Crazy Woman cos it's summer, who cares!
Can't tell you how many times that I have gone home with tears streaming down my face, before I tried this method

I hope it works for you both-if you try it
Good Luck
And remember, give lots of food, over and over again, sausage, sunday roast.
Let me know how you get on
It costs a fortune but it's worth it

If he's moving backward or pulling hard, lunging or barking or going nuts, he's going over threshold. In order to work with a dog he has to be kept under threshold. The key is figuring out where the transition is. When is it that the dog has noticed the other dog, is alert, but is not yet going over threshold.

With Dahlia I would notice her posture change, her ears go up and forward, her tail go up. All signs that she had noticed the dog, was starting to focus on it, but wasn't yet to the point of going over threshold.

That was where I began. I started with letting her notice the dog and then (as others here have talked about) give her treats for remaining calm. I would talk softly to her and say the word "relax" slowly and calmly. Eventually she would notice the dog and not even show the first signs of reacting.

I'd move her closer at that point. Start over.

The biggest thing I did though? Was when I saw the other dog, leave the leash loose. If I tightened it up, it would make her go over threshold quickly. This is one area that the retractables can be either horrible or awesome at. They always have tension so if you leave it as usual, the tension might be enough to aid in setting the dog off. I would remove all tension by locking the leash down at 4-6 feet and letting it dangle. Suddenly there was NO tension on the leash and I noticed a HUGE difference in her reactions when I remained calm and let the leash stay loose.

I have no idea if any of that will help, but I hope it does!

Thankyou for the advice. I'm going to try your suggestions tomorrow on our walk! Well, if there's no thunder and lightning like today!

I hear you on the thunder and lightning! My dog won't leave the house if she hears even a tiny bit of thunder off in the distance.

LOL, the noise isn't the problem, Joe doesn't seem to mind suprisingly, he can't stand getting wet! That freaks him out more!

LOL wimp! Though I will say that Dahlia doesn't like the heavy rain. She's ok with getting wet, but not if it's a downpour.

Just like Joe then Yep, he's a real wimp, although out and about he 'looks' like a hard nut