I like dogs. And most animals for that matter. My wife tried to kill a spider in our bedroom the other night, and I yelled at her, and intervened to perform a rescue and recovery mission to the back porch.
However, off-leash does not give your dog permission to sniff my crotch. Or anywhere else on my body.
My. Personal. Space. Is. My. Personal. Space. Whether or not your dog is tethered to you.
Your dog’s “way of saying hi” might intersect with my way of saying “stay away from me”.
I was a competitive distance runner long enough to have fought off a wide variety of four legged animals. So, if your dog comes at me unexpectedly. I am betting on the human to come out on top. We have been doing it for thousands of years. Keep that in mind, if your dog is not socialized and is not tethered to you.
Off leash does not equal out of control. Just because McDonald’s has a playground, doesn’t mean my eight year old can eat your french fries. Same goes with your dog in public multi-use spaces.