I think people should always ask before getting close to a dog. I have had dogs were I was working on their aggression, dogs I have just adopted and don't know well, and currently a dog who is very shy and easily stressed. I had one dog who was very cute but quit afraid of children, and the number of times I had to pick her up and walk away... dozens of times at least. With owner permission it is great for dogs to get experience of lots of different people. But if something goes wrong it is the dog that can end up suffering the consequences.

There is a system where you are mean o be able to put a yellow ribbon on the leash to show your dog needs more space, but I worry that most people don't now the sign or if they do might assume a dog is dangerous.

It can be difficult. I would love for people with friendly dogs to approach my dog and I more often, but my dog's behavior can be unpredictable if he sees the other dog as a threat to my safety. Most of the time, my dog is fine, but shy. He will hide behind me while I talk and the visitor tries to coax him out. Every once in a while, he will begin to bark or growl. He's never bit another person, but I worry that the barking/growling will lead to more aggressive behavior.

Thanks for making me realize I am a hypocrite, lol.

I love greeting other people's dogs. I am aware of the dog's reaction to me and not to brag, but it is normally the case that the dog will greet me back. I genuine pay attention to the dog and I think they can sense that I like them.

On the other hand, I hate people noticing my dogs. Mostly that is because I am very shy and it is stressful to deal with. The other person has to really work for my smile if they ever get one from me.

Like I said, I am a hypocrite.

I have taught my children to ask the owner before approaching the dog because you do not know how the dog is going to react to you. I think it is more polite anyway doing that since I do not like when strangers approach me or my children so it should be the same with a dog. I do not mind if people come up to me and my dog as long as they are respectful since it is sometimes hard to judge what your dog is going to do. When I take my smaller dog to the vet, he has to greet everyone or he is not happy. He is so embarrassing sometimes. LOL

I'm drawn down the middle with this one. I think it's entirely dependent on the situation. If the dog is wagging his tail at the of you, but the owner looks like they're having a rough time controlling him, I'd say it's best to ignore the dog and let his owner get him in check. Sometimes obedience training is difficult when people take cues from an excited animal over the person holding the leash. On the other hand, the person might have brought the dog to a social situation hoping for interaction. When people approach a dog I'm walking or working with, I'll often warn them of its temperament or whether or not the pooch is cool with strangers.

In agreement morgoodie's post, it's safest to ask whether or not you can interact with a stranger's dog.

As a general rule, people should always ask to pet someone else's pet. You never know if an owner is training a dog, if it likes people, if it's stressed out, or aggressive. I personally don't like stranger petting my pets because they might be to rough. I walk my brother's dog and mine. They're siblings but they have completely different personalities. If people pet my brother's dog to hard, he wants to playfully bite back, jump up, and play like a puppy and it takes a lot to calm him back down. Then my dog is a bit aloof with strangers, she doesn't mind if you pet her gently but if you cup her hand on both sides and scratch hard it upsets her. So, I need people to ask so I can tell them to what they can do and can't.

Depends on my pup and the person. If the a person I dont like or my dog doesnt like I wont like them going near me or my dog. But if it's good both ways than I don't mind it at all. Dogs love the attention.

Not really, my dogs are friendly and harmless, they don't have any aggression problems, but sometimes they do become a little too excited with people and may end hurting somebody unintentionally , not seriously but maybe a little scratch, and that's a huge liability, I don't want to invite that type of problems to my life and I certainly don't want for my dogs to get into any trouble.

I just seen a few weeks ago that you could buy small tags and put it on your dog's collar or somewhere to be seen.

These are red - please don't touch, yellow - ask or green - i like some patting. I think this is useful for everyone, and maybe helps to make your mind when you approach a dog.

My german sheps back at home are used to my older cousins playing rough with them. So, they may be friendly with good intentions, but they can also be a little rough at times. It's not their fault it's how they were raised. So, while I don't mind people touching my dogs they need to also be aware that they will also want to play if you keep playing with them in return. I think people should always ASK the owner if touching is okay, then the owner will tell them if they should be aware of jumps, small scratches, licks etc.

I do not mind at all, and I doubt people mind here. I live in China basically, and I am still learning the language, so whenever people approach Baymax (my puppy, who loves attention from anyone) I do not mind, most of the time, they say, he is so adorable and I say thanks. If I am in a rush somewhere, I try to keep a jogging pace, which again Baymax loves.
I also love dogs, so if there is a cute dog nearby, I will say hi to it, I have not received any negative responses from the owner. As long as my puppy is safe, then I have no problems.

I can never resist a cute dog and will often approach them if they seem friendly, but I always ask the owner first if its ok for me to touch him, its only polite. Some dogs can appear friendly but will react badly if they are stroked in a certain place, many dogs will get nervous when touched around the head area. It only takes a sudden noise, or a sudden movement for a dog to suddenly decide that a stranger is a threat, so you should always ask the owner first if you are a stranger to the dog.

I don't really mind when people want to pet my dog. He loves people and affection. As long as the approaching party has good intentions. Now big dogs is a different matter. I never approach a big dog. You don't know where their heads are at and they can snap at you at any time. Best to be on your guards and not push it.

My dog hates people. Other than our family members. He is the mean, crusty, old man who sleeps all the time. However, he only has one tooth and if someone doesn't mind him gumming them they can go for it 🙂 I think it's only polite to ask especially with children. Not everyone's dog is raised around children nor do they necessarily like them. My kids have always been taught to ask before petting. I've seen way to many kids just run up to a dog and hug it and if the dog reacts badly it's the dogs fault. So yes I think you should ask.