No they didnt know, so they were doing the responsible thing to protect your dog, which was asking a child to put their dog on a lead. Its very hard to trust a child to have control over a dog. I certainly dont after having bad experiences of children letting thier dogs off lead and having no control. I shall always be cautious and either avoid them, or ask them to get hold of their dogs.
Children (and a hell of a lot of adults) dont understand basic dog behaviour and are physically and mentally incapable of acting should there be a problem.
Not to mention very few kids pick up the poo.

Had your dog not approached theirs, there very well may have been no issue at all.

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Knacker Lacquer - Adds Luster To Your Cluster

If you can stop your dog from approaching others unless you've checked with the owner that it's OK, then you should.

If you can't, then you need to train your dog so that you CAN.

It's common courtesy and common sense.

Just out of interest, is there anyone here who is saying "I can call my dog away from anything, and could easily prevent it from going over to say hello to another dog - I just choose not to"?

Because I suspect that those who are saying that dogs should be able to approach others willy-nilly, are actually justifying their own lack of training to themselves

i will not let kira offlead as she has 0 recall, tho its more for her safety than other dogs/owners. she is not agressive although a lot of people think she is because she pulls towards other dogs and if the owners are ok with the dogs meeting she will sometimes try and jump all over them, not in an agressive way, but in a playful way.

i agree that dogs should not be allowed to run up to another without being told to, its bad manners, annoying for the other owners and potentially dangerous. if your gunna take those risks you should be prepared for the consequenses.

i refuse to muzzle kira as shes not at all agressive, shes just playful, and muzzling her would send out the wrong signal to other owners who could potentially help me to socialise her.

and on the subject of children, it is hard for parents to control their children sometimes, when kira was younger we were waiting outside mcdonalds and a little boy about 2-3 ran out and HUGGED her!! now i didnt mind because i know her and know she loves kids, she enjoys the attention, but the mum was shi**ing herself and told him off, and was very relieved when she say how kira reacted and i assured her she was friendly.
however a lot of parents do have control over their children and will ask if shes ok for them to pet before they allow them close.

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I often take mine with me when I do the school run, if I'm walking and not taking the car. It's staggering the number of TINY children (pre-schoolers who have accompanied Mum to pick up older siblings) who approach wanting to stroke the doggie. One or two have asked if it's OK, but the vast majority don't and I've NEVER had a parent come and ask. Amazing.

I can call my dog away from other dogs but i let him play and say hello to others if the owner is in sight and isn't worried. if the other dog was on a lead, or the owner said that it doesn't like other dogs, then I would call Ollie away. I think it's bad to not allow dogs to say hello to each other. Shouldn't it be that dogs can say hello to each other, unless either of the owners say it's not ok?

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I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

I just think it's polite to check anyway. Why take the risk?

I think you've hit the nail on the head there.

No one is disputing it's great for our dogs to socialize and essential that they do but for those of us unlucky enough to have animals who haven't experienced the best start in life, and who need extra care and attention why on earth should we be totally responsible for those of you would cannot/do not control your dogs?

Sadly the 'I'm alright Jack' attitude oozes through todays society and some of the attitudes on this post prove that point. Extreamly sad but so prevelant (sp).

.... oh and I'm not saying that my dog is perfect. I've had my share of embarrassing moments when she's buggered off after another dog without permission. The difference is, I accept that that is totally my fault, and have upped the training and recall practise after apologising to the other owner.

I don't actually WANT my dog to spend much time playing with other dogs. I want her to see ME as the most interesting thing around. I want her to be sociable with other dogs but not overly fussed about them. If she constantly took it upon herself to approach others with enough enthusiasm to suggest that they were more interesting to her than I am, I'd be looking to rectify that - and have.

Off lead dogs should never go up to an onlead dog uninvited because you do not know why that dog is on a lead. If you can not stop your dog going up to on lead dogs, then that's your fault. However, I think that off lead dogs should be allowed to greet each other, unless either owner says that it is not ok. I think if an onlead dog is aggressive, it should be muzzled. It's not another dog's fault if it's owner hasn't taught it not to interact with onlead dogs. Aggressive dogs should not be off lead at all around other dogs, it's too risky.

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I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011