Hi husky gal .Sorry that was just getting a bit too long for me to read, hope you dont mind me 're - starting' you original thread! I would just like to say that my dog used to be afraid of other dogs and when he saw another dog wouldnt bother with it AT ALL.
However, now that ive introduced him to other dogs outside he doesnt even get scared anymore! He starts wagging his tail and attempting to approach the other dog. I dont normaly let him go (hes usually on lead) up to the other dog unless the owner smiles and looks friendly which is when i will ask if their dog will be ok with him (in other words if they mind aswell).
Ofcourse even if they say they will be ok, you can never be 100% As i know dogs can turn and snap suddenly for no apparant reason. So i let him approach the other dog and most of the time its fine but you do get the odd occasion where the other dog starts growling/ trying to snap etc if this happens i get him away straight away. I suppose this is taking a chance but this is what ive done and seems to work fine for me. There was once a time when i was followed by another dog in which case i had to pick benji up(who was scared to death) because the other dog started trying to bite him. In the end i stood in somebodys garden till it went away lol i was younger then but since that episode its definately made me more aware.
I wouldnt say i was paranoid but i do tend to be cautious if i see a HUGE dog as my immediate thought is 'OHMYGOD ITS GOING TO EAT HIM' lol
I occasionally let him off the lead when i think its safe/deserted. The only thing is when i do let him off he runs straight up to people and their dogs and no matter how much i shout him back he totally ignores me. Most of the time im not far behind him and run up to put him back on his lead .when this happens i apolagise to the person. He hardly ever goes off his lead and has one of them extendable ones. Now you probably think im a 'lazy/ignorant' person (brainless)but on the rare days when i do let him off if he happens to run up to people all i can do is apolagise.
At the end of the day if you have a large/very large dog or even a small one it is up to you to control them (to a certain extent) just like it is up to me to control myne.
For example if benji is on a lead and a large/scary dog thats slaverring at the mouth runs up to us what am i supposed to do? Obviously my first instinct would be to feel scared and wary of the dog and then anger because this rather scary looking thing is off a lead and the owner has allowed it to run up to me.
But then if you turn the tables around and the scary looking dog was myne and i knew he wasnt agressive then fair enough but how do i know that benjis not agressive (if he wasnt mine) and maybe they would be angry because their dog is on a lead and myne has ran up to them.
My conclusion is (yes there is actually a point to my waffling/point of view/opinions  lol)
that you either keep your dog on a lead or you dont. Why should everybody have to limit their dog to a lead when they can run free? It is the same thoughts from both sides ' why has the owner allowed it to run up to me' they are irresponsible etc etc / 'why isnt it on a lead'. So really  i think what it boils down to is wether you believe in keeping a dog on a lead or not.
I think this is a very interesting topic and its good to see what other peoples opinions are.
Also i cant remember who it was who said they'd kick another dog if it came up to them but i would never dream of doing that and would also like to think nobody would do that to my dog! Theyd be sorry if they did!!lol