Experienced dog owner here, recently got a rescue boy (staffie cross).
He can be a bit reactive if challenged by other dogs and I am working on this with food treats. On our walks when passing other dogs on lead, whether close or across the road, many of the dogs stop and stare at him and their owners do nothing to move them on. I would have thought standard practice is to get two strange on lead dogs past each other swiftly and smoothly and not engage in excessive staring. But loads of them do it, admittedly my dog is astoundingly ugly, however, I am not sure that other dogs perceive this. My dog even wears a high viz coat with "Rescue dog in training" written on it - what are these other owners thinking? And why do their dogs stare? I always had German Shepherds before and this did not happen - is it a post lock down thing?