Your dug might be friendly but that is irrelevant

[WTFMartin]

I have a small dog who is reactive to other dogs and we have been training him to not do this and after months and months we have got to the point where we can walk past other dogs and he no longer barks or reacts and will walk past quietly.
Only for me to take him out last week and this week and for two dogs to come running up to from across the park and circle round him, thereby frightening him and causing him stress. Both times I ask the owner to please get the dog under control, the response ‘he/she just wants to play’. I don’t give a monkeys chunky if they do, my dog does not. If my dog was a larger dog then they wouldn’t be quite so keen to let theirs run up. However, they clearly do not have good recall and so minimise the dog running up to other dogs.
When calling out the owner for being an arse the response is that it’s my fault! I accept my dog shouldn’t be reactive and I am working bloody hard to train him to stop it and would not let him off a lead if I thought for one minute he would chase after another dog or harass another dog.
My dog has now gone backwards and I will need to work hard to get him back to where he was just because of selfish bloody owners. Rant over…..

YANBU at all. Incorrect about the assumption it wouldn't happen if your dog was bigger. This happens to my large dog all the time. We have spent years working with her, as she was a rescue and very reactive initially. Now she is really good, (apart from 2 sworn enemies :D).

The other week a woman let her small young cockerpoo run over to my dog (on a lead) while she was doing her business. The cockerpoo ended up behind her when DDog did the poo kick and ended up kicking the dog. The woman acted like it was an act of aggression and bundled her dog away. It was really funny. Instant karma for being a dickhead dog owner. 😅

A lead or a harness makes absolutely no difference in my experience - people let their dogs run up anyway 🙈

I agree. I got a ‘do not feed’ collar, harness and lead , but there is always some idiot who knows better ‘ just one won’t do her any harm’
ODFOD

Big does do need space to run, in a safe environment, and places where dogs are
Walked can have dogs if multiple issues. The best thing to do is to try to avoid places where people run dogs, also get the dog to wear a vest with relevant information on it. Dogs DO need socialisation, and at some point spaces with dogs running will be ok, hopefully, but perhaps not now
Have you tried a specialist dog trainer / behaviourist?

@tommika why on earth are you quoting the OP? You are literally the first to reply. 🙄

Yes we have tried a behaviourist and we’re doing everything she has advised and it is working. I don’t disagree that dogs need to be off lead at times but they must be able to be recalled and not approach other dogs. I don’t want to get a vest or put a yellow flag on my lead, I shouldn’t need to do it.

No recall, no off lead, no excuses. That's how it should be. Yes, training takes time, and dogs occasionally blow their recall, but long lines exist for a reason - it's easy to clip a line to your dog so you can still give them freedom and have control at the same time