My two dogs are ridiculously cute and friendly. I do a ~4 mile walk with them every day. Some people ask to pet, some jdon't and just do it. Whenever a young kid asks first I make sure to thank them for asking and tell them how smart it is to ask, to try and reinforce proper behavior. I have had kids come running and screaming at my dogs in friendly excited ways and just run up to them to pet and play...and many times there are parents around and do not say anything...so I have to. It is not an issue with my dogs, but that would go very bad with many other dogs. Whenever another dog with an owner is approaching I say to them that my dogs are super friendly and ask if they want to meet, if they say yes, great, if they say no, no problem at all and just move by.

It all seems so straight forward and simple to me. While I love m dogs and spoil them in many ways, I treat them as dogs, which makes them much healthier mentally.