Good points, Rollnhome. We've found we can control a lot of the "dog wants to say Hi" situations with body language We just smile and say "Good morning," and keep walking purposefully. We don't remark on the other person's dog because that invites more conversation and, actually, we came to the park for exercise. If somebody pushes the issue a bit, I like to say, "No, please" because they usually have never heard that combination of words before and it stops them in their tracks, plus it's polite. There are some frequent flyer friends and their dogs that we do stop and visit with occasionally. We all know who we are. :B
