dd, I have no problem passing a dog on the street and I am frum. I have taught my children as well, not to be scared of dogs. If the owner is there and has the dog on a leash, it should not be a problem. I never could understand why alot of yeshivah children walk across the street to avoid a dog. Even a tiny one.
I grew up with a dog in the home, so it could be a reason, why I am not fearful. He was a great pet and I miss him alot. I don’t think he bit anyone in the 16 years, my parents had him. On the other hand, after that dog was put down, my parents got another dog, who I was not so found of. He bit me, as I was trying to take away a chicken bone that fell on the floor. Also, one of my sons tried to snuggle with him while he was sleeping and nipped him in the face. B’H it wasn’t so bad. All those times, we were at fault. Dogs are sometimes aggressive when they are eating and don’t like to be bothered when sleeping. The saying “let sleeping dogs lie” is so true. The one time I did get really scared with the 2nd dog, was when I spent a Shabbat by my parents home. I was alone with their dog(everyone had gone to Shul) and one of the kids and the dog decided to lie on the couch. I tried to shoo him off. He was NOT happy and very angry. He bared his teeth and was growling. He really scared me. I decided he won and I went into a bedroom to wait for my parents to come home. I was not going near him!!