Typical idiotic answer.
LOL you sound like the parent of those monster kids who were described who's brats can do no wrong. These brain dead idiots are all just so happy when little Tyler and Josh are not bothering them for once, that they just let them "do their thing" Not caring they are causing havoc and throwing things or hitting the dog...Too bad a dog has better parenting skills than you, if your not gonna keep your kids in line then someone has to. LOL keep blaming everthing in the world for your parental short comings.
Hey I agree many dogs are a PITA and I dislike them too, but I always try to remember its the owners fault they are getting away with it, same holds true for the parents of brat kids.
Dogs are a part of this world as a parent you will need to be able recognize aggressive or dominate dog behavior and keep your children away from that. You would hope the dog owner would do this but they might not be the best to recognize that their dog has "issues" until its too late. Dogs/pets can teach the young children of this world much, things like compassion, responsibility, living in the now and love, so there is much value in having them.
With that said I'm very cautious at first around all big dogs (but it applies to all sizes) especially certain breeds. Until I get a handle on their disposition I will avoid contact or being too close. With these bigger dominate dogs you need to be very cognisant of your body language, distance, eye contact and how you may approach them. Dogs have their own body language too, eye contact, ears up, tail up....all signs of an excited or unsubmissive dog, of course growling is a bad sign. Tail relaxed in a neutral position, ears down or even a little back, not staring you down these are more submissive or comfortable behaviors. Then teach this to your children when they become old enough to understand.