When you don't have your dogs on leash, it's like a big "screw you" to the people you come across who might be afraid of dogs. You might know your dog is an angel and perfectly trained, but some people are truly afraid of dogs with or without reason, and I think it's only fair to take them into consideration. I walk my dog on a 4-foot leash in the city, and even then he has scared the daylights out of people on occasion. He is a sweetie pie, but he likes to make eye contact with people and walk up to strangers out of curiosity. I've trained him to stay practically surgically attached to my knee now, but when I first got him, there were people who really flinched as he went towards them.