Nobody is saying contact with a stranger is a bad thing, but the owners clearly aren’t making a good faith effort to keep their dog contained.
Like I said, you and I would probably have this thing wrapped up in 15 minutes, but the OP has a fear of dogs. Calling animal control now, after repeatedly dealing with the dog, isn’t unreasonable. Letting your dog roam freely is.
I’m pretty sure the OP is in the Midwest.
Some of my wife’s family live in Arkansas in the country. A stray dog was in front of the grandmothers house, parking at her and preventing her from going to her car. Her son came out with a shotgun and killed it. He then chucked it in a ditch.
That is not how I would handle such a situation, but the fact is, that is how some people handle the situation. If you let your dog roam free, you put him at risk of all kinds of harm from getting hit by a car, getting shot, getting attacked by another animal, or getting harrassed by kids.
It is perfectly reasonable to call animal control and is in the dog’s ultimate interest to have its roaming curtailed.
Call animal control. If it’s chipped and/or tagged, the owner should get a call. No reason to let a large dog roam around like that.
You might wanna post that link in cougar58’s Pit pit-bull thread. She could ID the breed for ya.
I knew he was part pitbull from the moment I saw him! 
I’m from the midwest. I moved to upstate NY 6 months ago.
I’m not in fear for my life, just extremely annoyed. Shooting a wandering pet may be legal, but it’s outside the boundaries of my moral compass regardless. I don’t even own a gun!
It is quite possible that the owners, knowing their dog is a sweetie, let her roam never imagining that someone can be scared of it. When they find out they might be really apologetic. (Or not, but its worth trying.)
My dog is a retired guide dog breeder. Her descendants back many generations have been selected for docility - the slightest bit of aggression gets a guide dog puppy career changed. But some people are still scared of her, and I’d never let her run loose. (Also because before she retired she was more valuable than I am.)
It is dumb to let a dog run free, but not necessarily evil.
I didn’t say it was evil, but even the most docile of dogs shouldn’t be left to roam free and shit in other people’s lawns. It’s also unsafe for the dog.
If the part I highlighted does not happen then in my opinion, where we are not in the city, the dog should be free. The dog I am referring to does not leave his property either. ( why shitting is not a problem ) ( about 6 acres of mountainside. )
If the dog isn’t bothering you why are you “annoyed?” Since you’re apparently convinced that it’s not a threat why not just mind your own business?
I thought since you were scared of dogs after being bitten you might be in fear of your life. If you aren’t, and you randomly shoot a wandering dog, it might not be legal.
That being said, glad to hear you aren’t one to shoot a wandering dog. I wouldn’t either unless I felt my life was threatened (the dog would have to be charging me or something).
And I don’t own a gun either. What kind of people are we?
I don’t think anyone was advocating shooting a dog just for being off leash. I am not a lawyer and can’t speak for all jurisdictions, but it is my understanding that in most areas an animal that appears to pose a threat can be legally shot.
Although it’s a moot point since neither you nor the OP have that sort of force as an option.
Dirty pacifists unite! If I were charged by a dog, I would probably squeal and freeze up. I don’t even think I could bring myself to kick it unless/until it started actually biting me.
You’re the first poster I’ve ever encountered who writes but cannot read. What a unique learning disability.
A Labrador ate the face off of a Frenchwoman about ten years ago.
Sometimes they’ll hurt a sole* simply for the Halibut!*
I thought Canadians were supposed to be a polite, peaceful people.
Throw a tennis ball? To make a retriever go away? You haven’t thought this through, have you?
Sure, he’ll go away for about 5 seconds, but then he’ll come back!
1 - (Best option.) Call animal control.
2 - If you know someone who has a dog/dogs (or is fine with them), have them come over to pick up the dog and take it to the local shelter.
3 - If you’re feeling brave, try squirting it with a hose or put some coins in a coffee tin and shake it at them. Dogs generally aren’t fond of either, and are smart enough to avoid things they find unpleasant.
4 - (Worst option.) If you enjoy or thrive on drama, start talking to your neighbors about it and/or leave passive aggressive messages in their mailboxes. The type of person who is going to let their dog run around the neighborhood will respond very well to that.
That’s all I can come up with. I would go with one or two.
Is it remotely possible the dog is lost, or was dumped? The dog may not belong to anyone in the area, and there may be a family somewhere else looking for him. Or, he may have been left behind by some irresponsible people who moved, and couldn’t be assed to collect their dog and take it with them. Either way, you would be doing the dog a huge favor by calling animal control. If someone is looking for it, animal control is its best chance for a reunion. If it was dumped, and it is friendly, it may get rehomed, or fostered. People do adopt adult dogs.
Calling animal control is not a dick move. And if the dog does belong to someone in the area who expects it to come home every night, having to go collect it at the animal shelter, and pay the fine for letting it out, may be what it takes to get the owners to be more responsible. It does work that way. Some people care a lot, and are just ignorant of the laws-- this could be especially true if the people have moved from somewhere else, or are young.
Knocking on doors would be nice, but calling animal control is just fine.
Since this thread is over 6 months old, and was bumped just for a lame joke, one would assume the problem has been taken care of.
Way to take all the fun out of it. 
Dang, I didn’t notice that.
Maybe the OP could give us an update?