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Many dog owners believe that having your dog meet other dogs is a vital part of socialization.
It is not.
On-leash greetings will actually have the opposite effect.

Here's why I will always say "No" to on leash greetings and why you should too:

1. Leashes get in the way of communication.

When dogs greet each other naturally, they will approach from the side. They will circle each other while sniffing, and then they will either move on, initiate play, or fight.
On leash greetings are unnatural. Meeting face to face is considered rude or threatening in dog language. On leash, dogs only have about a 6 foot radius to do this little greeting dance and this can result in mixed signals.

2. Tension causes reactivity.
Forced greetings can trigger a fight or flight response, but because of the leash, the flight response is taken away. Even the sweetest dog can buckle under the tension and try to create space. Dogs create space by barking, growling, lunging, and biting. Getting repeatedly pushed over the limit will result in this reaction whenever they see another dog.

3. It reinforces poor behavior.

Lets pretend that you let your child pick out a toy every single time you go to the store.
Then one day you decide that they have enough toys so you tell them "no".
This will probably result in a tantrum right?

Well now lets compare this to a dog.
Lets pretend you let your dog meet another dog every time you go out.
Your dog is so excited for the interactions and pulls towards the other dog because they learned that this is an acceptable behavior. (and you're reinforcing it by letting them interact with what they're pulling towards)
But one day you just want to go for a nice walk instead of meeting someone. While you're pulling your dog away to avoid a greeting, your dog throws a loud barky temper tantrum.

4. You don't know the other dog.

You also don't know how well the other dog owner knows how to read body language. The other dog could be aggressive or unsocialized.

5. It teaches your dog to value other dogs over you.

If you let your pup greet others whenever they want, they will learn to value these greetings over you. This can put a strain on your relationship and cause frustrations for you both. Forcing your dog to repeatedly meet strange dogs that make them uncomfortable makes them lose trust in you as a protector.
You should be the most important thing in your dog's life and they should be focused on and listening to you.

6. Dogs don't need to make dog friends all the time.

Would you want to shake hands with every person you see?
Then your dog doesn't need to sniff every dog they see.
Many dog owners are under the impression that dogs need many friends but that is not the case.

Better ways of socialization:

- Training in the same space. Use other dogs as a training opportunity and reward your dog for focusing on you and remaining calm

- Parallel walks. Walk alongside the other dog and it's owner without letting the two meet. They will get familiar with each other in a safe and structured way.

What about off leash greetings?

Off leash greetings are more ideal and less restricting, but for all the reasons stated above, I choose to not let dogs under my care meet any dogs we don't know.

I don't trust the handling of the other dog owner if I don't know them.
But also I want my dog to value me, and greetings are not in the best interest of my goals.