I really feel this. My job has me interacting with the public a lot, and sometimes they have dogs that want to come to me for pets or to say hi. I don’t always know if they are friendly and just have to position myself both to be attacked and to defend myself. It almost always leads to confused dogs. I’ll pet them a little, but won’t let them on me. Too risky in the places I work.
It is pretty great when I see camper and dogs again, and I know they are friendly, and the dogs seem to recognize me, and then we can dance haha.
Ya, part of the reason palm down is important is that if a dog does bite, it is structurally easier for us to turn around and away. But at that point it’s just nasty stuff and nobody wants that. We want happy dogs! So far I’ve only been bitten twice and and no skin was broken (small dogs).