stick with what you believe. don't anticipate judgement. anticipate curiosity.

walking down the street this morning a fellow and i think his dad were looking at us and not smiling and then the son was saying something about dogs and i said, what's that?  
and he said, i was just wondering how people get dogs to walk off leash, and i said as soon as i took mister's off he was more relaxed and he got it. so we cooperated, it's a cooperative thing, and dogs do cooperation naturally. the leash is a control, if it's cooperation, it's cooperation with control. i said all dogs are different, but most dogs get cooperation, understanding intuitively the connection of cooperation and freedom. (i didn't say all this, i was just talking casually, not trying to be a pedant.) the son said he knew about people that considered the leash strange, and freedom natural, and i said when you start with a puppy that way, their whole life changes. imagine a life on the leash or a life of freedom. what a profound difference.  
the thing is, when i said, what's that?, i kind of anticipated criticism, and i got praise and curiosity.