I have no fear for dogs and can usually read them well.
As was written, they will know if you are scared or the boss.
In your situation, if they were loose on the street, I would have beat them with tools or whatever. Throw something at them, yell for the owner or if you carry fire off a round. You could also carry pepper spray.
The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and stamps EVER.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed the Animals". Their stated reason for this policy "... the animals become dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."
from an excerpt by Paul Jacob in Sun City, AZ