There seems to be a lot of blame on the dogs, and (understandably) the owners. Dogs are not new to humanity and everyone should have some understanding of dog behavior. Dogs are pack animals and they are territorial. While I certainly think dog owners need to properly contain their dogs, one of the functions of a dog, especially in the country, is to protect the people and property. Dogs see erratic behavior and unknowns as a threat. To reduce neighbor conflicts, a few common sense actions would be in order. If you are walking a dog in the country, how about you do it on your own property? Our 'neighborhood' is all 15 acres and up. Should be plenty of space to exercise any breed. Walking a dog down the road past other people's dogs just agitates all of the dogs involved. At the very least that incites nuisance barking and can drive even well-trained dogs to become more aggressive. Until a child is old enough to understand and behave safely around dogs, they should not be left alone with them. When I was 3, I pulled our Shetland sheep dog's tail. Predictably, he bit me. Not the dog's fault. Dogs nip each other and their own young to teach. Humans are just a little more vulnerable to those nips.
Like many things in this life, there is some grey area and things are not simply a matter of A or B. Indignantly teasing a dog and then expressing shock and outrage when he bites is wrong. As I stated earlier, this does not absolve the dog owner of responsibility, but more than one person can be culpable.