This is 1000% my experience. Even farmers with working herd dogs, who can completely trust their dogs because they work off-leash 10+ hours per day, still clip

This is 1000% my experience. Even farmers with working herd dogs, who can completely trust their dogs because they work off-leash 10+ hours per day, still clip on a lead in public. It's not because they don't trust their dog. It's because they don't trust OTHER people's dogs -- especially because a good 80-90% of people with off-leash dogs don't actually have control of their dogs. They just really like the aesthetic of an off-leash dog and, by golly, they're going to do it--even if they haven't put in the gruelling training it requires, and even if it means their dog is endangered by other dogs. They don't care or think about it because they don't actually have a deep bond with their dog and value it; it's an accessory.