It's incredible how rude people can be! No one (I hope) would say to a person with a baby: "That's the ugliest baby I've ever seen!" or "Your baby is too heavy," or "Look at the size of his ears!" I guess it's just an example of how some people think animals are "beneath" humans, they don't have feelings, etc. and therefore manners don't apply. But, they should still realize the human standing next to the dog is affected by such comments!
Our dog was a 125+ pounds Bullmastiff, and we heard the usual dopey things like, "Who's walking who?" or "You could put a saddle on him!" I usually just took those comments as someone's way of addressing us, like "Hello," and I would just laugh as I continued on my walk. But there were many times when people saw us coming towards them on the sidewalk, and they'd cross the street, grabbing their kids' hands. That always stung a little, since Tonka loved kids and had many neighborhood playmates.
The only times I remember giving a knee-jerk reply was when someone said, "He has a face only his mother could love." I said, "Well his mother thinks he's the most handsome dog in the world!" and kept walking. Another time my neighbor's father saw us in the backyard (he'd never seen Tonka before), and he said, "Boy is that one ugly dog." I was like, "Are you KIDDING me? He's gorgeous!" I felt like saying, "He's a lot more handsome than you are, Mister" (which he was).
People just don't think about how their words affect others sometimes!