I don't have much experience with dogs, much less untrained off leash ones. One is pretty big (a lab maybe?) and always runs right up to me and my wife barking territorially whenever I'm out in my garden, and doesn't stop until one of my neighbor's kids comes and gets them. I've had dogs try to fight me before and they make me really nervous. I just want to touch grass :(
How should I be responding to the dog when this happens?
It's not really clear from your post - do you have a fence that will stop the dog from attacking you but it's coming right up to the fence where you are and barking and being annoying, or is it coming into your yard and barking at you?
If it's the former, that sucks but I'd try to ignore it. Maybe talk to your neighbour about keeping their dog inside if it will ruin every garden experience you try to have.
If it's the latter, your neighbour is fucking up extremely. I would be yelling in my neighbour's face if they can't control a potentially dangerous dog and keep it from intimidating you on your own property. It is your owner's responsibility to keep their dog inside, tie up their dog or build a goddamned fence if they have a dog they cannot control.
As for reacting to the dog, that's not your responsibility. It's not your dog, you need to react to your neighbour.
No fence, dog runs right up to me in my garden. Yeah everyone around here seems like a really shitty dog owner.
Neighbors are basically never around and are kind of assholes — I only ever see their kids, who are like 10ish and I'm not gonna yell at kids for having a shitty dog and shitty parents.
It's not my responsibility to react to the dog, but the options are that or potentially get stitches or some shit so I still have to do it
Yeah IDK, I'm a dog owner and I'd be much more pissed than you seem to be lol. I'd be making it my week's mission to talk to the owner, knocking on their door several times a day at different times whenever I could. That shit isn't ok. If you do, my only advice is to not do it when you're actively pissed - they may literally have no idea what's going on, and it's probably most effective if they don't start the conversation on defence.
In the meantime, I would talk to the kids if you can. 10 years old is old enough to understand that their dog is terrorizing someone, most kids would put their dog inside if an adult asked.
Sucks comrade, hope it works out for you.