Any suggestions on how to handle mean dogs on my walks, I get bored going the same route, and yesterday I ran into a very mean dog ,that I had to walk backwards away from or he would lunge at the back of me. I'm not afraid of dogs I have 3. Do I need to carry doggie treats or pepper spray.

That is really too bad that you’ve got neighbors inconsiderate enough to let their aggressive dogs roam freely. More a reflection on them than the dogs.

I would say maybe both treats and spray. Sometimes just tossing a treat (past the dog so they have to go the other direction) would be enough I think, but god forbid you actually find yourself about to be bit I would carry some spray. And talk to the owners of the dogs if you can find out who they are, that is not ok!

A problem with throwing treats, especially if it's a dog you're likely to encounter regularly, is the treats can actually reward the behavior, and you could end up with a dog that gets progressively more violent.

I walk my two dogs everyday and I carry pepper spray with me. Had to use it once and it worked well. If you are dealing with a truly aggressive dog treats won't do anything. I've heard about pepper spray or repellant made just to use on dogs that is not harmful but works.

Here's a link I just found for Mace pepper spray for dogs but I know there are other kinds/brands out there.
http://www.tbotech.com/dogrepellent.htm

thank you all for the advice.