Unless the dogs are in attack mode and appear to want to rip you apart if given the chance, stopping to simply explain your side of the situation to the dog's owners may be enough to wrap this up. Most likely there are laws in the area dictating that if you are attacked while riding on the public road it's the owners responsibility. Obviously you don't want to be bitten, lawsuit or not, but it could be something to bring up with the owners so they're at least aware of their responsibility.
I have to believe that most people who dislike cyclists do so because we're this strange group of people who they know absolutely nothing about and can find no way of identifying with. Perhaps a little friendly face to face explanation could go some distance to closing that void. Just a thought.
-Jeremy