well, some people are ignorant and they think that all dogs are dirty? maybe from their experiences, they've only met dirty dogs (due to having irresponsible owners)
i think that it is true some pet owners are not very clean, and they don't keep their house very clean. i have been to people's house, where as soon as you walk in the house, you can smell dirty dog smell in the entire house. it's not very pleasant, and it makes you want to find any excuse possible to get out of there ASAP.
i know a lot of yorkie owners bath their dogs very frequently
but i also know other people (usually larger dog owners...) who hardly
EVER bath their dogs, and i think it really is gross and extremely lazy on their part.
if someone comes to my house and has a problem with my dog, i would first find out why. (i would definitely want to make sure it's not because my house smells or anything) but usually people that have a problem with diff. things is due to their ignorance or bad past experiences. so you just have to show them that they are wrong. (in a nice way of course)