You were not being rude at all. In my humble opinion, ANYONE who allows their dog to approach a strange dog without the express concent of the other dog's owners is being extremely rude. I extend my DO NOT APPROACH rule to people w/o dogs as well.
I would have done much the same thing, but I do believe I would have picked up my guys and left the scene as fast as my cripple leg would carry me. I NEVER EVER allow my dogs to come in contact with a strange dog until I take a few momets to assess the entire situation including escape routes
. Sometimes the assessment takes only a few seconds, other times I may ask the other person to give me a few moments - under the guise of getting MY dogs settled
. I want to take a quick look-see for any obvious signs of sickness in the other dogs and for the mental state of both the other dog and his/her owner. I will not risk the safety and well being of my kids for anyone for any reason.