I'm of the "stare the dog down" school of thought, but I can be pretty imposing and most dogs will submit. Then again, most dogs just want to play and aren't actually going to menace you.

The only times I've kicked a dog is after it has actually bit me, and then I go straight for the snout and make sure that it can't bite my calves. As soon as I'm away I call animal control (although a few times I've called animal control without being bit.) I've made some enemies with neighbors that way (this was back in college) but it turns out I was right since the guy's dog attacked a kid on a bike a year after I moved away and the poor beast had to be put down (the dog, not the owner, unfortunately.)

I also won't always kick when I'm bit - one time a dog was just way too excited and wanted to play. He was obviously not trying to hurt me, just got overzealous. It's one of the few times that I don't blame the owner for letting the dog get out of control, either - the dog made him slip on some ice and managed to get his leash free. The guy has kept the dog under control every other time I've passed them.

I wrote an article last year about what to do if a dog chases you that details what I do, what others do, and shares some more details on the above stories if you are interested. I think it was inspired by a thread here if I remember correctly:
http://news.runtowin.com/2007/09/26/what-do-you-do-if-a-dog-wants-to-chase-you.html