By far the safest policy is to go somewhere else because these visitors can be totally unpredictable -- especally the dogs. You should never be so low on fuel (or daylight) that you have to land.
If the circuit restrictions permit you could try lining up for an approach but then give up on final long before the threshold if you see that they don't understand your intention. I don't see how flying a low pass over the field will help.
Non pilots have no idea of the danger and you will find all sorts of things on little used grass strips. Dogs are the most common hazard but I have seen people with horses and even someone giving driving lessons. Mostly this happens when the strip is so rarely used local people don't realize it is a landing strip.
I assume that the strip is not yours. In this case you might want to have a word with the owner. Very often the visitors are regulars from the area and someone can have a chat with them.