It is "me gustan" because really you are saying "The dogs are pleasing to me". You are not saying "I like the dogs", although that is how we normally say it in english. So, the dogs are the subject, and they determine the conjugation of the verb, gustar, in the third person plural. If you wanted to say it in the preterit, it would be "me gustaron los perros". "The dogs pleased me (until one bit me, maybe?)"

Frank, You can say "me gustan esos perros" (I like those dogs), and you can say "yo gusto de esos perros" (exactly the same meaning). The former is a lot more common. The latter I have heard it only a few times said by people from Central America. As for the structures: Me gusta= as mentioned before, it means "it is pleasing to me". Placing the accusative before the verb is a common practice in Spanish (e.g. "you love me" = "tú me amas"). Now it is way less common to place the nominative after the verb, unless it is not considered to be a mistake. Me (accusative) gusta (verb) el café (nominative). Also in Central America some people say: Yo gusto del café In this case the person who likes conjugates the verb. In this case you have to use the "liked" noun in genitive, using the particle "de". Ella (nominative) gusta (verb) de (genitive) la lluvia (accusative). I hope this helps you.

Salut Frank.... les phrases sont diférents. Me gustan los perros: J´adore les chiens. Le verbe "gustar" s´accorde avec l´objet: chiens Yo gusto a los perros: Les chiens m´adore. Le verbe "gustar" s´accorde avec le suject: Yo.