I have been taking my almost 6 month 15 lb dog to a monitored small dog playgroup at a place that specializes in behavior since he was very young. When dogs there start to engage in unproductive play (too rough, dogs getting too exciting, humping) they pick them up to separate them (a little "time out"). My dog has been both the victim and the perp in these situations. I finally went to a public dog park during small dog hours to give it a try. Within a few minutes a slightly bigger dog was trying repeatedly to pin my dog and he was getting upset (and couldn't get away). I tried to break it up verbally and then I just picked up my dog. The owner of the dog came over to me and said I was going to make my dog fearful and aggressive toward other dogs by picking him up. I told her I was trying to give him a break. She said that now her dog thinks my dog is a toy and that I made the situation worse. Does that sound right? I never had a small dog that you could pick up before....

I would agree that picking up small dogs will either make them afraid or make them feel dominate over everything and make them more aggressive. However, i think it would be ok to pick him up near the ground and scootch him away from the bigger dog. (As long as your not picking them up to your level) Although the owner of the bigger dog should have controlled their dog a little bit if he just kept pinning yours.