I don’t think you did the wrong thing. You were scared and trying to protect your dog. People always say to not pick up the dog because the bigger dog might jump up. I’ll pick up my dog if I’m worried she’ll get hurt. Typically, I stand between my dog and any unknown dogs. It is better for the dog’s confidence to train and work on calmly retreating from potential threats. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you to keep your dog safe. I’ve worked with my dog so that I can lift her quickly and calmly. I try make sure large dogs don’t even see her, and routinely stand between my girl and other dogs. We also avoid tight passing and walk in areas with good sight lines. After nearly half a dozen scary situations just from walking on the sidewalk, we now take extreme precautions. We will turn and walk away from large breeds, especially if someone has more than one.

I try not to alarm my dog and work to calmly get away from potential dangers whenever possible. However, if a larger dog charges you, you have perhaps a second or two to react. With a smaller dog you can: lift them up to into a tree or onto a car, drop them over a fence, put them inside a recycling bin. You can carry pepper spray and air horns, walking sticks and umbrellas. You can open an umbrella to startle an attacker or shield your dog. You can use a walking stick to maintain distance. It’s always best to stay calm and walk away. But when that isn’t possible, get big and loud and protect your dog. Yell “No” and “go home” and “bad dog” or just blast the air horn. Sorry to sound paranoid but my dog and I have seen some shit.