[momofonly]

Hi, I just joined and this is my first post. I have a yorkie/chihuahua mix. I got her from a shelter. He was found as a stray so not much is known about his history but his age is estimated to be about 3 years old. He is very sweet and loving with the family but fearful and "growly" with strangers.

My town has some lovely, wooded public conservation land. Today my daughter and I took our dog on a walk there. In my town, there's a leash law and all dogs are supposed to be leashed on public property. We saw about ten other dogs on our walk today, all big dogs and only one of them was leashed (besides our dog).

So, on about 3 different occasions, one or more dogs bounded up to us (sometimes with the owner not in sight yet) and I would pick up our dog until the others passed. Our dog would growl but also cower. I told him, "It's OK" and that seemed to reassure hime. A few times when the other dogs were gentle and obeyed their owners commands, I left him on the ground and we passed without incident. A couple of times we passed people without dogs, and he didn't growl (although he growls at people from the car window, and in our home.)

So what do you all do when you meet another dog? I have a feeling I'm making him more nervous by picking him up, but I don't want a nasty confrontation or dog fight.

Thanks! I've been reading the forums a lot and find it really helpful.