The Dangers of Picking Up Your Small Dog

Small dogs are just so cuddly and cute and your instinct might be to pick it up and love on it. Well that may not be the best option or decision. If there is a situation where the dog needs to be picked up such as another dog is near by and the smaller is still going through training and you don’t have the right cues drilled into the dog’s head then yes pick the dog up and turn them around so they can’t see the other dog and trigger. But if you do, you might be training the dog to react just so it can be picked up.

My dog is a rescue and I am having to retrain her to not bark at other canines. Instead of picking her up during certain issues, I use a water squirt bottle to distract and train. It catches my dog off guard and she usually stops barking but if she doesn’t, I pull her away. I try not to pick her up and put her in “air jail” as I used to call it. Sometimes “air jail” did not work and she would try her hardest to get back to the other dog and bark, so walking away and the water ended up being the better solution.

Some dogs respond well with being picked up while others struggle and have boundaries. Take some time to figure out the best option for you pooch. Respecting your dog will go a long way with training and understanding.

If you would like more information on this topic, check out the link to the American Kennel Club.