I disagree with the trainer, if it is a risky situation. After the number of attacks on my dogs in supposedly safe settings that have permanently damaged my dogs, I don't take chances with potential threats to my dogs. If there is a big dog running for mine and there is the chance that big unknown dog may attack and damage my dog in a way that permanently maims them, or damages them mentally to where they won't in the future be able to handle other dogs or people, I will pick up my dog.
Until you have lived with a big dog grabbing your BC puppy and leaving her blind in one eye, until your puppy is like my Aurora who at 4 months was attacked and you've spent 2.5 years trying to bring her back around, until you've had one like Ember grabbed by a nasty dog in class and scared of other strange dogs you can't say that is truly what is best for the dog. What has happened with mine isn't best for them. They don't stand up and defend themselves. They're small shelties. They are easily damaged. They clearly NEED my protection from threats.
I DO pick mine up when I see unknown dogs running at mine. I won't have what I've lived with happen when I can prevent it.
Now, I am all for socializing. Mine are very well socialized. However, that is under controlled circumstances with dogs I know, and am sure they are safe with. We don't' go randomly meeting strange dogs. There are too many idiots out there who claim their dogs are friendly, and are just shocked when their aggressive dog grabs another.
I'd say the ones of mine that have been picked up for their protection aren't the wusses of my bunch. By me picking them up (keep in mine I'm not acting panicky or yelling when I pick them up), mine never seem to get what was approaching was a potential threat to be upset over. The ones that HAVE been grabbed are my wussy dogs. They didn't learn to expect to protect themselves. They learned to look to me even more, as past experience dictates unknown approaching dogs are bad and should be feared, therefor they should look to me to get them away. Frankly, I don't WANT a dog who is going to take it upon itself to correct another dog.
I don't exactly agree with just letting them suffer through a stressful situation either (flooding). In my experience, flooding hasn't worked for my dogs. Of course, I'm not picking them up over a stressful situation either. If I know I am going to be doing something that is likely to stress one of mine out, I try to prepare for that stressful situation ahead of time so that when we are in it, it isn't as big a deal. Aurora is a good example. She was afraid of other people. We started out by bringing a friends kids to a training facility when my friend and I were training. My friends dog savvy kids would sit, not looking at her, offering her treats any time she approached them. They would only touch her if she wanted to be touched. It eventually spread to handling other dog people at the facility, and trusted friends doing the same. Similar things with dogs. While she will never love most dogs, she can now handle situations with them. Again, it started at the training center, getting used to being around a friends BCs, and getting treated for positive interaction/not showing fear. It eventually evolved to her going to agility class, and other members of my class approaching her in nonthreatening manner, and getting to meet their dogs, who I knew were good choices for her to be around. She then started going to fun matches, and was treated for all positive reactions there. It has finally progressed to where she goes to all shows with me, rooms with the BCs, and gets to be out whenever possible, and is rewarded for approaching people by choice, and not showing fear in other dogs (we don't meet dogs at trials unless I know them and know they are friendly). The eventual goal is for her to compete in the agility ring. I really try not to present my dogs with stressful situations that are beyond what they can handle. If I were to have taken Aurora for example to an agility trial shortly after the attack, she would've panicked, and shut down. It wouldn't have improved the situation.
I guess I should say I teach mine to handle things they may find stressful before they encounter the situation.
When tiny cute Leo growled and lunged at German Shepard most people surrounding us were smiling and thinking it was cute and I was thinking to myself "oh horrors, I am growing a rude and pushy dog" and was embarrased
I was counting on Layla to take care of me in my old age!