It’s the one thing dog owners should definitely not do when walking their pet in the park.

According to dog behaviour expert Alan Peiro, dogs should never be picked up in a public setting because it signals to them that “they should be afraid of other dogs”.

“Dogs are not children,” he told the Branni Podcast.

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“What you’re really telling the dog is that it should be afraid of other dogs, you’re not letting it socialise.”

Mr Peiro pointed out that dogs spoke “a different language to us” and needed interaction with their own kind.

He said that over-pampering your pet by being overprotective and picking them up whenever another hound was around went against their natural instincts and could confuse them.

This could cause “harm and psychological problems”.

“Dogs need to learn how to socialise, they speak a different language from us,” Mr Peiro said.

“Obviously, if I see a dog coming towards me with bloodshot eyes I’m not going to go near it.

“Of course, you have to use your judgement. But if I see someone coming towards me with their dog, the first thing I’ll do is ask, ‘Does your dog get on well with other dogs?’

“If the answer is yes, I’ll let them meet because dogs need to socialise.”

Mr Peiro said those with small dogs were particularly prone to sending their pet the wrong message.

“Those people with tiny dogs such as Chihuahuas, dachshunds, Maltese, Italian greyhounds, miniature pinschers ... when you pick your dog up, you’re sending the wrong message,” he said.

“Carrying them around in handbags or pushing them in prams ... all of that actually harms the dog.”

The expert said when letting dogs interact, watch their body language.

“Maybe my dog will do something the other one doesn’t like because this does happen sometimes,” he said.

“There are dogs who, odd as it may seem, don’t like having their bottoms sniffed when they meet.

“Sometimes they’ll snap at the air or give a warning nip, that’s just their way of saying ‘No’.

“It’s nothing to worry about, it’s their language. That’s how they say, ‘I didn’t like that’. There’s no problem.

“So when we overprotect our dogs and treat them as if they were children, that’s when psychological problems start.”