Introducing small dogs to bigger dogs

[afer6853]

Hi, I have a question about how to manage introductions between smaller dogs and bigger dogs.
Petal is a 9 month old miniature dachshund. She’s pretty small, even by those standards – about 3kg, maybe 8inches/20cm high. She had a good time getting to know other bigger dogs at her puppy play dates (she had these until about 3 months ago, they no longer run). She’s also generally very good meeting dogs out in the world only a bit bigger than her- she goes for a bit of a mouth sniff, maybe a butt sniff, and then does a bit of running back and forth asking them to play, which they either join in with or ignore.
But it doesn’t go as smoothly with bigger dogs. She’s clearly interested, but also a bit intimidated. She’ll typically approaches to a few feet away, runs away, runs back, this continues, and the other dog either gets bored, or starts to chase her, which can then be too much for her. I think things have gone more smoothly when I’ve picked her up and let her sit on my legs about knee level while we or the other dog approach. With the safety of a bit of height, she’s more willing to approach the other dog and do some mouth sniffing, and generally be a bit calmer. Is this helping her out? Or is it more important that she learns how to handle the world from her own height? Any tips appreciated. (A random passerby told me off about picking her up, which is what got me worried…)

Really enjoying the courses and Q&As!
Many thanks,
Alison