# How tough (physically) are puppies?



## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Care should be taken with them because of their joints and grow plates, but I can't tell you the number of times Tayla fell off the sofa and landed awkwardly or running slid into a wall. She just got up and continued on. 


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

They're surprisingly tough but you should still take caution!

My puppy got mowed down by one of my big dogs full force and was sent tumbling like 2 feet(think being t-boned), yelped, ran as fast as his little feet could carry him crying to me (I was like 100 feet away) I picked him up, he kissed me... I put him down and he went back to playing.

He's also been tripped over a few times when he was first learning that you CAN'T walk under other dogs or people.

You don't want them leaping from too high or anything.


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## GoldieMad (Mar 10, 2006)

Thanks. It's always something that worries me, and me treading on his paw yesterday (with my heavy wellington boots on) brought it back in full force - I was worried that I had broken a bone or something! Thankfully, as already mentioned, he now has no sign of a limp and runs and bounds around like a mad thing. 

Some years ago one of my other Goldies, when a young pup, ran head long into the door of a cupboard - it was one hell of a thud and he was definitely shocked and a little stunned afterwards (he just stood there, head slightly down). Within a minute or two he acted as if nothing had happened and went back to his running.


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## mlbdenver (Jun 26, 2012)

I have done the same thing to my 8 week old pup. They are just so quiet and fast, they can get underfoot really easily. Mine also has bumped his head many times - running under a picnic table and over estimating the height of the crossbar, playing rough with a toy and banging his head against something hard. 

I sure hope they are pretty durable!


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## GoldieMad (Mar 10, 2006)

My latest addition has bumped his head on the base of the food bowl a few times, simply because he's so keen to eat it when I'm in the process of lowering it to the floor for him. Nothing serious, just small dings. He'll learn ........ I'll soon get him to sit first.


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## kwhit (Apr 7, 2008)

Ninde'Gold said:


> My puppy got mowed down by one of my big dogs full force and was sent tumbling like 2 feet(think being t-boned)...


This made me cringe.

I know of two Great Dane puppies that died because of the injuries that they sustained playing with older Danes. These were 5 and 6 month old puppies that weighed between 90 to 110 lbs. Not small. They were just hit and tumbled a certain way. Puppies bounce really well, but things can happen, so again, just use caution when your pups play with bigger/older dogs.


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

GoldieMad said:


> Over the years I've brought up a number of Goldies from pups (now on my fifth). I've always been extremely careful with them due to the fact that they are growing so fast so their bones are really soft. I'm always very careful to avoid them getting into situations where they could hurt themselves.
> 
> Yesterday evening I accidentally trod on the front paw of my 7 week old (I was wearing my wellington boots at the time) - I didn't realise that he had snuck up behind me and I took a step backwards. Naturally he yelled in pain and was limping a little for a few seconds - thankfully this very soon eased off and he was bounding around as normal after a few minutes. Today he is still fine and there is no apparent tenderness in the paw (thank goodness!).
> 
> ...


Puppies, like any young mammal, have softer more pliable bones. However, this does not mean that we should not exercise extreme caution, just as we would with a human child/toddler.

Yes, you were lucky and didn't break a toe but yes, it can happen, from even less. 

As others have stated, young dogs and even older dogs have been killed because they were hit the wrong way when playing, etc.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

kwhit said:


> This made me cringe.
> 
> I know of two Great Dane puppies that died because of the injuries that they sustained playing with older Danes. These were 5 and 6 month old puppies that weighed between 90 to 110 lbs. Not small. They were just hit and tumbled a certain way. Puppies bounce really well, but things can happen, so again, just use caution when your pups play with bigger/older dogs.


They weren't playing. Pucci was running out from behind a big pine tree, Reece was running across the yard... they collided. 

I don't really let him play with the big dogs.


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