How Fragile Are We?

[goforette]

So I'm needing some advice to ease my continued worries.... I have Hollie who now weighs 10.5 lbs approximately and growing (little tubby) and Brystal who just weighed in at 6.1 lbs on Saturday. Brystal is one week younger than Hollie. Brystal is built tiny in general - she has little legs and is lower to the ground. Hollie is tall and long. The two of them can go wild in the yard together - they think it's a race track (hence their names) Hollie Edelbrock (car parts) and Brystal Sonoma (race tracks) - but I'm worried that Brystal is too fragile and can't handle any rough play. Her bones are just so tiny compared to Hollie's. I know Cairns are tough - I mean look at Barney - living proof that they're tough creatures, but should I be worried about Brystal's safety? Do they know when to back off of each other naturally? I'm worried I'll have an ACL injury or something with the way they race each other around the yard and tackle each other daily - causing rollover accidents.... How fragile is Brystal at 6.1 lbs? She'll be 5 months old 8-5-06.

[toomanypaws]

Brystal is smaller like my youngest Hannah is. I did have to be very careful w/ Hannah when she was really young, being she was so small next to Abbey and Kiara. My big girl, Kiara 19 1/2 lbs right now, which is 7 lbs more than Hannah and they play fine together. These are tough little dogs. I wouldn't think that the 4 lbs difference between Brystal and Hollie would injure Brystal. Hannah has been rolled many many times by the dogs and always charges back for more play.

[goforette]

Thank you so much for the reply - Yeah Brystal is so short to the ground she almost does this bunny hop/run - and boy Hollie can just make her tumble and I just hold my breath - but she gets up like no big deal -

[Barney's Mom]

goforette, I read somewhere that dogs have a way of letting other dogs know if they have gone too far physically. They have a loud "yip" that seems to tell other dogs, "Ouch, that hurt! Not so hard!" Someone on the forum told me a while back to make that "yip" sound myself when Barney got too rough, and believe it or not, it worked! He would stop, look up at me and cock his head (I love it when he does that!) then go back to the hand he was attacking and lick it gently!

When Barney was three months old we took him out to this new dog park near our home. They have a small dog run and a big dog run. We had him in the small run to stretch his legs and race around, because we have a very small yard and it isn't completely fenced, so he is never off his lead there. He loved it. Well, there were 4 big dogs in the big dog run and knowing Barney is not at all dog agressive, we put him in there under very close supervision, just to see what he would do and how the other dogs would react to him. It was so funny!! He and this one dog, about 5 times his size were racing around and having a good old time. They got going very fast and Barney turned around to see who was in pursuit and barrel rolled about 5 times! But he just got right up and took off again with his new playmate! I have never laughed so hard...

So if Barney at three months can handle a roll over like that and play with another dog that overpowers him in weight by a mile, I bet your little one can hold her own with her sibling when they are racing around. And if the other get's too rough, I am sure she will let her know verbally or with a nip, if necessary!

Enjoy your little darlings! My husband just thinks your avatar picture is adorable! What little cuties!

[alaskpat]

Sasha and Riley are brother and sister and 14 weeks old today. Riley was the runt of the litter and about half the size of Sasha. As of Friday Sasha weighed in at 9.9 and Riley at 5.4. Since we got them they have played together and sometimes very rough with no problems. In fact Riley is the one that usually attacks first. I first worried that she would hurt him because of the size difference but found out he is tougher then her lol. I still worry about their playing because they just bang into everything. I'm suprised one of them doesn't have a concussion yet with the slaming into tables and walls and anything else they can find. They both are doing well and seem to enjoy their playing so I just wince everytime I hear a THUD or yelp and look at them as they move onto something else. lol

They also play with the bigger dogs at puppy class with no problems.

Patrick