Tiny puppy concussion?

[littledogsden]

I was visiting my 7 week 2 day old papillon puppy at the breeder's and I had it in my lap while I sat on a little stool. The puppy was sort of looking around like it was thinking about jumping down, but appeared to be too scared to do so. Then, it just went for it. I was only like a foot off the ground and he landed on the carpet, but I guess he landed weird because he didn't get up right away and when I went to look at his face (omg it terrified me) he was squinting and could barely keep his eyes open. Just before I put him on my lap he was all hyper and running around. Actually, I had never seen him so much as appear to be tired any other time I had visited him, so it was this sudden and immediate drowsiness that scared me the most. He stayed like that for maybe 20 minutes, then he started acting almost like normal again. He was still a little tired looking, but I had been playing with him for about an hour and a half at that point so I guess "a little tired" is understandable. Then, another 30 minutes later, he was sitting in my lap (on the floor this time) and fell immediately asleep. When I got home I did some research and read that the drowsiness might mean he got a concussion on the fall. I haven't been able to contact the breeder today, and I am really worried about how he is doing.

Here is a video of him ten minutes after the jump, looking drowsy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUpBFANNFQ4

Here is a video of him 30 minutes after the jump, doing a little better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOgJIQvQMO8

I don't know what to do! He is in my breeder's hands for four more days and I'm afraid she won't take it seriously enough and that if he has a concussion he'll suffer brain damage or die. Please look at the videos and tell me what you think. There's pretty much nothing I can do right now, but I want to know how worried I should be.

Thanks everyone,

Katie

[Red7Rose]

I would immediately take the dog to my local pet hospital to have a thorough medical evaluation done on him and then follow up with a vetrinarian. I hope the puppy is O.K. Poor little guy. I had a 2 1/b chihuahua years ago and it jumped off my bed and broke its leg. I took her to my local animal hospital. It was a very scary and upsetting experience.I saw portable pet stairs online thst allow pets a safe way to get on or off furniture to minimize injury. It might be a good investment and I might get it for my new chihuahua.

[Dantesdad]

Today my son accidentally stepped on our seven week old puppy.  She was in extreme behavior.  Took her to pet emergency and luckily she only had a minor concussion.  Thanks to the emergency staff I was well informed and made at ease.  Our little girl is coming home tomorrow a little sore but healthy.

[littledogsden]

Thanks for the advice. The breeder said that he was probably just startled and "seeing stars" from the fall and that he probably wasn't physically hurt (not badly, at least). She did tell me a story though, about how she was giving a "horse back ride" (you know, like when you're on all fours and something is on your back) to her sister's pomeranian pup when she was younger, and the pup fell off. It wasn't that far off the ground, but the pup landed weird and tore his stomach lining and died the next day. I really hope that doesn't happen to my pup! But I guess if she's seen that happen to a puppy before, she knows what to look for. She didn't seem too worried when she quickly examined my pup.

I don't have a vet appointment until Friday (the day after I pick him up) but if he's still acting strange this morning when I visit him, I'll ask if I can take him to a vet sooner. I know she has a vet come look at the dogs every week, but I'm not sure which day. Maybe she's already had a vet look at him. If not, I hope it's not too late to do it today.

I will update when I get back the breeders later today and let you all know how he's doing.

Thanks so much for the thoughtful advice! This is a great community.

[NewPetMom_87]

I'm soooo happy to have stumbled across this page! I've had my 9-week old puppy chihauhau for 6 days now and this evening he did exactly the same as yours did! He was sitting on my lap sniffing around the sofa as per usual. Next thing I know he takes a leap onto the floor and lets out a massive welp and starts wriggling around. I was beside myself as I went to pick him up and comfort him. Immediately he was falling asleep and I could've sworn he was dying. But I've watched him all evening and apart from being quite sleepy he seems fine. Thank goodness my rug was there to cushion his blow slightly! I'm a new pet parent and he's also the first pet I've ever had and I'm in love with him already! I have an appointment at the vet on Wednesday so will take him and make sure he gets a good once over. I'll definitely get no sleep tonight keeping an eye out for my boy!

[doobiesmom]

So far he seems normal. I as well as my bf have been monitoring him. Thank you for your feedback.

[Margot49]

You have to watch puppies like you would a 2 year old child.  Not a good idea to take the pup out without a leash as you have no control.
If he seems fine, I would just watch him for any signs of pain or if he acts odd, seems kethargic or sleeps too much.
Another word of caution, do not put him up on beds or furniture as he could get injured jumping or falling off.

[doobiesmom]

hello.... I'm a new pet parent and was outside with my 3 month old keeshond chihuahua mix. he was playing and running in the grass, as soon as i hit the sidewalk he took off running and before i could stop him or catch him he jumped over the ledge and landed on the sidewalk. He made one cry like noise then got back up. I checked him and nothing feels to be broken or out of place. Once we got upstairs and i put him back in the apt he took off running like nothing ever happened and everything was back to normal. As a new pet parent i guess my question is should i take him in to be sure?

[jsalkeld]

My puppy fell off my bed twice today head first. yesterday he fell off the couch and hit the coffee table really hard. i try to keep him off the furniture but he finds a way. he's six weeks old. I'm really scared. i hope he's ok.

[dmathews]

!Whew! The same thing happened to my papillon  puppy just now. She fell off the side of my bed and I couldn't catch her in time, and she was blinking one eye for like the last 10 minutes. I thought I killed her and I've only had her for 4 days! I feel like the worst mommy ever :( But this makes me feel so much better. She also seems to be fine now and is playing normally.

[marissposa]

glad to hear the puppy is in good shape.  thanks for letting us know =)

[peekawho]

Good to hear it.  I think he'll be fine.

My own puppy just now was playing really, really hard.  He went to the water bowl, had a drink, and promptly fell over, dead asleep, right next to it.  He didn't even move when I put him in his bed.  

Gotta love puppies!  

[littledogsden]

So I went to visit my puppy yesterday morning and he was totally back to normal. His eyes were wide open and he was active as ever. The breeder said she had a vet look at him on Sunday and he was fine. Probably just scared.

I take him home on Thursday (yay!) and Friday we'll go to see what will become our normal vet. I'm not too worried since the breeder has already had a vet look at him, but since we're going to be there anyhow for a puppy exam I might as well ask my vet's opinion.

Thanks for all the feedback! It was really comforting to hear other people's thoughts (as opposed to just my own worrying).

[littledogsden]

Wow. I'm glad your puppy is okay. While I was doing research on puppies falling and suddenly getting tired, I turned up a bunch of stories about puppies doing things like your puppy did: someone was tossing them in the air and they fell onto pavement from like 6 ft, one puppy fell out a first floor window 4ft onto flagstone, etc. All horror stories of puppies falling from several feet and hitting hard surfaces. That's what I thought it took to give a puppy a concussion, so when mine started acting all strange after falling just a foot onto a carpet, it really confused me. I knew small breed puppies were delicate, but seriously? It sounds like your puppy had pretty much the same reaction that mine had (and a worse fall!). That makes me feel a lot better to know that your puppy is doing fine and acting normal. Thanks for sharing!

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

hi, i have a baby shihztu and at 8 weeks my mom put her on kitchen counter walked a way and yes she fell i got there about the time she hit the floor she yelped one time i ran picked her up her head was side ways and she would not open her eyes, i took her to vet and for 30 mins she keep one eye shut but she was ok, he checked her out and said she was fine, she was very tired after but at 8 weeks they sleep a lot ,shes 10 weeks now and shes great, no problems, so plz dont be scared if she landed on carpet and only a foot am sure was just scared mine hit a hardwood floor from a counter top long ways down for a baby . wishing you all the fun and joy of having a sweet baby.

[peekawho]

Hard to say.  Very tiny puppies can fall asleep at the drop of a hat.  You can't keep them awake, once they've reached their limit of play.

Sure is cute, though.  I would agree that the breeder, who has probably seen lots of puppies, would know if something were terribly wrong, I'd hope.

Let us know what happens!  

[jakesbride110]

Although it probably was a concussion, the fact that your puppy got noticeably better that quickly is a good sign. It was good as well that you stayed for a long period afterwords to make sure he was alright. You speak of the breeder like they are very experienced with breeding, which is a good thing!! Try not to worry so much because your breeder I'm sure is taking very good care of the puppy and will know if the slightest thing is not right, in which she will know the right thing to do as well as contact you immediately. With a concussion you only really need to keep a good eye out for 24 hours. For peace of mind and to make sure nothing else happened to him from the fall you might take him to the vet for a quick look over. Also the vet will explain what needs to be done if anything like this ever happens again and you can't get him to the vet because it's after hours, or a holiday whatever the reason. I'm sure he's fine though. Let us know how he is doing!! =)

[marissposa]

That sounds like what my cat did when she had a concussion.  Convince the breeder to let you take the puppy to a vet asap to prevent permanent brain damage.  You called this "my puppy"  you have a right to get it proper medical treatment.  The vet will give you anti-inflammatories and probably pain meds and tell you to encourage the puppy to relax for a few days.  best of luck,

[lonewolf07]

Hi

To me, he looked fine in the second video - maybe a bit tired because of the fall.  The fall might have scared him more than physically hurt him.

Personally, I'd want a vet to take a look at him to make sure everything is alright.

I have to add this - while I was watching the videos one of my dogs heard a dog barking so he barked back.  That must have been shih tzu language for "I hope you're alright".

Other folks will probably give you more insight but having a vet examine him would be what I would do.

Please let us all know how things turn out.  He's a cute little guy and you sound like great pet owners.

lonewolf (with comments from Rawhide the shih tzu)