A very bizarre and horrifying thing happened to my puppy today. I am sharing with it with the board so others may be aware and guard against this.
I am of course crate training my wild man (12 week GSD, working line). I have the crate with the door that is spring operated-that is, when you push the middle section in, the bars go down so the door can be closed, then when the middle section is released, the bars slide back out into the holes to secure the door. As I was home, puppy was out, and I left the door open to his crate so he could go in and out if he wished.
My boy eats puppy food, in the crate, some treats during training. Today I heated spaghetti-o's with meatballs, and puppy went wild for them-he has never been so interested in my food. As I walked by the crate to the table, he leapt up on me. The bowl dropped and he jumped to avoid it.
He fell on the extended portion of the bar which secures the crate. He impaled his eyeball on it and was stuck.
This incident was quite traumatic for us both. He was firmly affixed to the bar by his eyeball and was screaming and pulling, bringing the crate along with him and making the situation worse. There was no one to help me, and it was quite hard to get a hold of him, rapidly examine how his eye was stuck and how best to unhook him.
My wallet is much lighter four hours later, after a mad rush to the vet, I have a Frankenstein puppy, I have smoked way too much, but the eye is so far salvageable.
Take a look at your crates and if they have this kind of locking mechanism, try to cover that extended portion with a FAT rubber tip when your dog is out. An art eraser works in a pinch.

Wow - that is a really horrible accident! I hope your pup heals well with no complications. Thanks for posting the heads-up.
(P.S. - are your knees still shaking?)

tiggy2-
My knees are fine-but my stomach keeps turning over! Bleechh.

Alex,

I'm very sorry to hear about the accident. I know you must feel terrible, and I sure hope everything turns out well.

Given that we have about the same age pup, I really understand how you must feel. Keep thinking on the positive.

Doyle