Ouch! I hope that heals quickly. My arm has only just recovered from a mistaken toy grab 3 weeks ago so I feel your pain!
Do any of you do 'enforced naps'? I read about it yesterday on a few other forums, also the 1 hour awake 2 asleep rule. It has always seemed like Pup stayed awake much longer than that but I think I'm going to try and stick to it a bit more as she's definitely happier after a good sleep. Also I have really only been using the crate for feeds, overnight and quick school runs and the rest of the time been with her and feeling like I can't put her in, but also take my eyes off her while I didn't want to shut her away. But I realised that pup was getting super jumpy, bitey and refusing to be redirected to toys, chews etc when she was overtired - I'd mistaken it for energy and kept on playing. I felt horrible at first but when I saw her playing getting aggressive, I put her into the crate with a chewy bone and lo and behold she just crashed out and had a good sleep without a single protest.
In the evenings we've previously been trying to have 'family time' with her but she was getting too excited, very jumpy and nibbly which was too stressful for everyone. She is obsessed with jumping up at my little girl and getting bitey with feet, and no amount of ignoring or NO was making a difference. So yesterday I had her on the lead for being around the kids and focussed on giving her treats for not jumping up and being calm, this seemed to be working very well. Then after her tea and a good tug game and playing football, I felt like she was due a nap and crated her again. This meant both H and I could do kids' bedtimes and spend time with them instead of tag teaming us eating our tea, getting kids sorted and puppy-sitting. Once again she just lay down for a sleep. Usually she'd have gotten bitey, jumping and barking until crashing out, or else fallen asleep but woken up every 5 mins or so to see what's going on. I was amazed at how much easier my evening became after that nap. Because she'd had a good nap she was much less cranky and bitey before bedtime and was chilled all evening. Because I properly spent time with the kids instead of dashing up and down or me and H swapping over, they were much more settled overnight too. Today after her breakfast and a play, she popped herself right in the crate for a nap and I was able to get myself and the kids ready for school and she's still asleep there now!
This is probably common sense to many, or else some will feel like I'm being awful putting her in the crate so much, but to me it's been a revelation. I think I need to stop thinking of it like a cage and instead realise it's her 'den' and it's ok to encourage her to snuggle up in there when she needs good undisturbed rest. Obviously I don't want to get into the habit of 'locking her up' all day long, but for those flashpoints and high stress parts of the day I think it will be really helpful for her and for the family. I think I'm just putting it here in case anyone else is feeling super stressed and has been like me not really using the crate much, and also so I don't feel as guilty!