Meaning: The dogs retreated due to the rocks being thrown at them.
Choice of Words: Ran: moved quickly by using one's legs. Away: to or at a distance.
Alternative Expressions
The dogs fled from the boulders.
Meaning: This sentence gives us a little more information about the situation. The dogs were running away from the boulders because they were afraid.
Choice of Words: **The dogs** is a more specific way to refer to a group of dogs. **Fled** is a more formal word for **ran** that means to run away from danger or trouble. **Boulders** are large rocks.
Canines retreated from the stony protrusions.
Meaning: This sentence is the most formal and poetic of the three. It describes the dogs running away from the boulders in a very elegant way.
Choice of Words: **Canines** is a scientific word for dogs. **Retreated** is a more formal word for **fled** that means to move back from a dangerous or difficult situation. **Stony protrusions** is a more poetic way to refer to boulders.