Disinfectant

[SpikesPuppy]

Just wondering what everyone uses to disinfect the surroundings (whelping box, floor, shoes etc) and also what I can put in the washing machine when washing the blankets?? I'll be using blankets and towels bought from the op shop so want to make sure they are 100% clean.

Thanks

[Aziah]

Soak the blankets etc. in the Detol disinfectant (can buy at the supermarket) and then run them through a normal wash with whatever you'd usually use.

My box itself tends to remain fairly clean and it gets a wipe over when needed with white vinegar. The floor surrounding the box gets wiped over with a mild solution of MYO 3X as necessary and the carpet in the box is changed every couple of day and disinfected/swapped for clean/dry piece. The bedding in the box is replaced and washed daily (more frequently as they grow) just in what I wash everything else in.

Shoes don't come past the front door however a solution of the MYO 3X is always made up in a spray bottle and handy should it be needed.

Edited December 28, 2009 by Aziah

[SpikesPuppy]

Thanks I wasn't sure if 'household' disinfectants were okay or I needed to get the specific aniaml/vet stuff. We use Myo around the house & white vingar so that's nice and cheap

So glad we bought a heavy duty washing machine, it's certainly going to get a good work out

Oh and can I ask a potentially stupid question?? What about the other dogs? The whelping box is to be set up in the front/spare room, with a baby gate (which has a small doggy door in it so Ziva can come and go as she pleases but the others can't get in). When is it safe for them to interact with the pups?

Also, mum will likely still be showing Nessa so although she wont be directly in contact with the babies, is there anything we should do/wipe her down with before allowing her back in the house???

Edited December 28, 2009 by SpikesPuppy

[Rysup]

I dont let my adults interact with puppies until they are vaccinated at the earliest.

[Ozstar]

I have always used delete.

It is all natural and safe to use around the pups and mum.

Leanne

[sandgrubber]

Given that my bitches all jump in a mucky pond and roll is sand on a regular basis, I figure disinfectants are a waste of time. No way can I wash of the belly and teats before Mum gets back in the whelping box every time. My focus is keeping clean so there's no good pockets of filth to support massive growth of bacteria, ets. If there were a problem that needed disinfected, I'd use a very strong oxidant (bleach for example) at high concentration, sprayed on vertical as well as horizontal surfaces, let it sit for 20 minutes, and then wash it off with a lot of water so as not to burn the dogs.

[laneka]

I use Delete too, find it excellent and pleasant smelling too.

[Ozstar]

I use Delete too, find it excellent and pleasant smelling too.

I love the smell too and use it not only for my dog needs but to wash my floors etc.

I also put it in my wash when washing dog bedding etc.

Leanne

[Bilbo Baggins]

My other dogs are around the pups all the time and are there at the birth. Often help as surrogate sto keep pups warm if Mum is pushing out another.

[Bisart Dobes]

If there is any parvo in your area and I would check with your local vets to see what cases they have had in - strong bleach is the only thing that kills it. I use bleach in whelping area and delete as well. I use bleach in all the puppy washing as well. Everything is bleached in the whelping area prior to whelp date and no other dogs go in there once it has been done.

We allow other dogs to see pups from the doorway (when mum is not there with our breed ofcourse) one they are past the first week but no contact until they are weaned. Puppies wil have immunity from mum so I don't stress about it too much as all our dogs are vaccinated. Parvo is the only thing I really worry about - after being a vet nurse and nursing sick parvo puppies and hearing of other breeders who have had litters wiped out by it - its bleach, bleach, bleach.

[The Ark]

Having a poultry flock, and a great fear of all things viral I have a great love of Virkon-S - a viricide which apparently kills any disease on the face of the earth. I haven't been able to get it while we've had our pups, though - everyone is out of stock. It apparently kills things that even bleach won't.

I really wish we had a completely separate whelping/growing area. Our pups are in our entry-way, which we don't use while they are there (we use the garage door instead). However, their mum goes out to the front yard to toilet/relax, so who knows what comes back in on her!

Our dogs are all vaccinated, and the one dog we have from a pound (dumb decision, but he's now safe) I had swabbed for parvo and found clear. I am aware that every time we walk out the door and back in again we are potentially tracking germs in, and tried not walking on the pup's flooring to limit their exposure, but now they are allowed to have little "adventures" in our living area so all quarantine is out the window! I still shower and change clothes if I go anywhere especially risky (eg. the vet, a farm where dogs may not be vaccinated), wash my hands before touching the pups, and wash/change clothes if I've been interacting with our others, but I figure that's all we can do. Ideally I guess you would have them in a completely separate area until 8 weeks, with the mum toileting and playing in an attached area where there have been no other dogs.

I'd be interested to hear what others do with other show dogs in the household (or any dogs, for that matter) because I guess any dog can cross the tracks of a parvo-infected animal on a daily walk. My min pin that I show is obviously an inside dog - he doesn't have direct contact with the pups (same as Nessa) but is still in the house, and has access to the areas that the pups now get into occasionally (not at the same time, but they are still "sharing" a space).

[Bisart Dobes]

We can track the parvo virus in the house just by going to the shops to buy more newspapers and more bleach .

I really only stress about it for the first week or so but then we have been fortunate to have easy whelping bitches, no issues with puppies and no sick pups.

Show dogs wouldn't get shown for the first couple of weeks but thats because I sleep next to the box for the first week at least as with fast moving girls who tend to fly in and out of the box you need a wide sweeping arm to scoop puppies from under feet - and as such I don't enter shows when babies are due. Puppies should have enough immunity from mum by the end of the first week. However I do use bleach to clean the puppy areas and the dog areas once a week anyway.

[Wuppywoman]

I also use Virkon and have done for years. I don`t enter shows when pups are due but do go when they are a couple of weeks old. I have a spray bottle of Virkon made up at all times to disinfect shoes worn to shows and shoes of visitors. I shower and change clothes after a show before touching the babies the same as when I come home from work in the afternnon, I don`t touch them until I am clean and disinfected lol! Virkon is relatively cheap and easy to make up fresh as required as it is in crystal form.