Vet Bed

[Kaffy Magee]

FOr my last two litters I have used blankets and towels in the whelping box and was forever changing them. This time I have ordered some vet bed. HOw often do you change it. Twice daily, once daily???

My friend has some of the same stuff Im buying and its really stiff. I imagine after lots of use/washing it would lose its stiffness, but whilst it is new and stiff does it get a proper clean in the washing machine?

Thank

[Aziah]

I've never had any problems washing my new pieces and they do soften with age

Generally change once a day during the first week and then change it twice a day or more as needed as they get older...

Edited May 6, 2010 by Aziah

[Rysup]

I think it would depend on your litter size (and their age), but with my last litter I could get two days out of my dry bed before I had to change it.

Yes it gets much softer, but it cleans really well so no worries there.

[Kaffy Magee]

Great! Thanks for the replies. I wont know myself only having to change once or twice a day,lol. Im expecting decent size litters so I guess I'll play it by ear.

I guess I was just a bit worried about the size of the vet bed in the machine. The pieces are 1.5 x1.2 so Im guessing maybe a bit bigger than the pieces you both use as I have bullmastiffs. I guess I can only give it a go. Thanks again

[Aziah]

Mine are 1 x 1 or a tad over and I only have a little machine and it copes fine so the bigger size and a bigger machine should be all good

[ish]

I had peices 1.2 x 1.35 in my whelping box and they didn't fit in my front load washing machine (its a 6kg I think) but washed up really well in my mums big top loader. I folded them in half with the fluff on the outside and then tucked the top down once it was in the machine so it was all in the water and they came up great

[Bilbo Baggins]

Kaffy make sure you puta few layers of newspaper underneath to absorb the moisture.

With cavs and 4 in the litter, first time use of vet bed, once mums loss settled down I got abot 4 days out of it. Once they started pooing I changed it daily, she is not a good cleaner. :D :D

Once she pulled the pin on poo clean I went to newspaper. From memory 3 weeks.

My other girls probably could have got 5-6 weeks as they are better poo cleaners. :D

[becks]

A piece that size you can 'just' fit into a front loader but I don't think it has the space to wash properly, especially when brand new (i'd give it a couple of washes anyway to remove any of the loose fluff. You could always cut the pieces in half and use 2 in the box.

I change every 2 days at the start, then at least daily once pups are starting to get mobile. It washes and dries so fast, it's no problem to do.

[oakway]

If you are having problems with washing it, just throw it over the line and give it a good hosing.

It will be just as clean. I use the jet setting on my hose gun.

[dancinbcs]

I change daily for the first week and twice a day after that. Have never had any trouble washing up to 1.2m square in my washing machine.

The paper underneath is changed more often. From twice to four times a day, depending on how wet it gets.

Once mine are on their feet at two weeks I put a puppy pen up, off the front of the whelping box, so they can get out of the box and put newspaper down there. They usually go off the drybed to poo on the paper away from their bed and thus start to be houstrained.

At 4 to 5 weeks they go into the puppy pen on wood shavings but still have the vetbed to sleep on in their box. It doesn't need to be changed more than about twice a week once they stop toileting in the box.

[Baileys mum]

My bitch must be doing a great job with toileting the pups & cleaning the box, because my vet bed seems to be staying very clean & dry.

My pups are now 11 days old & I have 8 of them, but the box never seems to get dirty.

I'm changing the papers underneath the vet bed once a day (even they are not that wet though,) & I'm changing the vet bed every second day just because I like to have the pups on fresh bedding, but when I pop it in the washing machine it doesn't even look that dirty.

Oh well I suppose when I start the pups on solids in the next couple of weeks & my bitch decides to pull the plug on toileting & cleaning, I will then be in for a very dirty smelly shock, & that's when my washing machine will then start to get a really good work out.