Your Last Litter

[~Myschafis~]

We had a granny flat at the previous house, which was a little house in itself, ensuite, dining room etc.

Our whelping box was in the 'dining room' of the granny flat, our bedroom where we slept was about 10 footsteps away.

They stayed in that room the whole 21 days.

The whelping box was made from a sandpit and I had a wheat bag, and a heat pad for them, but as it was a warmer month a lot of heating wasn't required.

We had sheets and dry bed under them.

[Aspyre]

Our latest litter of Pointer puppies delivered at home in early May.

We have converted one of our spare rooms into a 'puppy room'. Floor is carpeted, so we lay Lino and tarps over the top and part the way up the ways then seal all the edges with waterproof tape. We also put Corex boards over the top of the tarp, covering the lower half of the walls for extra protection, and easy cleaning. And easy to remove once all pups have left home.

Our house is centrally heated, but the vent to the puppy room is closed to avoid drafts. I also put a heat pad in the whelping box for the first few weeks also. Temperature set about 24-26 degrees.

Pup are in this room full time for the first 3 weeks.

[Miss Danni]

We have a spare bedroom that is set up as a puppy room when we have a litter due (GSDs). Our last litter was November and the first few nights were cold enough to need the heater and thereafter we had a heatwave and had to go out and buy a portable airconditioner! Initially I keep the whelping room at around 27 degrees but start to drop the temperature down after about 5 days. I keep a thermometer at floor level so I know what the pups are experiencing (despite the sweat dripping off me, sometimes the pups are still too cool for my liking ).

The room is large enough to fit the heater or air conditioning unit beside the whelping box. Floor of the room is slate, which is fantastic dog flooring. I sleep next to the box until I feel that the bitch and pups are doing well enough and then I go back to my normal bed - this is usually after 5 days or so - and I can hear every squeek and sniffle very well so that I can jump up a million times a night! I use newspaper on the floor of the box, covered with an old blanket then a sheet and dry bed. If it is very cold, I hang another blanket over the top of the box to keep the heat in. I also have a heat pad. I use wet towels on one side of the box if the pups are too hot and change them as they dry out.

Puppies are extensively handled right from birth and the box is changed twice a day while they are little and more often as the need arises when they get bigger. Once they are mobile, they will come into the lounge room with us to watch TV at night and have their first outdoor exploration weather permitting, confined to a puppy pen to start with and once they are around 5-6 weeks, they will have more roaming room. They also have the hallway as their play area from the time that we start toilet training at around 4 weeks, as this has access to the backyard and is also slate.

They do not have physical contact with adult dogs other than their mum until around 4 weeks old, but once mum is happy, we put a pet gate on the door of the whelping room and canine family members can look in but are too far away from the box to touch. They sleep in the box at night until at least 6 weeks (but mum is already back in her own bed) and then, depending on the number of pups, we will start to crate train them and they will sleep in our bedroom so that we can continue their toilet training. All of our dogs sleep inside, most of them in our bedroom, so this also means that the pups get plenty of socialisation but are protected by their crates from overzealous relatives.

[Libertybrook]

Our last litter in March were whelped behind our Bar in the family room,

it has slate floors and brick surrounds, its draught free and stays a constant temperature, we put a puppy pen at one as it is closed in brick at the other,

the bitch has a quiet cosy place to whelp and plenty of room to move as the babies grow.

we put down plenty of newspaper then Vet bed was placed on top and changed daily or as needed.

plus we are always within ear shot of any noises and walk past all the time, to other parts of the house,

the pups become very well socialised and get used to noises people etc,

they stay there until about 4 weeks then go outside into the big run

[Steve]

The MDBA will be attending a round table conference on the current RSPCA proposal regarding puppy farms mandatory codes

Could I have your permission to use the photos you have posted here to take with us?

Julie

[Bonduca]

My last litter, April 2010, was delivered in the vets by C-Section but prior to that I had her whelping box set up in my bedroom whereby under it was an old clear Cafe plastic blind, on top of that was a carpet remnant followed by blankets and towels that I brought at my local Op shop for $1 and $2 dollars along with Vet bed.

I monitored her temp on a regular basis and when, after 36 hours she did not go into full blown labour, I rang the vet. On the way to the vet we stopped for a progestrone test to see where her levels were and if indeed she was ready to whelp. On arrival at the vets the results arrived by phone and she was indeed ready as her test results were at 9.25 so the 2 pups were delivered and once we all got back home they were all placed in the whelping box in my room.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Bonduca

[WreckitWhippet]

The MDBA will be attending a round table conference on the current RSPCA proposal regarding puppy farms mandatory codes

Could I have your permission to use the photos you have posted here to take with us?

Julie

Yep no worries and let me know if you need any more

[Mystiqview]

My last litter was in the laundry which is just off the kitchen and part of the house. I like the laundry as it is a small room, nearby to the lounge and kitchen and a room I can maintain a good constant temperature without too much variable. I have a large painted and disinfected cleaned whelping box, I had an oil heater going as I only do winter litters as for me it is easier to keep puppies warm than cool in summer. I whelp on newspaper and clean that between each puppy and again wipe out the whole whelping box after the whole litter is born. Once the litter is whelped I will install the safety pig rails into the whelping box to prevent mum from rolling onto the pups and suffocating them. These just slide in and out as needed. In addition to the oil heater keeping the room at a nice ambient temperature, there are two heat pads within the whelping box for the puppies to crawl onto and off as needed.

The puppies will live in the laundry for the first three weeks. If needed, the smaller pups will be supplimented fed if mum is not coping if I have a large litter or there are small ones who need to catch up to their larger siblings. When they are started to be introduced to solid foods, I only use premium puppy formula. I do not believe in weetbix diets with milk or egg as weetbix is only a filler. I use premium puppy re-hydratable food which I will hydrate back up and mix with biolac and beef mince into a watery porridge. I prefer to feed quality food that pups will get every benefit from eating.

I then allow them an adjoining "sun room" that I can hose out and clean easily as it is on concrete. When I am at home I will set up a small run outside in the sun and with shade and water and let them have a romp around in the grass while under supervision.

Mum is given lactose free milk or biolac for calcium as I do not normally agree with calcium tablets unless vitally necessary. The bitch is fed on a high quality premium diet with plenty of meaty bones.

Edited July 16, 2010 by Mystiqview