Winter Litters

[Blakbelgian]

HI All,

I was doing a search on Ebay for Heated pet beds for puppies, and came across the snugglesafe pad, an electric blanket type thing and heated matts run by electricity.

I was wondering how do you keep your litters warm in winter?

Ours will be in the main room in show trolley with heater going constantly but does shut down automatically for awhile when room gets to a certain temp. Door will be shut or semi shut for awhile.

A hot water bottle goes cold too quick for my liking.

Mum constantly digs up her bedding so pups end up buried under the bedding, will try vet bed to see if she digs that up.

Thanks

BB

[Rebanne]

heat lamp and heated room ( well half the house really )and very big electricity bill!

[oakway]

I use an ordinary everyday out door spot light that is red coloured. (red because it is much easier on the eyes)

Just use the same socket that you for outdoor use. I also use a pole that I can attach to the whelping box or I attach it to the crate with cable ties.

I use this mostly at night the rest of the time I have a heat pad.

I have never used a heat pad before but I will soon find out what happens. :laugh: I hope to use the pad during the day.

[espinay2]

I have a Nobo heater with thermostat in the whelping room.

Also a heat mat in the whelping box. I put it in a pet bed/use towels under the vetbed to create a 'nest' in one corner

I have temperature guages in different parts of the room (I just use the ones that I use in my chicken incubators) so I know what the temp is.

As mum doesn't like it warm, it is a fine balance between keeping pups warm and making mum comfortable enough that she wants to stay.

Edited May 14, 2013 by espinay2

[zoiboy]

My girls have a double bed that they whelp on and I put a water bed heater under it to

keep the temps warm in winter as well as keeping the area insulated with towels or blankets. I get a small 3 bar heater to keep my toes warm :))

[Dogsfevr]

Depends how cold some bitches hate being over heated so its gauging what makes them a happy mum too.

[alpha bet]

The best way to go is invest in a heated whelping box.... money well spent.

I place the heated whelping box under the dining room table and place a heavy quilt over the table, makes a nice cave for the litter in the first few weeks..... Makes a more consistant temp.... mum has a bed next to the box so she can hop in and out when she likes. I just check the pups, keep the temp about where the pups will just still snuggle against each other not too hot or mum doesnt like it.....

The vet mat is brilliant.... never had a problem - bitches seem to love it as stays dry and soft.... not to hot....

[oakway]

Hi Zoiboy, yes the water bed heaters were the best I ever used. Only problem I haven't been able to get onto any lately, seems they have gone out of fashion.

You could fit them in one area of the whelping box and the bitch would move in and out of the warmth zone at leisure I am hoping that pet heating pad will do the same but am concerned they may be scratched up.

[zoiboy]

My biggest concern was the fact that the heater may get wet or the cord chewed.

I have a water proof matttress cover and 2 super dooper mattress covers that are

100% water proof and also really comfortable as they are made for people. The

heater goes under the mattress and it works well as only one side is heated and the thermostat keeps things at a reasonable temp. I love that heater and I am sure that they can still be bought as it is still possible to get water beds. They may not be the

cheapest option but I have 2 heaters so I use them.

[Kirislin]

I'm talking about 11 years ago now, but when I put the tiny weaned whippet puppies outside, they had a heated whelping box enclosed in a hay bale igloo. I wish I had a camera back then because it was very effective. It had a tunnel just like a proper igloo. It would be blowing a gale outside with rain pelting in sideways, and I'd worry about them so go out in the middle of the night to check on them and they were all warm and cosy with the temp about 22C while outside it was down around 3C

[Rebanne]

I'm talking about 11 years ago now, but when I put the tiny weaned whippet puppies outside, they had a heated whelping box enclosed in a hay bale igloo. I wish I had a camera back then because it was very effective. It had a tunnel just like a proper igloo. It would be blowing a gale outside with rain pelting in sideways, and I'd worry about them so go out in the middle of the night to check on them and they were all warm and cosy with the temp about 22C while outside it was down around 3C

what a great idea!

[JRG]

I make a haybale "L" or "T" shape two bales high so that no matter which way the wind is blowing they can all get out of the draft.

Got the idea from my Yorkshire farming roots where we used to make X shaped "hides" for the ewes with their young lambs - they were cosy even in the snow.

[ellz]

Having bred winter litters here in Tassie, I will say that I found it a lot easier to heat a small area. Easier and safer to regulate a smaller area than to have to monitor an entire room.

That said, the rooms were always heated so that there was no chill in the air, but then the smaller area the puppies were in was heated separately so that if there was a problem and the room heating went off, it didn't have any impact on the babies.

Easiest for me was a pen arrangement with a separate "sleeping area". This had a heated underblanket on the bottom, then polar fleece (both for warmth and water wicking properties) and then a suspended heat lamp over the top. As the puppies got older, the underblanket was removed, the heat lamp was raised and the time it was switched on was reduced and then when they were able to regulate their own temps with their environment, it was switched off completely.

[persephone]

I must admit to not believing much heat at all heat on little babies + mum ... ensure a draught proof , roofed /insulated box/bed to reflect/contain bodyheat ..and ..large enough for mum to fully stretch and move ... rough uneven bedding , and let babies use mum as their main heating , encouraging bonding, and more feeding /comfort .

When mum moves, or goes toilet , the rough bedding to get purchase on as the pups wriggle to find mum /huddle up ,gives them exercise and gets circulation going from the inside out .

I'm mean ;)

[Blakbelgian]

Has anyone tried the heated pet beds in the Reject shop?

I thought they looked really cosy & my girl should be able to scratch up the top cover without hiding the pups.

BB

[angelsun]

Suspended heat lamp, smallish room with box set in a corner out of the direct path of the doorway. I have the heat lamp on a chain and hook system that I can raise and lower as needs be. I also set it off to one side so Mom can get out of the path of the heat should she get warm, but also, she has access to her mat outside the whelping box.

Now that the pups are weaning, they still like their heat lamp, but it's on at night only, up nice and high and they have vet bed in their plastic molded beds. They are quite comfy.

If they are out, as today, they have a crate with a bed and no door to get into should it get breezy. After having REAL winter litters (insert the words snow, windchill and frostbite) this is pretty easy.

[dasha]

I had a winter litter last once and they had a large cardboard box with blankets and flannelette sheets.

It was in a garden shed outside and I put the box up on a trampoline bed to keep it off the slab floor. I also put some old carpet down on the floor to keep a bit of chill off the floor.

Pups used mum as heating and she did a great job.

At night, I put some other dogs in beds on other half of shed, and hung a bar heater up and put that on a little and shut all the doors.

I have since had a summer litter and I think I would rather a winter one next time.

Our dogs do not come inside so I think it was easier to heat up an area than provide a really cool spot in summer. Although I did have to run a fan a lot in summer for them

[Christina]

Has anyone tried the heated pet beds in the Reject shop?

I thought they looked really cosy & my girl should be able to scratch up the top cover without hiding the pups.

BB

They make a nice soft bed but are useless re the heating. I bought 3 & couldn't feel any heat so I removed the heating element pad things & laid them on the table & plugged them all in. They weren't even lukewarm to the touch 4 hours later. The wattage is too low to be of any use & they look like they were assembled by 8 years olds doing a class project.

I wonder with the suspended heat lamps if the constant light from them affects the pups eyes ? Also does it bother the mother as they are used to sleeping in the dark & it would be needed more in the night ?

[becks]

i had a heated mat that was supposed to get warm only when the weight of pups were on it - worked ok for first litter but after that I never felt it get warm at all, so swopped for a microwave heat pad - the hard plastic one - which will stay warm all night if covered over.

[LizT]

I put a wire pen around the whelping box (cut to fix exactly) and it has the swing door in the front.

I cover this with layers of old doona covers and sheeting and bulldog clip so it doesn't slip. This creates a lovely warm cave for my girl and her babes and is draught free and keeps the warmth in.

There is also a small heated pad (the heat increases when pressure is applied type) which the puppy seems to love as he can be found on it and his mother has an area free of heat that she prefers to lie on) that is under the vet bed. The last three litters have been either singletons or three pups so the singletons have also had gel pads when first born heated in the microwave and after a week they get two small soft toys that have been "gutted" and refilled with RAW rice that can be microwaved (25 seconds) and placed near the lone puppy for sibling warmth.

The room also has a heater on which is on higher (especially at night) when the puppy is newborn and the heat is gradually turned down over the insuing weeks.