Kirislin Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 A little off topic maybe //but why are whelping boxes rectangular , when dogs are curved? working sheepdog bitches whelp usually in clean sand , where they dig a hollow . Puppies will always roll to the centre , and there are rarely squashed ones , or ones who cannot access the bitch's warmth/milk . Yes your quite right about having a circular one and also concave. Only problem as far as I am aware they have to be imported and at great expense. They also come with in built heating. I think the cheaper option is, as previously suggested, a clam shell pool and then buy a heat pad. I prefer to have one section warm and part of it not heated so they can crawl off the heat if they want to. If I ever breed another litter this is what I think I will go for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 A little off topic maybe //but why are whelping boxes rectangular , when dogs are curved? working sheepdog bitches whelp usually in clean sand , where they dig a hollow . Puppies will always roll to the centre , and there are rarely squashed ones , or ones who cannot access the bitch's warmth/milk . Yes your quite right about having a circular one and also concave. Only problem as far as I am aware they have to be imported and at great expense. They also come with in built heating. I think the cheaper option is, as previously suggested, a clam shell pool and then buy a heat pad. I prefer to have one section warm and part of it not heated so they can crawl off the heat if they want to. If I ever breed another litter this is what I think I will go for. sounds a good plan ... I was thinking of something like a papasan Chair - you remember ? those cane half sphere things - gorgeous to sit in - impossible to get out of ? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I didn't have pigrails and had no issues. My bitch was reasonably careful but not hyper vigilant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 No longer breeding, but pig rails saved many a pup when I was doing so. My girls averaged 9 pups and weren't so great at keeping track of all of them. Yes, they need to be at the right height, and wide enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 A little off topic maybe //but why are whelping boxes rectangular , when dogs are curved? working sheepdog bitches whelp usually in clean sand , where they dig a hollow . Puppies will always roll to the centre , and there are rarely squashed ones , or ones who cannot access the bitch's warmth/milk . Yes your quite right about having a circular one and also concave. Only problem as far as I am aware they have to be imported and at great expense. They also come with in built heating. I think the cheaper option is, as previously suggested, a clam shell pool and then buy a heat pad. I prefer to have one section warm and part of it not heated so they can crawl off the heat if they want to. If I ever breed another litter this is what I think I will go for. sounds a good plan ... I was thinking of something like a papasan Chair - you remember ? those cane half sphere things - gorgeous to sit in - impossible to get out of ? LOL aaah yes those were the days, when we were young and lithe and slim...........and we still couldn't get out of the damn things! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 A little off topic maybe //but why are whelping boxes rectangular , when dogs are curved? working sheepdog bitches whelp usually in clean sand , where they dig a hollow . Puppies will always roll to the centre , and there are rarely squashed ones , or ones who cannot access the bitch's warmth/milk . Yes your quite right about having a circular one and also concave. Only problem as far as I am aware they have to be imported and at great expense. They also come with in built heating. I think the cheaper option is, as previously suggested, a clam shell pool and then buy a heat pad. I prefer to have one section warm and part of it not heated so they can crawl off the heat if they want to. If I ever breed another litter this is what I think I will go for. sounds a good plan ... I was thinking of something like a papasan Chair - you remember ? those cane half sphere things - gorgeous to sit in - impossible to get out of ? LOL aaah yes those were the days, when we were young and lithe and slim...........and we still couldn't get out of the damn things! :laugh: LOL!! That's it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 A little off topic maybe //but why are whelping boxes rectangular , when dogs are curved? working sheepdog bitches whelp usually in clean sand , where they dig a hollow . Puppies will always roll to the centre , and there are rarely squashed ones , or ones who cannot access the bitch's warmth/milk . Yes your quite right about having a circular one and also concave. Only problem as far as I am aware they have to be imported and at great expense. They also come with in built heating. I think the cheaper option is, as previously suggested, a clam shell pool and then buy a heat pad. I prefer to have one section warm and part of it not heated so they can crawl off the heat if they want to. If I ever breed another litter this is what I think I will go for. sounds a good plan ... I was thinking of something like a papasan Chair - you remember ? those cane half sphere things - gorgeous to sit in - impossible to get out of ? LOL aaah yes those were the days, when we were young and lithe and slim...........and we still couldn't get out of the damn things! :laugh: LOL!! That's it! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 (edited) We use pvc and its not fixed to the box in any way, it's just a square with feet. The puppies can push their way out if need be. I've done the same. I think the rails saved at least one, maybe several pups, in each litter. I don't know how many times I found a pup between momma-dog's back and the wall of the box . .. protected by the rail.(my girls averaged over 9 pups per litter)/ Edited May 19, 2016 by sandgrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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