Whelping must haves

Munster · Post by **Munster** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:23 am

What are some of your "Must have" equipment when you plan a litter?

I am looking into Dura Whelp for my whelping box. That is about as far as I have gone.

I am curious about what some of oyu have on hand. Besides the basics like scales etc. etc.

Luminary Setters · Post by **Luminary Setters** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:53 am

The best money I ever spent was on heated whelping nests. It allows cooler room temperatures for the whelping bitch while keeping the pups toasty warm.

Post by **ezzy333** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:57 pm

In later years I used a little kids swimming pool and it worked great. before that I let the mom make a nest out of straw or paper and she took care of the rest. I do think there is an advantage in letting the bitch do most of what she wants as it seems that all helps kick in the motherly instinct and helps in reducing all sorts of problems that come about when we try to take over for mother nature. As a kid, my Dad raised a lot of litters and they all were born in the barn where ever mom decided to have them and we never had a problem and I guess that rubbed off on me.

That said it is good o have some medical supplies if they would be needed but by an large mom can do the job better than we can.

Ezzy

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 1:09 pm

I've not raised pups except for an occasional foster litter. On the whelping box, the pig rails are super important. We did loose a little pup because it got squished by mama - so the pig rails are a good idea. A mentor that can help you when the time comes is also a really good idea. Vet on speed dial when you are at 61 days or so. Towels in case you have a pup that's not breathing and you need to rough it up to stimulate breathing reflex. I did weigh the pups to make sure they were all growing well, so a scale can be useful.

Vonzeppelinkennels · Post by **Vonzeppelinkennels** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 1:22 pm

I guess us old folk understand that dogs had pups long before we come around because I pretty much do things like ezzy said.I do have rails around the dog house & use news papers for the bedding but pretty much let mama take care of the rest.I also think a lot of it comes from how we are raised,I was born on a farm but because of my asthma my parents had to sell it & move,regardless of that we didn't run to the DR every time some one sneezed,got a cut or bruise,etc like I see from the younger gen today.I treat my animals like I did my kids & they were not babied makes them just a little tougher I think.I know some will see it other wise but my dogs live longer then most & some have never seen a vet other then tails & dew claws.I have dogs from going on 14 yrs down to 15 wk old pups now.JMO!

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 1:27 pm

Thermometer and some KY jelly (to take mom's temp).
Newspaper
Heat lamp with an extra light bulb OR a puppy nest mentioned above
Thermometer for inside the whelping box
Kitchen food scale with a bowl large enough to fit a puppy
Ribbon or yarn in different colors.
A few cans of Goat's milk, in the event of a large litter where Mom needs some help.
I know people who wont allow mom to "cut" the umbilical cord for fear of hernias. In that event, 2 hemostat clamps, alcohol and scissors.

Most of this you can buy right off the dura-whelp site, or pick up along the way.

Something I didn't realize is that there is a pregnancy blood test available for dogs. It has to be done within a certain timeframe after breeding, but it's supposed to be pretty accurate, and it's way cheaper than ultrasound to confirm.

I plan to buy a puppy nest before our next litter. We used heat lamps for the last 2 litters, but Mom was pretty stressed and the heat made it worse.

But in the end Ezzy is right. Mom will take care of most everything.

rinker · Post by **rinker** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:48 pm

I use heat lamps for warmth. The important thing to remember with this is that you need to give the female and puppies a place to get away from the heat lamp if it is too hot. I use a rectangular whelping box and put the heat lamp at one end. What I usually find is that the female and puppies lay at the edge of where the heat lamp shines, not directly underneath it.

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:58 pm

Yes, you have to give them a way out. But I've also read that the mortality rate in puppies is much less with the whelping nest than with a heat lamp. Everyone with one swears it's worth the $250, especially if you plan to have more than 1-2 litters.

Moulders Farm · Post by **Moulders Farm** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:11 pm

My whelping house is big enough for me to get in side to help if needed but like ezzy I place a small plastic swimming pool with holes drilled in the bottom so yearn & floiuds can go out in the swimming pool I put a old carpet in bottom then between the carpet & swimming pool I have a 12 inch by 12 inch heater that only gets less than 100 deg. then heat lamps or small heater . change the carpet out after the whelping & as needed . The swimming pool keeps the puppys in smsll area while there mother can go in & out as needed . mother nature will do most of the work on most hunting dogs but small breeds some times need a vets. help

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:24 pm

I got rid of the lamp in favor of a plug-in heated floor mat - I put it under the "rug" and the pups would crawl onto or off of that part of the rug if they needed the heat. I used a Lowes or HD big welcome type mat - one with rubber and then a rough gray top (very short nap). I found that the mama dogs didn't care for the lamp when I used it for two litters - but the heated floor space was good.

cjhills · Post by **cjhills** » Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:39 am

My raised whelping kennels. I wouldn't even try it without them now. 4X6 raised kennel 16" off the floor 4x4 whelping box with guard rails and rubber backed kennel pad which we put in after the bitch is done whelping. During the whelping we wipe occasionally with towels.
The floor is plastics panels with about 1/2 inch openings. As the pups get older it gives the mother a chance to get away from them. We change the Whelping box for a 2x4 sleeping box, when the bitch quits cleaning up, everything goes through to the floor. Cleanup is easy and We never have UTI with this setup. The puppies learn to go out to go to the bathroom. They are great.................Cj

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