i have had four litters and have used the same whelping box for all of them. i got a rubbermaid plastic container from Walmart. it is a slid under the bed sweater box. The sides are short enough so that the pregnant or nursing mom can get over the side to potty on her pad without injuring her belly or the unborn puppies. I also do not use towels or anything in it. I ordered a couple of "Pish Pad's for $25, each and cut them to fit just the bottom. they are specially for whelping boxes. If you use anything else there is a chance that the puppies will get lost under it. i usually throw a towel in two or three days before whelping date just to check and see if mama iss "digging her nest' yet. Then I remove it. First time, someone told me to use newspapers and it the worst mess I have ever seen in my life. so I was ready the next time. I also have a huge x-pen set up. I set it up a couple of weeks before time at the foot of my bed. then I set the pan in one end of it. When the puppies get big enough to climb out of the pan, I remove the pan and put cardboard all around the inside of the x-pen so they won't get their little heads hung in the cracks. I also put a huge folded rug in the end where the pan was for the puppies and mama to sleep on with the pee pad , food and water on the other end. |