[bjh]

During the winter I keep the heating pad until they are about 3 weeks old. At 3 1/2 to 4 weeks I remove the whelping box and put them in an x-pen in my spare bedroom. I have a board with with legs for support (see picture) that my husband made that I put across one end of the x-pen. That way the moma can go hop over the board to see her babies and also she can get away from them when she wants to. I put their bedding at one end, their food and water in the middle and they go pee on pads at the other end. Usually the pups won't climb over the board until they are 7 or 8 weeks old.