Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc  Hey all. My boys are three weeks old. Try as I might to keep them in that bin....they climb over folded items and venture into the pen area. I have blankets and pee pads there. I need ideas though.....
1. Their little nails are getting hooked on the pee pad....clip or no?
2. How do you set the area in the pen up in terms of placing pads and blankets? I have a pee pad down right up to the bin where they get out....then blankets around that pad. How do you set yours up? All pee pads for awhile? No blankets? How fast do they learn to pee on a pad and not a blanket?
3. Twice one of the boys ventured out of the bin and pooped on the pad...mom ate it. How long will she do this? Should I stop her from doing it?
Any ideas and info or pics of your set-up would be great. |
Here is the type of setup I use in our spare bedroom once the pups are out of the whelping box. I line the bottom of the x-pen with folded sheets. One end I will have their comforter. The food and water will be in the middle. You can see in the picture the board I use so mom can easily jump in and out but most pups won't go over the board until they are 7 or 8 weeks old or older, depending on their size. As the pups get older I take away more and more of the bedding so usually by the time the pups are 8 weeks old I will have just the pee pads at the far end of the x-pen and the pups are pretty much pee pad trained. I also make their x-pen bigger as they get older.
I go to lots of garage sales and that is where I pick up nice sheets and comforters for next to nothing.
I start putting down a bowl up ground puppy food and a bowl of water when the pups are about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks old.
You definitely need to clip their toenails. I just use little fingernail clippers to clip off the sharp points. The momma will greatly appreciate it. I usually start clipping the nails when the pups are about 1 to 2 weeks old.