[bjh]

Congratulations on your upcoming litter. I pray all will go well.

Personally I would not allow her to jump on and off the bed at this stage of her pregnancy. I see no problem with her going up and down the stairs for now if she is not having any problems doing so. Do you know about how many pups she is expecting?

If she is use to the clippers I see no problem with you shaving her belly. Personally I just trim the belly hair short with scissors but either method will work. Make sure her body and facial hair is not long either or the pups could get hung up in it.

I do not introduced my new mommas to a whelping box prior to delivery and I have never had any problem with them adjusting to the box. The box I use does not have rails and I have not had any problems with any getting suffocated but occasionally a pup might get trapped behind the mom and start crying. I use a bottomless whelping box that just sits on top of the bedding so I don't have to worry about the pups getting lost in the bedding. I do put a small fleece baby blanket loose in the whelping box so momma can cover the pups with that if she wants to.

I always deliver the pups in my bedroom, on our bed, in a big wicker dog bed. After the pups are born I move the mom and pups to our spare bedroom where I have a big x-pen setup with the whelping box at one end. Then I put pee pads, food and water outside the whelping box If your female is use to sleeping with you then be prepared for her to want to move the pups to your bed. To prevent this you will have to keep her in a small area she cannot get out of.

For heat I use a heating pad designed for dogs that keeps a constant temperature of 100 degrees. I place the heating pad under the bedding where it covers 1/2 the whelping box. That way the momma does not have to lay on the heating pad and the pups can move on and off the pad. I always drape a sheet over the x-pen on the end where the whelping box is so the mom can feel more secure and also to prevent drafts. You do not want to make the room to hot because if the momma gets to hot it can effect her milk production.