Puppy Question
 

just wondering when you should start letting the puppies wander in an enclosed area. My puppies (2) are 3 weeks old today and they are starting to try to crawl and walk around. right now I have them in a large cage but am wondering when I should/can take them out with mom and put them in a larger area.

I know I have to make sure there is nothing that can hurt them or they could hurt themselves with.

Just looking for some nice, good advice.

When my puppies are around 3 1/2 to 4 weeks old I remove the whelping box and I let them have more room in the x-pen. I have attached a picture of my setup. The mom can easily just step over the board but the puppies cannot climb over it until they are much older. As the pups get older I expand the size of their area and leave the potty pads at the far end and food and water in the middle.

Thank you. The whelping box or cage in my case is in my bedroom and there is really no way to extend the cage but this gives me some ideas. I will have to put some thought into what and how I am going to this that gives mom the ability to move around the house during the day but a very safe place for puppies.

Thank you,

My puppies are 4 weeks old today. We were going to build an extension onto the whelping box but last week a friend of mine gave us a plastic "kiddie pool". We have it in our living room lined with an old comforter. We have the living room gated off so Bell Mia has to stay with the pups in the same room. She can easily jump in and out when she wants to. We keep the pups in the pool during the day with a couple of chew toys. They are in the pool as long as we are able to watch them and then at night they go back to their whelping box with momma. It is a great inexpensive idea that is easy to clean. Just doesnt go well with my living room decour :rolleyes:

LOL. Thank you that is a good idea.

I have changed my setup so many times but I think I am sticking with what I have now. When the puppies were 3 weeks old, I moved them out of the whelping box into a lil kiddie pool (it is the SMALLEST size you can get)... so that didn't last long b/c at 4 weeks they were able to get out but not back in (it was very shallow)... so I changed to this set up. I have these little wire squares (kind of like an expen) that I have connected. I like these much better b/c I can have a tiny area or a HUGE area and in whatever shape I want. I have several left over that I haven't even touched. I have a little divider that separates Molly from the puppies (but she can still get to them). This was a week ago (they are now 5 weeks) so I have upgraded them to a bed (woohoo! b/c I can now trust them to not potty on it) and I have made their little area "one square" bigger which equals 3 square ft bigger (if that makes sense. I have also changed it a big to make it easier for Molly to get back and forth... but every now and then I will find a pup on her side :rolleyes: so I need to keep an eye on it... The thing is, she is not a huge jumper so I need something she can get over but not the pups, who are now throwing their wee bodies through the area in hopes of going over the "fence" haha.. its a riot! I plan on making their area another square bigger each week to gradually give them more space and room. If I see that they are failing in potty training or in other areas, I will wait a few weeks before expanding. Hope this all makes sense!

WOW! that is really nice. I think my biggest problem is room. The house we own is a quad but there is really no one room that has a lot of space in it. I told my husband yesterday we are going to have to really figure something out they will be walking around before we know it.

Nice setup. The only thing I see that worries me is whatever you have plugged in. Your puppies are starting to get to the age where they will chew on things so make sure you don't have any electrical cords they can chew on. I talked to a lady the other day that lost their 2 year old male because he chewed on a electrical cord and it killed him. So sad.

Yes, electrical cords and other smaller objects are in my mind. I was watching a video on youtube last night and actually did see some 3 week old babies around electrical cords. I know they were making the video but it stilled seemed like the cords were there where the puppies could get to them.

I would not be so concerned with 3 week old pups since they can't really chew at that age but you are right that it is best not to have any cords where the pups can get to them.

i take my whelping pan out of the x-pen when they crawl out of the pan. But you really have to watch them at this time because mama tries to get away from them and their little legs can't catch up to her. it can cause sugar drops if they can't catch mama to nurse. I usually only leave this mama and her pups in the x-pen a few days asfter the pups start toddling. then I have to move them to a smaller crate so they can find her. She is a terrible mother.

Oh no worries there! I no longer have it there. That was for the heating pad. I took it away like a day after this picture was taken. I never had problems with a puppy chewing on it or bothering it but I figured it was no longer needed. So they now have a nice bed there. I totally agree! No cords, wires, etc around puppies! Mine are 5 weeks and are starting to chew on things (boxes, toilet paper rolls, etc).

As for space, I guess that is something that we have been blessed in. We have a rather large home with no kids at this point. No matter how many offices, spare bedrooms I have, I still want the puppies in a common area so that I can keep an eye on them (I know about people coming in and out and germs, diseases, etc so I do take precautions)... but I love being able to be in the kitchen or living room and look over at the puppies (they are in the dining room). Even though I like the set up at this point (for the most part), I am still tweaking! lol