Tiny Whelping Areas??? - Page 1

You know, I see more and more ads with pictures of the dam and puppies in their whelping area, and it shocks me...My whelping box is HUGE, it is 6 feet long, and 4 feet wide, both myself, the dam AND puppies can fully strech out. And on these ads, you see the mom cramped into that tiny little box/area, or better yet, swimming pools. I must admit I did contemplate this idea of a swimming pool when I first started breeding, 8 years ago, but upon better judgment, I knew there had to be puppy rails. Not just that, but after whelping a litter, EVEN IF IT'S SMALL, that female should have all the room she wants to strech out, maybe walk around. Granted, it doesn't have to be a whole room for a whelping area, but come on, when you had your kids, did they keep you all crunched up until your kids were weaned? Your poor legs would get sore, your back, probably your neck...I just don't understand why some breeders who plan on staying in breeding don't just find a better way. MAYBE for ONE litter, that would suffice, but if you breed more than one litter, why not make it more comfortables for your girls?

I guess what I'm asking is WHY? Why make whelping boxes/areas so small. What are the benifits to doing things this way? In what way does a swimming pool provide what your female needs?

If you don't want to post publicly, you may email me at: blueskyek9@charter.net

Naya's <Mom: I was wondering the same thing   my boxes are same as yours with tops ,doors and lights inside for warmth and a place for me to me in there with my pillow....and I have puppy rails that I posted on several threads...back when do right was helping someone with their pups...

I see the swimming pool things and cringe....I guess they are not professionals.....I have three large boxes and then after 4 weeks and they poop and pee so much they graduate to the wire kennels with pull out trays so they dont stand , sit and wlk in all their leavings......I t slays me how some people do things....

My son made two of my boxed and we put rubber matting in one over linoleum and the other one is tile squares that are rubber maid, and then I use lots of newspap=er, to yank up three or four times a day....

The puppies learn to run and play right in the box and are safe from all harm...have no place in side houses with kids , dogs, people and other animals roaming around  ,,,It brings all kind of germs in to the area when you have those kinds of whelping place.....sure if you want to bring pups after 4 weeks old into house with the kids and family ,that a different story....they need to be aroung family surroundings, but not at the whelping stages for a few weeks ,,,disease and warm , kind ,soothing plavae for mom to produce her milk and not get upset......

I think a lot of the pups on the market with so many nerve, shy, temperament problems ,are bred right out of the way they come into this world and how peaceful a birth the mamma dog renders to her young.......I imprint at 2 - 3 weeks old, handling every day and noise making ,but it doesnt happen but several times a day, and mamma and pups enjoy a huge box without harm in the a/c....

I have a 4ft by 4ft whelping box, the idea is to make everyone (especially mom) feel safe and secure.. I have had females in the past with a box that big who moved their pups to smaller areas(on her own, she moved them to a crate). a den is just that.. small, safe and cozy..... she isn't bowling, she is nursing her pups and cleaning them. They get plenty of exercise outside of the box and at about 3 - 4 weeks pups get moved to another area. 

Being a professional has nothing to do with it , why would you make that comment?

My box is made by DuraWhelp and has plenty of room.

Why do you think some dogs have their pups under a porch or shed???

Swimming pools make fine whelping areas, easy to clean and the moms look perfectly fine to me....

And the comment about shy pups caused by the whelping box, well... no comment.....

We recently went through all of this discussion here at our house as we wait for Gipsi to whelp. Our other dogs have always done fine in a "whelping pool" they are easy to clean and the experienced moms do well in them if the litter is relatively small. WIth Gipsi being a first time mom we figured a "whelping pool" was probably not a good idea. We opted to build a box 4x4. Then, the additional information of xrays confirming a LARGE litter of 11+ pups, we decided 6x6 was the better way to go. I have added a "canopy" to one corner of the box so it has a closed in feeling to it.  Truth be told, she has no interest in the box, it is too big, and she would rather be in her 700 crate. Now looking back, I believe the "need" for the larger box, was more for my convenience than her necessity.

Hopefully, we will find out today, if the larger box works. She did nest in it a bit last night,.....and today she is showing all the signs of impending whelp in the next 24 hours.

I personally  use a Great Dane crate. It contains the mother and the puppies. We have a light and heat access in there for them, the floor is covered with a rubber mat and then paper, We have a huge blanket that covers it to give mom her time in the "DEN" .  My guys and Gals have thier own Great dane crates and are used to being in them, made sense that they would feel more comfortable in thier own space.

This has worked for me

I think most people start out with a swimming pool due to it is easy to clean, easy to buy and cheap. Makes sense if you think about it why build a big ol box on your first litter? you might never have another one after the first five weeks LOL.

Just because someone uses a pool for the whelping are, doesn't mean that the female does not have free roam of the larger surrounding area.  I'm sure there are some people that limit the females comfort, but not all people are scum.  Sure, it would be nice if everyone could have a mohogany whelping box with gold plated pig rails, but sometimes people have different opinions of suitability. 

Pictures don't tell the whole story.  If they did, Michael Vick has had a rough month.  Lately, I have seen him being bitten by several dogs and even mounted by another. You can never know 100% what the situation is unless you are there.  I always like the old saying that I think Al Gore came up with a while before he invented the internet.....Don't believe anything you hear and half of what you see.

Everyone that has advocated a small welping area are in my opinion correct.  If you think about it every reason you give for a large welping box is for anthropomophic excuses.  In our last litter we used a 4 x 4 box with a linolium bottom.  We kept the box in our mud room for ease of access to a sink and washer and dryer.  The second day the litter was on the ground our female moved the litter out of the box to a smaller area in the closet next to the welping box.  The closet was smaller, more secure and more of a denning feeling with the jackets hung in the closet.

Dogs want to keep the litter protected from predators and the elements.  I wonder if a dog house with a hinge on the top would work?

Kyle

You guys, I am talking about SMALL boxes, a 4x4 isn't that small. I'm talking about dogs that look like they and puppies are in a tote container. As for the swimming pools, AS I HAD SAID, for a litter or two, it sounds fine, but I just don't see the point of using them if you are a breeder producing more than one litter a year. As EK had said, the pools are cheap, and easy to clean, but personally I think my girls like the high walls on my box, and they enjoy me being in there. Matter of fact, I was over at a friends house for a few days, and my female was almost 5 days past her due date (I was gone for about a week) the same night I got home, she kept looking at me, then to the whelping box, so I sat down in there, and she started contractions not an hour later. All of my females are this way, they know I'll help rip the sack, and dry the puppy every time one comes out. My females just have to lie on their sides, and push, I do the clean up, and sack ripping, etc... Some disapprove of this, but I'll say this, in 8 years I have NOT LOST ONE PUPPY that wasn't already born dead. This I attribute to my mom and I doing shifts until the pups are 4 weeks old, taking turns sitting in the box.

Anyway, I don't expect EVERYONE to have a HUGE box, or even a box at all, I was just curious as to why some breeders do what they do.

As to my comment about professionalizm, I have my reasons for believing this, as ALL of the back-yard-breeders and PuppyMills I have had the horrible pleasure of seeing have used tote boxes or swimming pools.

Don; I believe you already know this, I am not rich, and the box is not that expencive, I believe it took me $150 to build and paint. Including the hard rubber matting on the bottom. The rails? Most certainly not gold, or even mahogany wood, simple, cheap, inch-thick board.

Naya's mom

I didn't mean that you had a mahogony box with gold plated pig rails.  I said it would be nice if everyone had one.

     for the last few years i have been using  the large cardboard bins grocery stores use to contain watermelons...they are approx. 4x4..maybe larger....cut a door in the front..most have ventilation holes if not cut them... line the floor with whatever you like..they work great and are free ....just picked up three more this summer from the local grocery...works great for me..