whelping box floor - Page 1

i'm thinking about glueing on a 4x4 piece of vynil on the box's floor; any thoughts on this?; then i'll caulk the floor edges... this is something i've never done; i usually get rid off the box after the litter is weaned. does anyone prime the plywood with any product? what do you suggest or recommend that is not toxic? thank you in advance!

Hi Makgas, I would be worried about the slippy surface, both for the bitch during whelping (when the floor does at times get a little wet) but mostly for little new puppies scrambling to feed from their mum, and the strain on their back legs and hips, on a slippy surface. Ideal because it can be cleaned so easy, but I would go for a piece of this dirt=trapper carpet, cut to size, it is relatively cheap, non slip and machine washable. You can put loads of newspaper on top of it whilst whelping, and then remove it and have a good surface for the puppies. Mo - Mascani

Hi makgas, first litter i had blanketts in th box. I had the box made out of waterresistent plywood. It worked pretty good with the planketts, but then the bitch started scratching, so the blanketts got all scrambeld up, then they got wet during whelpingprocess and it was a pain in the b...;-)! Last litter i used a thick, heavy weight stallmatt. This is soo much better, easy to clean, drys up rather quick. They also provide a little rough surface ,so the pups can easily crawl on them. Matter of fact i am thinking of putting them matts into the doghouse aswell, because they are a good insulation against the cold of the floor. Oh, about the plywood i use for the whelping box : This stuff was a little expensive, but it is non toxic and you can hose it down with a powerwasher. It drys pretty quick. Kind Regards Ulli Dresbach

Most carpet marts have remnants of indoor/outdoor carpet. They will usually cut it to size for you or you can easily cut it yourself. Don't use the continuous filament type. I like the carpeting since it gives the puppies a good footing, is very easy to clean with a hose, it dries fast, bitches don't "scruff" it up, and it doesn't weigh much so is easy to put down and take up.I had 4 pieces cut to size and always had at least 2 clean, dry pieces ready for the next houscleaning.

Seal the plywood with Thompsons water seal before applying the vinyl flooring. If the flooring happens to get wet and the caulking seal leaks, you dont ruin the plywood and smells don't stick around, easy cleaned up and you can revinyl in the future without replacing the plywood too.

thanks for all the suggestions! vomveiderheiss, i spoke to Thompson's; they advice against using their prodcuts on indoor applications because of odor, toxicities... did you just apply thopson's to the floor of the box and then place vinyl on it? does anyone know of an wood primers that are not toxic? thank you!

I knew someone that polyurethaned their wood box - they said much easier cleanup.

i used polyurethane, but not the gloss finish. i put 2 coats on all plywood surfaces. it cleans pretty easily and is just rough enough that mom & pups don't slip. during whelpipng i use newspapers, afterward i use old mattress pads and/or old bath towels. * quick trick for building your walls: use 2 door hinges at each corner, then just slip out the hinge pins to take apart the walls.