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| First of all, you should prepare the area in which you want your bitch to whelp. This is my success method which has worked for me many years. I use a puppy pen, some call them exercise pens. This is set up on it's own floor, which is generally a sheet of thick plastic or any waterproof material. I use a sheet of either rubber or plastic, but it sits flat, cannot be moved or scratched up and is easily disinfected when needed. The puppy pen is placed on top and there is around 5 inches circumference of exceeding floor around the puppy pen. It is big enough to hold the whelping box and an area which is covered in newspapers in case the bitch needs to eliminate and I have not been quick enough to take her outside. The whelping box is big enough for the bitch, a heating pad on one side and one side without, so there is room enough for her to stretch out, or move away from the heating pad and lay with her puppies. View below. |
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| This set up along with what I term the whelping table, which is a small table with shelves under it, are both set up in one of the bedrooms inside my home. This bedroom is secluded to all other dogs and visitors. The table will have these following items ready for use. Surgical gloves (examination gloves) Scales to weigh the puppies (kitchen scales) Lubricant (you can use the human personal type) Betadine antiseptic liquid Hemostats (to clamp umbilical cords, sterilized) Scissors (to cute umbilical cords, sterilized) Paper towels Small face washer type towels as well as bigger towels Non slip waterproof mat (on top of the table) Human infant nasal pump (to clear puppies throats) Thermometre (to take bitch's temperature) Neonatal Puppy Bag (in case puppies need to be kept warm and away from the bitch during delivery) A clean plastic container big enough to contain the puppy bag Note pad and pen to take notes during whelping Stethoscope (to hear puppies heartbeats) Hypodermic needle (sterile) Syringes (to administer Calcium orally) Hot Water Bottle |
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| Bitches with long coats are trimmed right back, view above, and all hair removed from the mammory area, around the base of the tail and a few inches up, and around the anus. All the long skirt or pants, which it is sometimes called, from behind is completely cut off. This is done for a number of reasons, to keep the bitch clean, to give you the breeder a clear view of what is happening, for the puppies to be able to nurse easily, and also to prevent fur balls developing in puppies. Many puppies are lost from ingesting fur from their dams during nursing. If this fur becomes a fur ball and causes an obstruction in the testines, the puppy will die. Sometimes, they get lucky when they are older and actually vomit up the fur ball. This is why it is important to brush as much dead hair as possible from the bitch daily and to change bedding often too. |
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| A thick waterproof mattress is placed in the whelping box. Depending on the season, I will use either fleece or flanal types materials, which I have sewn into a huge pillow case which fits snuggly over the top of the mattress. Using baby safety pins, I pin this closed on the underside of the blanket. The bedding is changed as needed. This way, the bitch can dig up the bedding all she likes, she will not be able to bury the puppies and accidentally suffocate them. She is bathed about two weeks before she is due and at the same time brought in to sleep in her new area, allowing her time to get accustomed to her new maternity place! Before whelping, I allow her to have a blanket which is not pinned down, so she can satisfy her natural instinct to nest make and dig it up, tear at it, etc. Written By Anne Roditis (c) copyright 2007 |
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