Whelping Boxes
Your pet needs to know this is where she will have her puppies. Without it, she is likely to find a place of her own, and it may not be one you like. We’ve known dogs to whelp in closets, under beds, even under the sheets in your bed. Your whelping box should be ready at least 2 weeks prior to her going into labor. Give her time to get used to it and feel comfortable with it.
The size of the whelping box obviously depends on the size of your breed, but it should be large enough to allow the mother to go in and out with ease, lay down comfortably anywhere in the box, and keep the litter in front of her. She should be able to lie down fully extended from the crown of her head just past her rear with the legs fully extended.
Remember that bigger is not necessarily better. Too big and the puppies can actually get lost from their mother or become disoriented.
Many would argue that a simple cardboard box is not sturdy enough. There is some truth to that. Especially for larger dogs. If you plan on making one yourself you’ll need some basic carpentry skills, plywood, 8 right angles, 16 nuts and bolts and railing material. The box should not rock as the mother moves. One of the four sides should be low enough for her to walk over without scraping her now distended stomach or forcing her to jump. Making this side with opposing end brackets allows the addition of a small board or a hinged board. Essentially, this raises the side to confine the puppies once they are mobile. The other three sides are permanently constructed higher.
The shortest side should be no higher than the measurement from the lowest point of your dog’s abdomen to the floor. Next measaure the distance from your pet’s point of shoulder to the floor while she reclines. Her position should be one with her front legs outstretched and back legs tucked to one side. This is the point where a railing should be installed around the inner circumference of the whelping box.
The railings can be either removable or stationary. This is your preference. Depending on the breed, the railings can be 3/4 inch size dowel for Toys to a 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 for larger breeds such as a newfoundland or St. Bernard. A 3 or 4 inch railing is sufficient for medium and bigger dogs like Dalmations or Alaskan Malamutes. While the board railings are held to the box’s side by brackets and bolts, dowel safety railings should be mounted through holes drilled in all the opposite sides, and fastened exterior to the box by pegs or bolts.
Again, have this completed at least two weeks prior to her due date so she’ll have some time to get used to the whelping box as her personal territory. We always like to put a cut up shower curtain at the bottom for easier clean up. Cover the shower curtain with old clean towels, an old sheet or newspapers that she can shred. We like to use newspapers during whelping because it’s simple to pick them up in the shower curtain and throw out the mess after the puppies are born. After the birth we like to use clean old sheets and towels.
If making a whelping box is something you are not comfortable with, there are commercial boxes available as well. Again these come in a variety of sizes. They are not cheap, but well worth it because of their quality. And even more so if you plan on breeding your pet several times.