Setting up the whelping box

 Things are starting to get real!!  We set up the whelping box last night.  It's a 6' x 6' vinyl box designed for raised garden beds.  But some smart person realized they made great whelping boxes for giant breed dogs!  Lightweight, easy to assemble, easy to disassemble and store, and easy to clean!

 We started by laying down a section of inexpensive vinyl flooring - the floors in our den are already very durable and pet-resistant, but as you can imagine things can get messy in a whelping box, so this is an easier way to keep things clean.  There is a layer of carpet padding underneath - I'd like to say that's for Ellie's comfort, but truly I was thinking more of my knees :-)

This was before I trimmed the excess padding away.

You want a whelping box to be big enough that the mother can stretch out comfortably.  But not so big that puppies can get lost.  Ideally you want the opening to be adjustable so it's low at the start when the pups aren't very mobile, and the mom may be sore from either whelping or a c-section.  A few weeks later you'll want to be able to raise it to full height to keep the little darlings corralled.

Ellie playing "find the cookies" in the box to get accustomed to it.

 

Ronnie showing Ellie how comfy it is. (that big cushy bed will actually be removed when the pups are coming.  Overly squishy bedding is dangerous for neonate puppies just like it is for newborn humans.

With most breeds of dog, but especially large and giant breeds where the mother is so very much bigger than her pups at birth, there is a risk of the mother accidentally crushing or smothering a puppy who gets trapped between her body and the wall of the whelping box.  This is also a problem with breeding pigs, and the solution is therefore called a "pig rail".  It's a small shelf or bar that runs around the edges of the box, a few inches above the ground that gives a space for the pup if the mother accidentally traps it against the side.   Here are some shots of the pig rail.  

As the puppies get bigger, we will remove one side of the box and expand it into a puppy play area, and space for their litter box.  

Two weeks to go...