My dog has an 11 day old litter. The puppies have been transported to and from the vets in a plastic cat carrier.

i left the carrier out and mum has been sleeping in it since last night,  apart from when she is with the pups of course.

The carrier is too small. She can't turn round in it and it is a really tight squeeze.

Is she feeling insecure? She was crate trained but hasnt had one in the house for over 9 months. She has lots of lovely beds and the sofa so why is she choosing to pack herself into such a small space and for so long??? should i reintroduce the crate - although it is wire and open the cat carrier is only open at teh front and has solid sides.

If its what she wants at the moment then I would give her the cage back and put a blanket over it so she feels enclosed, I'm all for making mum happy, so what she wants is what she gets.

Right, i am off to the garage to dust off her crate and cosy it up for her......i will need it for training the one we are keeping anyway!

Good idea, if the puppies see the crate right from when they first open their eyes it wont be alien to them, and if they see mum happily in there they will naturally go in anyway,
Any signs of those little peepers opening yet?

Just had another thought though, I wonder if mum is taking herself off because she is in pain with her sore nipples, dogs tend to seperate themselves if in pain, I'm not saying she is, she might just want a little hidey hole away from the pups but its a thought to bear in mind.

oooh! How exciting. Just set up the crate and changed the bedding in the whelping box and 2 have their eyes open!!! I could see a little glisten yesterday but they are almost all open, although a very milky colour.
They are starting to respond to. If i put my hand in the whelping box they come crawling over to it and if is stroke their sides they go onto their backs for their tummies to be tickled. This really is sooo exciting.

I don't think mum is in pain now, as the savlon has worked a treat and she spent a long time sleeping while they fed this morning but she may well be very tired as the pups were crying in the night and she just couldnt bring herself to go in and let them feed. We were both awake most of the night. At least i know why the rash! It is the wipes i have been using to freshen her up she must be allergic. So the relief that stop using them, use the savlon to get things under control and she will be fine again.

The crate is now in and set up. she is straight in it, digging all the bedding up making it her own!!! Yes a good idea to get the new boy ready for his future.......office dogs must be crate trained!!! x

Oh I love it when their eyes start to open :-) another day or so and all will be open, then they will start to gad about with more purpose as they try to get to what they are starting to see, a very special time and even more reason to spend hours puppy watching :-D

They are turning into real puppies at last.....less worryingly frail and more fun! Can't wait for them to be bouncing off the walls........they do that!

Well that has made her happy. She is back in her crate. A dog just came on the TV and instead of barking and fussing she went straight into her crate which is facing the puppies. Seems she was after a bit of a den again, perhaps she is feeling a little insecure with all this additional responsiblity.

Sometimes dogs just speak to you......."look at me in this ridiculously small cat carrier, remind you of anything mum...MY OLD CRATE! Can i have it back please?" :)

Lol! Glad she is better.  Nothing I like better than burying myself under the duvet, blocking out the rest of the world.

yeh, bless her heart, she looks like a puppy herself now all cosy and snug......i just hope she doesnt take all the pups to the crate and out of the whelping box now!!! :)

She might move them you know, it has been known lol.