Ive got a few questions.....
First of all, I am planning ahead so just thinking about whelping boxes. This future litter will be my first and the only litter for at least 3 years so I was thinking of using a disposable one- what do people think of these? They do sound like a good idea, but my concern is do they get really mucky? and are they cleanable? And can anyone recommend any (large breed)
Secondly, what equipment will i realistically need? A breakdown or list of such things would be great(I know you can buy whelping kits but whats in them!!?)

Oh and what sort of temperature do people keep the whelping room at? she is a large short hair herding/guard breed(dont think im allowed to mention breed am i?)
This isnt planned until early next year but i want to be prepared, I do have a mentor to help me through but the more advice the better!
Thankyou!

We have never used the disposable boxes so cant help you there but you will need...

Whelping box with or without pig rails
Heat pad or lamp
Lots of towels
Loads of newspapers
Ribbon or coloured felt to identify pups
Weighing scales
Bottles and whelpy in case of hand feeding- sterilizing equiptment
Blunt nosed scissors to help cut cord if needed
Home made incubator to put pups in whilst she is having the rest to stop her sitting on them
Vet number at hand
Cleaning fluid to clean up afterwards

Lots of patients and a book

when you say home made incubator, what do you mean by that?
Thanks

Its nothing too fancy just a box with a pillow or soft lining with a heatpad under the pillow cover, the box is then covered over with a towel, its just a safe and warm place to put the pups in, you can place it by the whelping box so that the bitch can see it.

As we have a large breed it was unsutiable to leave the pups in the whelping box while the bitch was having the rest of the litter as she was prone to sit on them, once she had finished and the box cleaned they went straight back to her.  

Its also useful to put them into the Incubator when the bitch goes for a short walk again safe and warm

We all do things differently, and I would never dream of cutting cords.  Always tear them just as the bitch is supposed to!  The two must haves for me are obstetric gel and Dopram.

Each to their own, differnt people do differnt things, so long as the pups health isnt comprimised do what you feel is right.

> Each to their own, differnt people do differnt things,

  which is exactly what I have just said!!

I use dispoable whelping boxes for all my bitches and then at about 3 - 4 weeks I transfer mum and pups into a dog cottage so the pups can run around.

I would never use anything other than a disposable now that I have experience of them. Let me know if you want the web address to order from. I also breed large breed (which I'm guessing might be the same as yours) and the biggest box they do is 5ft square - Perfect size for my dogs.

They come with a wipe clean bottom. They do get a bit mucky but as long as you keep changing the paper / bedding then it's fine - But after the 4 weeks you will be glad to throw it away!!!

Hi ,that would be great if you could let me know the website. Also what do you mean by dog cottage ??

> I was thinking of using a disposable one

We've used these with our dogues for the last couple of years:

http://www.newdog.co.uk/Shop/Categories.aspx[url=][/url]

Although you have to throw the box away after about 4 weeks, you keep the fleecy mats and pig rails for another time. The mats and rails store away neatly unlike a rigid whelping box.

We were pleased with the boxes, you can wipe the sides down OK and the mats don't ruck up and they wash and dry easily.

I used a Crufts freedom pen with the sides lined with cardboard (large appliance boxes, so heavy duty cardboard), for my large breed litter and it worked brilliantly. The base was the plastic tray of the freedom pen (no soggy cardboard bottom), with newspaper on top of that and the final layer was vetbed. Pig rails were inserted through the bars and cardboard. As the pups grew I added extra sections to the pen to create a sleeping area and a toilet area. By 3-4 weeks they were moved downstairs and the pen was used as an outside playpen.

Hi ,that would be great if you could let me know the website. Also what do you mean by dog cottage ??

Sorry, should have been more clear, dog cottage is the brand! It's a cage /crate (but I hate calling them cages!). I move them to there between 4-6 weeks as you can put blankets / rugs over the top and it still feels a bit cave like for mum but you can also take the blankets off and the pups can see / hear you and then 6 weeks plus I move them to a puppy pen so they have plenty of room to create havoc!!

I order from [url=]www.petnap.co.uk [/url]- Super fast delivery and you can order any other bits that you might need, fleece lining, heat pads, puppy rails etc. The also sell a complete whelping kit which might be useful for you if this is your first litter, although it might be better if you just look at what is included in their whelping kit and buy the bits yourself as the things they send out are the cheapest things you can get. I ordered one and ended up buying most of the kit again from elsewhere as it wasn't up to standard.

My whelping box is from canine kennels, after use you just power wash it down, it will last a lifetime, keith at fit and fertile sells a similar one, they are expensive but well worth it, the rest of the equipment needed has been mentioned in other posts.