Hi, my bitch is about 53 days pregnant, her and my other dog, a larger breed than her, both sleep together in our utility room.  I intend to let her whelp in that room and move my other dog into the kitchen, neither will be unfamiliar to them.  What i cant decide, is to when to separate them.When should i set up my bitches whelping box, and when should i move my other dog into the other room......Thanks.

You should set up the whelping box immediately and get the bitch used to sleeping in it from tonight; ideally you'd have done this a couple of weeks ago, but better late than never.

Have to say my dogs stay together up until the whelping day.  When early signs of whelping begins I then seperate.  Though saying that my mum and I were only saying yesterday how amazing it is that the other dogs know when somethings happening and they actually stay out of the way themselves.

Of course some dogs will be different but my dogs have always been happy with the above situation.

Yes bitches differ so much. I have one who will have nothing to do with the other large dogs from the day of mating, but she's happy to have the little dogs and the cats around her. I have a small one who became distressed when separated from the others so I used a puppy pen around the whelping box, thus not leaving her alone but not giving the other dogs access either. I put up the whelping box about a week before the first possible day (i.e. a week before day 58) but I can't say I've ever had a bitch use it then. In fact it's always causing me a problem as I put in newspaper and vetbed and all that happens is that I find piles and piles of cats sleeping in it, leaving hair everywhere so the vetbed has to be changed and washed before even used by the bitch, and occasionally some cats will pee on the paper. But it's there so it's at least familiar, and all my bitches have chosen to go inside it when the time was right -but never before. They wait until they actually are about to give birth. I'm not sure they would have use it at all though had it been an unfamiliar object they'd never seen before!

thankyou for information, it would seem that there are always different ways, and none are wrong or right.....very harsh reply i thought Jeangenie.  Thankyou to everyone else who seemed to have a more understanding view.
I will introduce her to the whelping box tonight, but dont want to separate her if it causes undue stress, so as there is NO hard and fast rules I will use my judgement......:-)

>very harsh reply i thought Jeangenie.

In your opinion - I thought I worded it very kindly, because I know people who recommend getting the bitch established in the whelping box the first night following the mating! This helps ensure that she'll agree with your choice of whelping site when the time comes, and not try to find somewhere that she thinks is more suitable (behind the sofa or under the shed)! So allowing a few weeks (till pregnancy is confirmed) is being very lenient.

There's probably no need to separate them as yet - can the dog's bed not be in the same room as the whelping box for a few days?

My apologies Jeangenie, I am possibly a bit sensitive to asking for help, as on other forums when done in the
past people have been very quick to judge, rather than offer help to the less experienced.  We all have had to start somewhere.  I will put the whelping box in their room tonight, and leave them together as you suggest, and see how they go.

Brisk I think rather than harsh. :-) I'm trying to remember what we did with Ellie, she doesn't like sleeping by herself so I may well have had her in the whelping box and one of the boys in a crate in the same room with her for company.

I've always put the box up a couple of weeks before hand and showed it to the bitch on a daily basis (if she will go into the room ;-) ) That way she knows where it is and normally they go in no bother when it is time. None of them have used it before they were ready to give birth.

I put the whelping box up a week before the due date and the bitch sleeps in it every night from then on.  At the same time, I start to sleep beside the box and start to take the temperature.

After the first few litters I stopped putting the whelping box up too early s none of my girls were interested in staying in it until whelping commenced.

So I now put it up a week before and take my girl there to visit it so she knows where it is, several times a day.

Once whelping starts they seem happy to stay in there, or the latest two have preferred to stay with their friends until second stage, so I let them bumble about until the point of no return.

All my bitches have ignored the whelping box and won't start labour there!

I put it up a week before due date, and they can see it's ready.  I find that, once whelped, and you move pups into it, the bitch will settle with no problem.

Bitches differ greatly, and I don't seperate them from a best mate until labour actually starts.  You mention that you intend for her to whelp in the utility.  Will pups be reared there?  As you will need room for yourself to sleep, even if it's on a z-bed, for a while at least.

Hi,
As you said there are no hard and fast rules, personally if you aren't going to be in the room with her I would separate them at night, or when you are out, in case she whelps / or starts to whelp overnight. Even the nicest dogs could be unsafe around strange small squeaky things. Also if they are shut in together and he can't get away there is a possibility she could attack him.
Could you maybe put a baby gate between the rooms so they aren't alone but would be safer 'Just In Case'.
Good luck

Thanks agilabs.....thats a good idea, baby gate to separate at night until Whelping starts.  Everyday seems so long now, had our first 'accident' today, so think i better let her out more often!! So excited and so nervous.....Thanks everyone