My bitch hasnt even been mated, but im trying to plan ahead with things. What are peoples set ups?

My plan is to have the whelping area in my front room in a quiet corner. The downside to this is it is carpeted so could get a bit messy! I was thinking of getting an offcut of lino and placing that in the area with sheeting on top and around and then the whelping box on top (i would rather avoid nasty stains if at all possible!!!!).

I did ideally want to corden off the corner with  maybe a play/puppy pen from one wall to another, but my wall is exposed brickwork so dont think that is going to be possible in terms of securing it.

I have also been looking at the freedom puppy pen or something similar, rather than just a whelping box.

I want something with a barrier of some sort, i do have young children (who will not hassle her) and i think my bitch would feel much more secure 'closed off' to a degree (not locked in though) as she absolutely loves crates and pens (not that i use them any more with her).

I would be grateful if people could give me ideas of their set up, oh and also, what size of whelping pen would i need for a medium pastoral breed measuring 21" and weighing 13kg.

Thanks

We use this system here which will be more than large enough.
http://www.margothedog.com/

We too purchased an off cut of lino from our local carpet shop, kindly they only charged £5!
You can slide pieces in and out and takes me all of 5mins to put together. It's coated too, so when the last puppy goes we take the panels out side and jet them off with the washer.
Had 5 litters in ours and still no sign of rust or wear, looks good as new.
Very cheap too.

Wow, great value...seems too good to be true! Why is it so cheap?!!

I just looked at those, the bottom one Margothedog Large whelping cage shows £99.99 on one page, when you click on it it's £149.99???

Oh im not sure, i would be interetsed in the extended cage for £94.99, ... the large is listed as £149.99

http://dogpen.margothedog.com/  if you look at the bottom one, which seemed a little too good to be true, it's listed as £99.99 .... looks like it's recently been changed, then when you click on it it comes up at £149.99

I have e-mailed to ask, if it's £99.99 then I'll be getting one ;-)

Yes, i see what you mean. Though the 99.99 isnt very clear is it...how odd. Let me know if it is 99.99 i shall get one too!!

We had our litter last Monday and she is is the kitchen with her puppies. We bought a whelping box from Steelcitywhelping and it is surrounded by a puppy play pen from Animal Health to stop our other dog getting close to the pups. Unfortunately she had no intention of using the whelping box prior to having the pups so she ended up giving birth on two single quilts which actually worked out ok  - when she moved off one quilt onto the other we simply turned the soiled quilt over on itself so the area was always dry for the pups already born. As soon as she had finished we transferred the pups into the whelping box and she happily followed.

Hi, did you get a response from this company?

No, they didn't reply unfortunately.

For the whelping and the first 3 weeks you need somewhere quieter - a quiet corner just isn't quiet enough I'm afraid.  I whelp in my bedroom - usually on my bed.  You can put a whelping box in the corner and keep everyone else away - no children, pets, visitors, etc for those first three weeks, unless the bitch knows and trusts them, and keep it to one or two helpers.  After 3 weeks your quiet corner in the front room will be ideal - they can see the children, visitors, hoovers, TV other pets etc.  Put lino or tarpaulin under a pen and you'll be fine.  I'm afraid though with pups then mess is a given, you will have it, there will be stains.  During whelping it's very messy - you'll get covered, I have loads of changes of cloths, newspapers, paper towels and I buy small cheap towels for each pup to dry them off and then put in a bin bag starting afresh.  I actually bought loads of small handtowels from Tesco for about 40p each.

Depending on the size of your bitch depends on whether whelping box and or play pen is appropriate.  It's nice for them to have the comfort of solid walls for the first few weeks - throwaway boxes are great, but then for the pups as they get older a big pen is great.  For the whelping box you need something that the bitch feels comfortable lying both ways but not so big she gets lost!  Bear in mind if you have pig rails that they take up room so measure inside the rails.

Hi, its impossible for them to be in the bedroom, i want to be able to keep a watchful eye on them 24/7 and for them to be in the bedroom or upstairs just wouldnt be possible- plus the fact that my bitch will NOT go upstairs under any circumstances. She has had it ingrained on her from a pup that upstairs is a no go area for her and the other dogs.

My options for the whelping area are the utility (which i am not keen on as this is where my other dogs spend the majority of their time (through choice) and it is also isnt double glazed so harder to keep a steady temperature. The other options are my kitchen or in the corner of my lounge/diner (the diner part doesnt have a table and isnt used much) The latter is my first choice because this is where my bitch chooses to lie, its where she feels most comfortable and she can always be found there. I think this may be because when she was a pup this is where her crate was so this space now = a safe zone.

I think it all depends on your bitch etc.  I deliver my pups in the dog room which is easy to keep clean and has washing machine in so I can put soiled towels in and wash them as we go.

When all puppies arrived, they then move into a clean whelping box in the lounge.  Initially the other girls are not allowed anywhere near but gradually over the following few days they are allowed to go and have a peep.  Obviously this is very much dependant on how mum feels about this - I am very lucky with my lot - they often come in and take over the cleaning of pups which helps mum out a bit and gives her a break when they are older and want to play.

By having mum in the lounge makes my life more comfortable when sleeping with them etc.  I re-position furniture so whelping box next to sofa.  I have a night light on a night so I can see whats happening and I can also spend most of the daytime with her too.

As pups get more mobile I put lino over my wooden floors and add a puppy play pen - taking out one side of the whelping box.  Obviously from 4 weeks they spend time outside so only in playpen minimal time.

Has always worked well for me.  It's a good idea to plan well ahead but always be prepared to change of for whatever reason it doens't work as well as expected.

I whelp my girls in the lounge. It means that they are always watched and I can sit and watch the TV while I watch them... I sleep on the floor with them from 10 days prior to whelping to about 4 weeks after as once they have opened thier eyes and started to totter around they get moved into the dining room and a big pen with the whelping box inside it. By 4 1/2 weeks my Mums have usually deserted the pups other than a few nips in to wash and feed them, Thats when I start to let Mum sleep back out in the conservatory/dog room at night if she chooses. Untill then I insist she sleeps in reach of her babies....with me!!! on the floor...they often don't feed overnight though and go in last thing at night (12 ish) and then first thing in the morning (6.30 ish) The other dogs are allowed in when Mum says it's OK... We do not have children at home and so my lounge is quiet and I build a den round the whelping box (Large breed box its 6 ft X 5 ft..) I use puppy pannels surrounding the box and blankets draped over the sides and top. I find these easy to whip off quickly if I need to get more involved and always have a bright light angled over to box to switch on if more light is needed..The room is warm and I have a logburner in the lounge for cold winter whelpings.  Spent many a cosy night snuggled up on the floor with Mum listening to baby pups snuffling around in the box, often if one shouts it's me that leaps up to check and Mum just raises an eyebrow as if to say...stop fussing!!!!
Aileen
PS edited to say I have a large piece of cushion floor that sits under the box and is a good foot bigger all round the outside. I bend it up the wall to two sides and roll up some old towels to lay against the other two sides of the box to catch any leaks. Never had a stain yet on the carpet and I have a much larger bit that gets put under the pen in the dinning room later on.

Loads of options regarding pens on the internet I used Dog Healths largest pen 'The Big Foot' for whelping and rearing.Very sturdy and adaptable.Worth noting it does not come with rails but I used brush shafts which worked well.This extends from 4ftx4ft to 8ftx4ft if needed.Bought rubber matting from them which only just covered the pen floor space.I would use Lino/cushion floor next time.I am probably telling you something you already know but the carpet may be a problem.Incredible amount of pee and poo over 8 weeks.We used our kitchen throughout and it worked for us....tiled floors.Good luck with the pups.....and the carpet.

Thanks for the replies, yes i had realised that there is lots of pee and poop from pups so had planned to move them into the tiled kitchen from 3-4 weeks.

Out of interest, how many of you use rails and how big is your breed? (i know not allowed to name breeds). I'm unsure whether touse them, my bitch is very careful in general (weighs 13kg).

The only time I lost a pup to crushing was in the centre of the pen, after a long tiring whelping (both Mum and I fell asleep), so I have never used rails as some pups can get hung up on them.

Medium sized hound 33kgs.I have used them but I'm unconvinced how effective they are.

so I have never used rails as some pups can get hung up on them.

I hate pig rails pups can get thier heads through them at some point and hang themselves but having a large heavy breed we have a "Shelf" round the whelping box. It is a piece of wood  4 inches wide by 2 inches deep and 5 inches off the floor of the box. It works very well and the pups are always tucked under it. All my Mums over the years have rested thier heads on it too...!!!
Aileen
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> how many of you use rails and how big is your breed?

We use pig rails for our large working breed - 50k+. I like the rails to be adjustable as the pups grow. The disposable cardboard boxes are good for that, you just poke a new hole in them. It doesn't work out too expensive if you only have a litter once in a while.

We didn't use pig rails recently for our toy breed, 9ish kilos, and certainly didn't need any. Not sure where the cut-off would be weight-wise.

I have to say I don't have mine in the bedroom.  Mum and I take it in turns in sleeping downstairs with them.  I just eel that my girls are much better staying in a room that they are used to being in. They're not allowed in the bedroom any other time so don't think they'd be happy being up there with pups.  I don't have any children etc though so it is quiet at my parents house.

Oh and I've never used pig rails with the Pom's or Spanish.

My bitches are all well used to the bedroom, which is on the ground floor and ensures that I can give them 24/7 support and nothing else can disturb them.  Usually one dog stays throughout - the recent litter he slept on the bed whilst the pups were born on there!  I can pop in and out, have the comfort of my own bed, we have a door into the garden for mum and after a while other dogs and people can visit.  I then move them to the conservatory where they start being socialised and there's a bit more room for them.  I agree that bitches should be comfortable where they have the pups - but they should also be able to get away from everyone.  I guess my set up is ideal, but I do like them to be able to have their own space if they need it.

I never used pig rails my bitch is 32kg and was very careful even when jumping in and out the pen as the pups got older... our whelping area with our first litter was in the garage (attached to the house with internal door) I had the door open during the day. In the garage we had a shed put up just the frame with no roof on. I had a heat lamp hanging from the ceiling into the whelping pen and covered the top with large cardboard boxes. I then lined the floor with lino and the sides with perspex this was then full of newspapers etc for the whelping and she shred at her own leisure to make a nest. I also had vet bed in there so she could choose what to sleep on. The second litter we had in the utility room as i knew that this was going to be a smaller litter (only resulted in a singleton) so there was plenty of space in there for mum with just the one puppy. I had a disposable cardboard box to whelp in till he was about 3 weeks old then used the very large dog crate and covered it over with a blanket.