I am considering purchasing a heat lamp to ensure optimum ambient temperature in the whelping box for newborns.  I notice that infra red bulbs come in white, red or ceramic (no light) and some of the lamps have temperature control switches. The puppies will be born and raised indoors, however considering the winter conditions outside I wonder if a heat lamp is the best way to keep the temperature at a constant safe level for them. Which is best in this situation? Any recommendations will be very much appreciated, thankyou.

Having purchased the most expensive one that I could buy, I would never recommend overhead heat to anyone.  Underbed heat yes, as pups can gravitate towards it, and mum can avoid it.  I think that you will find that most breeders find this works better than anything.

I always have the central heating on 24/7 when I have a bitch whelp.  However many bitches I whelp, it always amazes me how very cold pups feel when they are exposed to the world.  I would recommend aluminium alloy - robust and hard wearing.  I use the flexiguard petnap.  I found vinyl heat pads were easily chewed.  I have a breed that often needs underbed heating for up to 6 weeks.  (Depends on bitch and time of year.)

http://www.petnap.co.uk/acatalog/pet_heat_pads.html#a30

JeanSW, can i ask why you wouldn't reccomend overhead heat? I was actually thinking of trying it that way if i have another litter in the future.

A newly whelped bitch is more likely to be hot than cold and if the heating is above the poor bitch has no way of escaping it, whereas with a pad she can.  Much the same with the pups -should they get too hot they can crawl away from a pad. I only ever use heating pads myself.

>can i ask why you wouldn't reccomend overhead heat

>I was actually thinking of trying it

Please dont!  :-)   You may well waste an extortionate amount of money!     Even the spare bulb I bought "just in case" was a ridiculous price.

As Marianne explained, most bitches find it far too much, and you can't choose to have heat over only the pups.  I originally tried a vinyl heat pad, but it even got nibbled by pups the size of a mouse!  Okay slightly exaggerating, but small breed.  Since changing to the flexiguard I have nothing but praise for it.  

I would rather you popped round and picked up my unused overhead posh thing than waste money like I did!

Seems like good advice to me, a heat pad it is then.  I had wondered how I was going to fix a heat lamp over the box anyway, thankyou for your comments.

i have got my litter on  a heat pad now and they can move out the way when they get to warm, i must admit not on all the time just when i think they need it, i also noticed there mum moves them off the vet bedding and onto the newspaper have no idea why then after a while she picks them back up and puts themback onto the bedding

I make sure the heat pad is only under half the bedding so Mum and pups can cool down without leaving the bed

I was told that heat lamps were better, I gave it some thought and decided it would not concentrate the heat on one area, may be fine if you have outside kennels and need the whole room heating,my whelping/puppy rearing area is right by a radiator so with that and the pad in the depth of winter we managed fine.

we have the heat pad only on half the box, tonight no heat on at all to warm at the moment all on their backs snoring what a lovely sight and sound x

ditto what Jeansw says.

We tend to use a small heat pad which covers about 1/4 of the box and a over head heat lamp with a standard 150w red bulb which if set around 24-30 inches above the box covers about 1/3 of the box. We have found with this litter that the pups and mum both seem to prefer the heat lamb. We only use a standard type brooder heat lamp with safety cage which cost £17.50 with bulbs costing £5.85, i would never recoment the screw in ceramic bulbs with puppies as we used them for many years when we had tortoises and on several ocasions had pieces brake off which would be very dangerous with pups. With the heat lamp aswell the higher you mount them the smaller the area they will heat so it could be a smaller area than with a pad, having said all this we only have small breed dogs and it would be a different case with larger breeds as the bitch would be much closer to the bulb when standing or sitting up.

I also had the heating on 24/7 as well as the heat pad on 24/7 too, it didn't take up much of the bed so they could move off it and snuggle with mum if they wanted to. I too left it on until they were 6-7 weeks and moved into the kitchen as I worried they would get chilly!

Overheat heating always worked very well for me.  I don't think personally, I would use anything else.

I found it surprisingly directional so, provided the whelping area allows space to the side of the area immediately below it, the bitch can lie in a relatively cool area.  Mine was rigged on a gibbet and the chain could be shortened or lenghthened to adjust the heat easily and effectively.  Being so effective the whelping area, my kitchen, could be maintained at our usual living temperature so both comfortable and economic.

I bought mine from a farm supply shop and it was not expensive.  I use a red bulb,  not infra red just red, for a muted light.

Personally speaking, I don't think I could ever trust anything electrical or chemical beneath and therefore in reach or the bitch and puppies.

I also go with overhead heating, same set up as Stooge, from a farm shop, red light, not expensive.  We live in an old house which, even with CH and double glazing, is always cold in the winter and the heat pad just couldn't cut it.  Even in the summer I use the heat lamp at night with the heat pad on during all but the warmest days.  My breed has a relatively good coat but find that mum just lies out of the way of it.

Think you have to take your whole situation into account.  Breed, housing, part of the country, where whelping  box is situated etc etc.

I am also a devotee of the overhead heating regime.  It gives a gradual change in heat which you don't get with underbedding pads.  Directly under is full heat, to the sides gives a low heat, move out of range and the bitch can stall cool, but the pups can stay in full heat. I can further regulate by rasing or lowering the lamp. I bought my heat lamp form Diamond Edge over 20 years ago and got a  2nd back up one about 10 years ago.  Both still work perfectly and I have used on every litter I have had.  I use the ceramice "dull emitter" type of bulb, and had had to replace a bulb only once in my oldest lamp and never in the newer one.

I also used the farm type overhead heat lamp, on a chain so that it can be adjusted, the lamp covered one area of the whelping box, so mum and pups could move away if they wanted to.
My pups were born late September but most of the time they would be lay under the lamp, mum would move away if she wanted to, and could get In and out of the whelping box as and when she wished, I had a nice comfy area to the side so inbetween feeding, if she wanted to relax and get away from the pups she could, but she could see them and was in earshot if she was needed.
During the whelping, I found the overhead lamp dried the pups of quickly, they were not left cold and damp. I did try a under whelping plate type thing with a Cocker Spaniel litter years ago, it was metal but she kept tipping it up and when the pups got moving about they tried chewing it. I assume they have improved from the type I had nearly 30 yrs ago now.
The overhead type was recommended to me by another breeder who has several litters a year and has been breeding for a very long time, she said she found the ones on a chain to be most effective as it can be adjusted up and down so easily.
Mine has adjustable heat setting, and came complete with the hook, which you screw into the ceiling, you need to tap the ceiling to find a joist to screw into. It only took a couple of minutes to set up, and just leaves a small hole when you take it down. I have lest the screw in to be honest as it is not very noticeable and there for if I decide to have another litter in the future.

I like to have a covered (for privacy and to retain heat and retain humidity) whelping pen/box so another reason an overhead heat source would be impractical. 

I do have a Nordic Spitz breed that really does not like heat and after the first week pups don't even like lying on the pad in the daytime.

I don't like it too hot in the house so I use and electric Oil filled radiator with thermostat next to the whelping box for 24 hour background heating, so ti only comes on when the CH goes off or is too cool.  My Mums and Pups never like the whelping box warmer than about 23'C, nowhere near as high as the bocks suggest, when I have tried to keep it warmer pups got distressed from overheating.

I have a thermometer attached to the whelping box.

I used a heat pad on my recent litter and have to say I wasnt THAT impressed, mum continually stole all the heat from it and would move pups off it so she could lay on it, and also I had to continually rescue puppies that had got themselves underneath it and stuck.

My last litter was a winter litter. I have central heating on all the time set by thermostat, I bought a heat lamp and also two of the microwave heat pads.  My bitch is a large heavy coated breed and did not like the heat lamp at all but I used it for when she was out the whelping box or when I was cleaning the whelping box and had them in their boxes.  I loved the microwave heat pads, they kept heat for a good few hours and there were no wires so no risk of puppies chewing them.  When I took my pups to the vets I had a plastic stacker type box with lots of holes drilled in the lid and I popped a heat pad in so for me they were worth every penny.

I used a heat pad with my litter and did what Brainless suggested - pop it in the middle of the whelping box so pups can lie on it if they want and can also get away from it if they don't. No problems with pups getting stuck under it as it was under the vet bed so nice and secure. I liked the constant low-level heat it provided. Borrowed mine from a friend but will definitely invest in one having now tried it.