My bitch gave birth 3 days ago, my question is how long do I keep the room hotter than normal for?

I was told to keep the room at a constant 80 degrees by the vet and other breeders, but for how long do I do this? What stage (i.e what age/week) would you start to reduce the heat to normal house levels, I thought about 3 weeks?  Would this be too soon, or will I have cooked my poor babies by then!  I also have a heat pad in the whelping box (microwave sort) under the vet bedding.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Dont forget they have mums heat as well.

And don't forget Mum isn't used to that much heat & may get very distressed if she can't go somewhere cooler without leaving the pups.
Depends on your breed I suppose, personally I've never used a heat lamp for more than the first night (but they are a Nordic breed & definately don't like being cooked)

A good rule of thumb to go by is,  if the puppies are laying sleeping apart from each other they are too hot, if they always lay cuddled up they are a little to cool.

I would say that so long as your room is of a reasonable heat normally, then the microwave bottle under the vet bed is quite sufficient, the pups will find it if they need warmth and will move away if they are too warm.

At this time of the year I don't keep it too warm during the daytime, but usually have an overhead light on at night, in case of a temperature drop.

I agree with everyone else. With my girl's litter a few weeks ago, I had no other heat sourse except mom herself. I was worried sick that they would be too cold, but after seeing them laying way apart from each other, I felt better. As said above, I guess it really depends on your breed. Mine is an arctic winter breed and they have thick fur, so maybe that is why they needed no other heat source. The thing is though, you just have to really consider mom, too. If she gets dehydrated and too hot, things aren't going well. Just be careful with the heat source, everyone else has spoken the truth about it. =) Not too hot, but not too cold. :D

Thanks for your replys.  I think I will drop the heat a bit, my bitch is not used to that kind of heat even though she lives in the house (I'm  not used to it either! walking around in t-shirts all day!)  I was just worried as everyone keeps telling me most puppies die due to getting chilled, so I possibly went too far the other way!

Hi

I had this dilemma as the only suitable whelping room (away from my other dogs) was my bedroom.  This being northfacing (in a damp old cottage) is also the coldest room.  No amount of heaters etc seems to warm this room up.  The two radiators can be too hot for you to put your hands on but the room still feels freezing.

I did a 'Blue Peter' job on a couple of cardboard boxes, so that there was a hood over the puppies.  Under the vet bedding I have an electric heat pad that stays at a constant temperature (cosy warm to the touch).  The box is big enough for the bitch to get away from the pad if she's too warm.  The hood keeps the heat in the box...and every body is happy.  The heat pad is still on now, three weeks later only because the room is so cold.  This afternooon I am planning to introduce them to the big wide world and move them into a pen in the sitting room.  i will place it next to the radiator, but the pups are old enough now to make their own decisions with regard to heat control, and then pen is large enough (4'x4') for them to decide where to be.  Finally I can pack the heat pad away until it is next required.

So if you're uncomfortable about having the whole room at tropical temperatures, you could get out the packing tape and cardboard and make them their own little warm micro-environment.

Caroline

I just went through this last week as well.  I kept the heat up at 75-80 and everyone was miserable...including my poor dog!  Finally, after about 3 days, I began to turn the heat back little by little and watch how the pups reacted.  They didn't change one bit!  But by the time I felt safe enough to put the heat back to it's normal 68-70, Daisy sure was alot happier!  She isn't a heavy-coated dog either...but she was just too hot with the heat up, and even the pups were scattering from time to time.  So most people would probably cringe when they see my whelping box temp at a mere 70 degrees, but everyone is doing much better with it like that.  We put the box directly against the baseboard too, so if the pups do get chilly when Daisy isn't in there with them, they all snuggle up together at the back of the box....  works like a heating pad!  :)

Well the temp is back down to 69 degrees, thankfully, and as you say I see no change in the puppies at all! But mum looks a lot cooler.

I have also tried the Blue Peter project! so I think now we are all happy!  Shorts back in the cupboard and jeans back on!

Glad to hear it!  Just keep an eye on the pups and make sure they don't catch a chill...especially at night :)

Great news.  Getting the heating right is often a nightmare.

Caroline