Could anyone tell me where I could get hold of a heat lamp to use with new puppies?  How necessary is it to have one?  I'm also making a whelping box (it's not my first litter but I've always borrowed one before) - I'm not sure how high the pig rails should be from the bottom of the box (retriever pups); can anyone advise?

Thanks!

I personally have never used a heat lamp for a whelping box because I whelp my bitches indoors. The whelping box fits under a table and I put curtains all round so that it is enclosed and the heat stays in. If they get too warm I can adjust the curtaining. For the height of the pigrail I would say half the size of your bitch's body when she's lying on her side so that it is about level with her spine.
:)

I would echoe thatother than the fact I use a heat pad under the vet bed.  I place this in the middle initaially so that bitch doesn't have to lay on it (I have a coated Northern breed) but this is only for winter litters and at night usually I find that they are not wanting to lie on it after a week.

I too cover my welping box making a cave, and of course they are in a bedroom.  My las litter born in September had to be brought down to the kitchen earlier than my normal two weeks, as thy were getting too warm in the unheated West facing Bedroom.

An eay way to tell if pups are too warmis that they will spread 0out, and if too warm will be restless.  If cold they will huddle tightly, but if just nice will lie close but not huddled.

You can purchase a heat lamp from www.caninechemists.com

Hi Jan
I wasn't going to get a heat lamp as My bitches whelping box is in the house in a draft free corner near a heater, but after visiting the vet yesterday to check holly over He insisted that I should get one as the pups need to keep at a constant temperature, and if the bitch leaves them for the toilet or anything, they risk getting cold, I panicked & thought where do I get one at this late stage, but it actually turned out that most Agricultural feed merchants or places that sell small holding supplies such as horse, goat & chicken food are a good bet for selling them. Even my local electrical shop turned out to have one, they are more commmon than I first thought! Mine was around £20. with a bulb so not too expensive either for peace of mind.
Jo

Hi Jan, although I whelp indoors I do have a heat lamp but I don't think it's vital. If you have a big whelping box you can arrange the heat lamp to warm one half leaving the other side cooler for mum. A heat lamp also allows you to have the rest of the room cooler. What I don't like about them is the way they dry the atmosphere. A wet towel over a radiator helps, but the humidity always seems low to me with the heat lamp on (that said, mine is very old). Now I prefer either an electric heated pad or a couple of Snugglesafes under the Vetbed. As Louie says, you can get a lamp from Canine Chemists, or you are welcome to borrow my antique.

I don't use pig rails, as i've heard of as many pups being ground against them as saved by them. We just stay with the litter 24/24 for the first week. :)

Thanks all of you for your advice - that's really useful.  I wish I had a big enough table to put the whelping box under as that's a really good idea - last time I had string suspended around the room to hang curtains from!

Am I right in thinking that the heat lamp should have an infrared bulb, or did I imagine that?  The ones I've seen just seem to have a normal bulb.  Thanks again, and thanks Jas for your offer; that's very kind, but it's probably easier if I get one myself. :)

I don't like heat lamps and won't use them for my litters.  I use a heat oad which goes in one half of the whelping box  so that mum can lie on the cooler bit if she wants.  You can buy a small heat pad at Argos which many people use successfully..

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

hello - i use a heat lamp constantly for my dogs in the winter as the room they sleep in is not heated and for my litter of puppies i also used it but it is important that the bitch can lie out of the way of it as they do not need to be as warm as pups - i also had the opinion that i would not use a pig rail until my biggest puppy in the litter got squashed i now wouldn't whelp a litter without it.

I was once told (don't know how true it is!) that heat lamps create a draught!  I use a heat pad under the bedding, keeping the whelping box.  With the central heating on as well, I keep the pups at 75 - 80 F for the first 10 days.
I have never used pig rails, not had any pups squashed, but then I don't leave the bitch with puppies unattended until they have their eyes open.

Can someone tell me, what are pig rails?

kat

A pig rail is a batten around the inside of a whelping box designed to prevent pups being squashed against the side by their mum. The rail keeps the mum's back away from the side so there is a nice safe gap for the pup.
:)

We debated this for a long time before Daisy whelped.  In the end, we deiced to build a simple box from cardboard and place it against the wall of our bedroom that had the baseboard running along it.  this worked perfectly!  When Daisy would leave the box, if they got chilly, they'd simply cuddle up to the back of the box where the heat radiated.  Nobody ever caught a chill.  :) 

My pups whelp indoors in a cage with a vetbed on top of the cage (as well as one on the floor, of course.) Only time I used a heat lamp, the dam nearly went frantic because she was far too hot.