Hello
I have read previous postings but as I am new at this I want to be sure:- I am just about to move my litter to their outside kennel (they are just under 4 weeks old and are getting very mobile) I have bought a new infa red heat lamp and am a little concerned as to its safety.
I use vetbed in the whelping box but am planning to use paper wool for the outer area (has anyone any other suggestions?) I would also apreciate any advice on the height the lamp has to be hung above the whelping box.

i think its very hard to give you hard and fast rules ...... it depends on the area you are trying to heat if its an enclosed area or not .... is the bitch still feeding her puppies or are you taking them off......how big the litter is ...... as to whether you should be changing from vet bed to paper i would always stay with vet bed inside the whelping box and either wood chippings or paper outside.In my outside whelping box i have 3 heat lamps in a 8x4x5 enclosed  area in case the temperature drops dramatically and i have them on accordingly.

Thank you for your reply It is a litter of 10 Lab puppies and the bitch is still feeding them although they are being supplemented with puppy formula I only have one heat lamp so far I was going to hang this above the whelping box they are going to be moved into an L shaped panelled area within an outhouse the floor is raised and has insulation under it (polystyrene panels) there is an area between the building walls and the wooden lining which is about 4ft high the area is very difficult to describe but the whole area is about 20 sq ft. The bitch keeps going into the shed she seems to like it out there. I would appreciate any further advice.

Can you construct a container for the whelping box, to contain the pups' natural warmth? I've known people use an 'igloo'-type kennel (with vetbed inside) within a loosebox covered with woodshavings, very successfully.

one other thing to consider is the height of the whelping box in relationship to the outside floor ...... as the puppies are now quite mobile they will want more space to play in and you need to ensure that they can easily access the outside area safely .. ie no big drops from the whelping box ........ i uses rubber stable mats as steps down from my box they work very well