HI everyone,

Rosie doing well with her litter of 12, now day 8. Pups growing like MAD and doubled birthweight practically.
Rosie has been amazingly attentive, only leaving the whelping box to go outside ands refusing to eat unless she's in it!! But today (and a bit yesterday) she is leaving them and sitting outside the box, and asking to come out all together and join the family. She seems quite happy. Should I make her stay with them or let her out when she wants to? The pups are in our utility room on the other side of the hall opp the kitchen. Is this behaviour ok?

Make sure she doesn't leave them for too long, but an hour's break (for a walk or cuddle in front of the TV, for example) will do her good and stop her becoming stir crazy. :)

Thanks jeangenie, I always think you talk good sense!!!
She's looking great. Had terrible trots but now fine. I put her back on her usual Hills Science but on the puppy formula and she's wolfing it down and had no more problems. Had to give up the extras such as chicken breasts, mince and scrambled eggs...just didn't suit her.

Yes, absloutely normal behaviour, she knows her pups are well fed, they sleep an awful lot and your girl will get bored just sitting in with them all the time, always allow her full access back to them if perhaps you can leave the utility door open for her to go in and out herself that would be much better, she won't stay away too long at this age the time away will lengthen week by week.

If however she should seem to spend a lot of time away and the pups should start to cry a lot or their weight go down, then contact your vet or come back to the site for advice.

But right now, everything is 100% normal so don't worry. We all need time away from the kids! :-)

Oh how true! (said with feeling, end of school holidays are near) Bless 'em! Thanks x.

....Very normal behaviour. It varies from bitch to bitch but some stick to the pups like glue, and some go in, feed and clean and come out, almost from day one. Whilst I agree entirely with Jean, I certainly wouldn't worry between feeds which at 8/9 days would be only around every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. If she wants out only for a short time, great! But don't panic at all if its for longer. She is a experienced mother now (grin) shes raised twice as many as most bitches for over a week ;-) You can probably start to trust her judgement more than your own (if you understand what i mean).

Di

Thanks Di, you're all very reassuring. She seems too want to pop in and out a bit now but never goes far. Phew. Time for a glass of something strong I fancy. Happy easter everyone. x

Glad to hear it's all going well! :-)

my girls the same, mine are 3 weeks today, having to keep a close eye as one boob is looking very enlarged, keep using warn facecloth on it, try not to worry it comes naturally to most dogs

one similar point...last time my girl had pups, she stayed for first couple weeks and then wanted to come to lounge an dbe with rest of family. Now i know most bitches want peace and quiet, but my girl is very affectionate and lovign girl and wants to be near my hubby most of the time. So with next litter I am considering putting box in lounge with rest of us.

would welcomes any opinions please

Hi,

Interested to see this post as we set up the whelping box in the study this time and Mum decided she didn't like it at all and wanted to be in the lounge with the family. This is actualy a quiet room at the front of the house and we found that it was easier to protect her from the hustle and bustle of family life in here in the end. The nice thing was that in the evening the family joined me to watch the tv, only room with sky!, and while I did not get to use the bed settee I bought specially the couch was pretty comfortable.  I think it depends like most things on your circumstances but I've found they do change character a great deal anyway for the last few days and then first few with puppies so it's hard to predict sometimes.

Hi

Our bitch has her pups in the sitting room. This is a busy room and at the front of the house, window to the street and front door of it.

But she is such a busy bee and would hate being shut away some were else. We were very carefull to keep the noise and bussel down for the first week until she was happy to come out of her bed and sit with us. But even then if I Was working in the kitchen for any time she would come and see where I was. I know she would of hated being shut in another room.

I slept on the settee with her for the first 3 weeks. When I did go back to my own bed she was really stressed and spent the first night coming up stairs to find me. She ended up sleeping with me and has done every night since. She normally sleeps with me.

The pups have benifited to. They have got use to all the noises of the house. telly, hoover kids arguing, other dog barking ect and as you can imagine get loads of attention.

I know it wouldnt suit every bitch but I think you get to know what your own bitches like

I remember years ago and look back in horror when I worked at kennels. Any pups we had were born and raised in a kennel. Never came into the house and only saw the kennel maids. They went to there new homes at 6 weeks from the kennel

Wendy

thanks for the replies. Ive made my decision....she'll be having them in the lounge withus!!  I'll let you know how she progresses

xxxx

Do you have other animals in the family. 

If so you may be best to do what I do start them in a room where no other animal can disturb Mum, and then once the eyes are open - 2 weeks bring them down to a busy place where they usualy spend a lot of time (kitchen in my case).

Remember that it's not unknown for bitches, forced to whelp in an un-secluded area, to kill their whelps. :(

All bitches are different I suppose but in my experience most like a quiet dark place to have their pups, so I would not recommend the lounge for whelping.  After two/three weeks why not change the whelping box for a crate covered over with a throw/blanket like a den in a different area of the home closer to the family if you wish.

Bitches still like their pups to be in quiet and solitude just for the first couple of weeks they will come and go to mix with their family and make do with whatever set up you have, but ideally somewhere  seperate is the best place for whelping. :-)

Just as a footnote to my post above, I was replying to katypoo and her 8 day olds and mum who wanted to hop in and out of the whelping box - NOT about where to whelp! I wouldn't DREAM of having the whelping box in the lounge. Mum needs peace and quiet once all the pups are here, present and correct and a lounge is not that place in my opinion. Also with discharges and various messes that puppies and post whelping bitches bring, a lounge carpet would be a very unhygenic place - I suppose wood flooring might put a slightly different shine on it.

Utility rooms, kennels, spare bedrooms with smooth floors or a huge plastic floor covering or good size kitchens generally are the right sort of environment. Also make a den over the hwlping box if you can for the first few days, they seem to appreciate it.

However, that said, when it comes to the actual WHELPING, mum will have the first puppy as and where she damn well fancies it ;-)

Di

hi wyianbriar i think ,carrington 's reply was to ebonydawn :)

Yes, I realise that, I just wanted to make it plain, that the thread had wandered off to someone else without me realising, and wasn't sure that my reply to Katypoo's question didn't fall under the 'where to have the whelping box' posts.

Thanks for clarifying. I'm still getting used to where the posts appear in the thread and find it easy to end up posting a reply that makes no sense to the post it seems to attach to!
Di

Hi, let me clarify my situation.

Last time our girl had pups, she had them in the study room which is at back off house off the kitchen.

The whelping box was under  shelf and she had an area, gated. At night or when she wasnt feeding she would lie outside the actual whelping box, crying to come out to us who were in the lounge 2 rooms away. She would cry to get to us AND our other bitch.

It got to the point that she doesnt like goin to the back room now, for fear of being left.

We will have a box in both back and lounge, and she, then herself can decide where she wants to be. Any box in lounge would be roofed with a door for her to get in and out of.

Not had a litter yet, but the books I've read mostly recommend a quiet place for the birth and the first week or two, then put the puppy pen in a busy area to start socialisation. :-)

I think the best answer is to supply a quiet place but set up camp for someone to be with her as well.  That is what I think most of us do to watch over the nursing anyway.  I don't think I would like to be two rooms away for the first couple of weeks anyway.

Oh i am with her for first weeks anyway. She WILL have option to have them in either secluded area or the whelping box in lounge, we will leave it up to her.

Actually she was first dog that had her first pup and all the pups in whelping box. My other bitch would always start off in lounge then stay in whelping box once we moved puppy and her.

Thanks for all the advice, i think i'll cover both bases so she has the option of where to whelp, and then, if she has them in the back, i'll move them all at a couple weeks

thanks again

Hi,

My bitch would have been happy to whelp on the sofa, and wouldn't go in the whelping box, she ended up having the 1st pup on the kitchen floor.:)

Since then, she has decided that she would prefer to keep the puppies in the lounge with us and promptly began transporting them to the lounge and making a nest for them there we have since moved the whelping box to where she made her nest and she is very happy.

Chocymolly