does anyone use shavings as bedding for puppies if so which is the best and at what age would you put them on it Ive not used them befor and wondered if they were worth trying

To be honest I don't think I'd ever use shavings for puppies.  Too much risk of dust and small pieces getting in the eyes, up the nose, in the ears, or them eating it!

Debs

totally agree, I think they'd eat it plus getting everywhere! vet bed and adult incontinence sheets for my litter.

where do you get the incontinence sheets from -please

I originally tried a few from work (midwife) and it worked well but obviously couldn't pinch the amount i needed so did a search on web and found the cheapest from Gompels healthcare. I ordered over £40's worth but my friend had half as she getting new puppy this week. They work out about 17p each, the're not as good as my hospital ones as smaller but still much better than news paper. I am gonna have to order more though as pups are now 5 1/2 weeks so you can imagine the amount of wee and poo and using around 4-5 per day. I have found it is helping with toilet training as nearly all of them come off the vet bed to pee on the sheet.

Lorri

I use copious amounts of vet- bed and paper but have a friend who uses only shredded cardboard. It certainly looks very snuggly and clean, hers are reared outdoors so it wouldn't be suitable for inside. From memory the board is about quarter inch square and she has it quite deep. I tried it on my outside kennel for the adult spaniels, it was very warm and toasty but made a hell of a mess in the run even though we have baffle boards on the enterances, lots of sweeping.

I think your safest bet would be to stick to vetbed and paper, shavings can get into eyes, ears etc and some bits are very sharp. Not worth the risk.

Well I'll go against the rest here and say I have used shavings for all my litters and been very happy with it. But it's good quality proper shavings which isn't too dusty. I also don't think I'd be using it for a longhaired breed as it sticks to the coat then.

in reply to Goldmali, you can get dust extracted shavings, a little more money, used to use them to bed my horse down on as he had allergies.

I agree with goldmali! My breeder used shavings in the toilet area of their enclosure and it made for easier cleaning up!! they slept on something else (think vet bed and newspaper Can't remember exactly)  these are a large breed dog though and like goldmali says not a long coated breed either!! i think it will depend alot on the breed you have etc as to what you could get away with using.

Hi

I have never used shavings for pups as mine are always in the house and i couldnt cope with the mess. But I use them all the time with my rabbits and their litters, no problems with then getting caught in nose, ears, ect.

Wendy