Hi there, I am a newbie looking for advice.  Our bitch is expecting puppies in 3 weeks time.  My OH is going to build a whelping box this weekend but we are trying to find the best location to site it.  She loves hiding away behind the sofa in our smallish lounge/diner but this room is carpeted which wouldn't be very practical.  Although somehow I think she may end up having them there so I think I will have to get a bit of spare lino to put down in the area!! The kitchen is too small and hectic and I was thinking the best place would be the conservatory which adjoins the lounge/diner.  It has a door onto the back garden, laminate flooring, it's own radiator and can be shut away from the rest of the house.  The only thing I am worried about is whether it is likely to be too bright or too drafty?  I have read the Whelping Puppies book by Muriel Lee and I am wading through the Book of the Bitch to educate myself but I could really do with some first hand advice.

Would the conservatory be suitable or should I kick one of the kids out of their bedrooms?!?  We live in a Bunga-high so we have both upstairs and downstairs bedrooms and one of the downstairs bedrooms has laminate flooring but is not particularly near to the back garden.  I was also thinking we could attach some old blankets to the roof of the conservatory to make the room more cocoon like and insulated...  Any advice would be gratefully received.

Bitches usually prefer to whelp in a small, enclosed den-like space, so if you can put the whelping box somehwre like the understairs cupboard, or push a table into a corner and put the box under that, with blankets covering the sides, she'd probably be happy there for the first couple of weeks.

A bedroom would be better than the conservatory because of temperature control.

Because you will need to constantly supervise your girl and the pups for the first few weeks, for your comfort as well as hers, I would suggest a bedroom initially, somewhere that can be kept warm and quiet. Once the pups get to 3-4 weeks old and are moving about and needing more space, you could transfer to the conservatory, but make sure the fluctuations in temperature are catered for. I've only had one litter, but this system worked well for me.

I use puppy pen panels on a piece of lino.  Use one of the panels across the top to hold its shape and to allow you to drape a throw over the whole thing to make a den.  I also line the sides up to about a foot to 18 inches with cardboard to prevent drafts.

I always start mine in the bedroom near my bed for the first two weeks.

If the dining room is the most convenient place space wise then you will need a blow up mattress for yourself for at least the first week.

If you have other dogs and animals you will want the Mum and pups in a room where they will not be able to go for at least the first two weeks.

I agree with Jeangenie conservatories have to much fluctuation in temperature to be suitable for dogs or pups.

Wow - I'm impressed by how quickly everyone has come back to me!  Thanks for all your great advice.  Looks like the conservatory is out then, at least until the little rascals are old enough to regulate their own temperature.  Looks like we are going to have to do some moving around of beds etc but if she does end up having the pups in the lounge/diner we have 2 huge sofas in there so I would be able to sleep on one of those.  All I have to do now is prepare myself for a lack of sleep and try not to panic - I'm sure my girl will be far more relaxed about it than I will!  Thanks again.

Just realised I managed to put my post in behaviour and I really should be in breeding but being a newbie I don't know how to move it - doh!