Hi just wanted to see what you all use for whelping,I've been looking for a few weeks now but cannot decide,for the ones who don't know this is my first litter,and my toy breed bitch is 43 days today so I need to choose something asap I have everything else we will need just need a whelping box,so I've looked first is the whelping boxes on ebay but I'd rather not use wood and the plastic ones are over 200 pounds and way too big for my bitch she weighs around 4 pounds lol a dog cage a really large one but again I don't feel as a cage would be good enough? Cardboard boxes as I have carpets were the box will be I don't want it to leak,and a paddling pool I really like the pool idea but most are blow up would they pop? Please any other ideas or just tell me what u use and how it works for you as I'm getting stressed out trying to find the perfect box for her thank you

Steel City do a UPVC one that's 24" x 24" x 12" and is only £64.99 + p&p I used one for 9 litters and it's still going strong. Not sure if I'm allowed to put a link on here but will message it to you.

Thanks epmp that sounds brill I'll have a look if u can somehow send link

Don't use a cage as your pups will be small enough to get stuck in the bars or even fall through them, when newborn. (My toybreed is bigger than yours and even they could.)

Wow you got lucky  (or I got unlucky) my Steel City whelping box had to be binned after 3 litters.

Why don't you want to use wood? We built ours out of plywood from the local builders merchants and then lined the bottom with an off-cut of vinyl from the carpet shop. Total cost about £40. And we made it in such a way that it can be taken apart in sections and stored away. You need to be pretty handy with woodwork though.

That's actually a really great idea tinywirral22 I was just thinking of it been fully wood so it would soak it up,I have a few rolls of vinyl already stored away you might have just solved my problem

Goldmali that's what I was thinking with a cage that's why I haven't purchased one as I don't have any in my home i use play pens if I need them

Shallow tubtrugs could be used I've seen my guys curled up in them before large breed so more then big enough for small breeds.

The most basic paddling pool is all plastic, costs about £7 places like Toys r us and similar.

I'd not use a crate because you need to be able to get in there, if necessary.   I realise this is too much for your small breed b itch but we had a 4 X 4 whelping box, made of plywood, with a wood floor and 2 ft sides ( may have been higher, I forget) and that section had pig rails round 3 sides with a low front for mum to access the box but the puppies couldn't get out at first.   Once the first three weeks were over and the puppies were up and moving around, we moved the box into the kitchen and added a second  4 X 4 section, removing the low front of the original section.   The second section had a hinged door for mum to come and go.    We had a gallows up the original end, for a heat lamp.   My husband made this and it was scrubbed clean and disassembled for storing after the last puppies went home.   The two we usually kept (we only bred for our next generation) then went into a 'puppy pen' which we had under where the stairs went up, in the kitchen.   That had a raised bench in it.

You might use a kids paddling pool, lined of course.

We use the disposable whelping boxes because I like to have a brand new one for each litter and don't have the will or the desire to clean it and put it away whilst raising a litter of pups.  I cut an extra base out of cardboard for during whelping and then cover that with disposable whelping mats or human incontinence bed pads.  I replace those as they get soiled during whelping.  After whelping, I throw away the extra base I made.

Thanks everyone for all the help I finally have a whelping box I couldn't decide but all the help made me choose one finally I was getting stressed out over it thanks again