hi all, my girl had her pups 2 days ago, all seems fine, she is feeding and cleaning them ok. but she keeps jumping out of her whelping box and barking to get out of her kennel, at all hours!! but when i let her out she goes to toilet or just runs behind the sheds and digs, i carnt leave her door open as the pups will get cold, so i can oly leave her to cry and bark, obviously not all the time, but i cannot stay with her 24/7. she is in a safe secure garden, so should i just leave her door shut and her outside for a while, but how long is safe away from the pups, she does come back to check if she hear them crying, i thought they wanted to stay with their litters for the first week or so. is their something wrong with her. or am i just being too worried. she is fine and healthy. thanks

Actually at two days old the bitch and pups really should have 24 hour supervision. 

This is why for their own comfort as much as the bitch and pups most breeders in this day and age would have the whelping box where they can sleep by the side of it.  Baby moniors or CCTV can be used to also keep an ear/eye on things when you are not in the room.

The digging is normal behaviour as the bitch is probably not happy with her whelping quarters and wants to dig a better den for them.

She may also still be in some pain and this is displacement activity, and of course she may also need the toilet frequently.

In my own expereince I find that for two or three days you have to force the bitch outside to toilet, or risk accidents, but after three days they are likely to lie besieg the whelpign box (because it is too warm for her) to get some rest as the milk supply will have become established due to the almost constant nursing of the pups from birth.

MY advice bring the pups into your bedroom, or a room where you can set up your bed.  Pups will be fine in the house in a whelping box and then a puppy pen until at least 4 weeks, after that they can spend some of the day outside in order to have more room to play (and to give you a chance to clean their indoor quarters), but should spend a great deal of time in the house in order to become properly socialised to family life, as if I am not mistaken most will be destined to live as family companions and this is the life they need to know.

sorry flower bud but i think your girl wants to come in with her pups so you can keep an eye on her, anything could happen with them being outside, and it is cold on a night. give her loads of TLC.

of course you need to be there 24/7 thats one of the responsiblities of breeding a bitch. she should be cosy indoors not in a cold garden shed!

Hi, sorry i carnt of made myself very clear, she is in the shed/kennel where there is a heater and light, and no draughts, i have a baby monitor in their and the other one with me, i also look through the window abut every 15-20 mins, quietly so as not to disturb her all the time, i also do go in a lot to give her plenty of cuddles, but also at the same time to be checking her teats etc, i am by no mean ignoring her, i am far to paraoiod for that. thanks

Sorry, but I think they need to be inside, you can't keep an uninsulated shed warm...sorry, just my humble opinion and I have been known to be wrong(rarely, of course!) All the best, Dawn.

Hello Flower-bud

Just a quick question, does your dog usually sleep / live inside the house?  If the answer is yes then she may not feel safe outside, there could be foxes lurking around.  I know Phoebe would become very distressed if I put her in the shed no matter how comforting I made it for her with or without puppies / pregnant or not pregnant.  Phoebe will be having her puppies in around 3 weeks in my bedroom, where I will will no doubt have many sleepless nights but hopefully she will feel safe and secure.

Good luck in any event whatever you decide as no one knows your dog like you do.
x x

If they are destined to be pets the pups really need to be hearing normal household noises right from the start.  Otherwise they will be more reactive to normal household occurances, eg. hoovering, washing machine, dishwashing etc.

Hi all, just a quick update, all is now fine, the vet said it was due to her tummy ache (womb) going back to normal, she is a lot more settled now, i am finding it more difficult to get her out to go wees now, lol. so all is well.

hi all, forgot to say, the kennel/sheds are 6ft from the house, along side my large kitchen/dining room, where everyone seems to gather most of the time, so the pups will hear every household noise anyway, and will be coming in and out of the house regularly.