A whelping box is a place where a dog can have her
puppies. The puppies can begin to grow
up in the box because it's a safe place.
This blog entry will describe how a whelping box was created for an
English setter and her six puppies.
A whelping box has several features that are important for
keeping a mother dog and her puppies safe:
- A "doorway" or low side for the mother to step into
and out of the box while the puppies are small.
- High sides to contain the puppies when they
become more active.
- A guard rail (ledge) to prevent the mother from crushing
the puppies against the walls. She can rest
her back against the ledge; a puppy would be safe between her and the wall.
- The box must be large enough for the mother to
lay down comfortably with the puppies in the box.
My father researched whelping boxes online and discovered
that you can buy boxes or plans to build your own. He studied the plans posted on one website
and made his own version. The whelping
box he created for his English setter, Kasey, was 44 by 44 inches. This is what he did:
- Sawed several boards into 44 inch lengths. Some were 12 inches wide and others were 7.5
inches wide.
- Created four "posts" by cutting 2x4s in
half. They were 26 inches long. The posts are high so more boards can be
added as the puppies grow.
- Assembled the boards as shown in the photo.
The box is resting on a piece of plastic, a piece of
cardboard, and a blanket. The plastic is
used so that the floor stays dry. The
cardboard prevents the puppies from chewing on the plastic as they become
bigger. The blanket keeps everyone a
little more comfortable and is easy to remove and wash each day.
This whelping box is special because it can easily be broken
down and reassembled for travel. When
the puppies were just 10 days old they had to stay for a few days in a place about
three hours away. Decking screws were
used to make reassembly easy. (Plywood
could have been used instead of separate boards.)
The puppies stayed in the whelping box until they were four
weeks old; the box became too small as the puppies grew more active. My father removed one side of the box and
connected it to a larger pen for the puppies to play in.
Resources:
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-to-build-a-whelping-box/page1.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whelping_box
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