How to Build a Puppy Whelping Box
- 1). Determine the size of the whelping box you will need based on the size of the mother. There must be adequate space for her and the puppies to move around so that she does not lie on the puppies. For example, most medium-sized dogs will require a whelping box about 4 feet by 4 feet in size with 2-foot-high walls.
- 2). Construct the sides of the box with plywood or a thicker, more durable wood if preferred. Use metal brackets and screws to hold the sides together at the corners.
- 3). Cut a 1-by-1-foot piece of the wall out to create a door the mother can use to get in and out of the box.
- 4). Install pig rails on at least three of the walls to help prevent the mother from lying on the puppies. The rails should protrude about three inches out from the wall and be positioned at a height that the female dog would be able to rest against. Pig rails are simply rails made of wood or metal that prevent the mother from pressing her weight against a puppy lying next to a wall.
- 5). Set the box on a flat piece of plywood that is a little larger than the area of the box to create the bottom. Connect the box to the bottom with metal brackets and screws to make it easy to disassemble when no longer in use. The bottom can become dirty from puppy urine and feces as well as the birthing process, so you should change the bottom each time the mother has a litter.
- 6). Place the box in a room that is warm and quiet.
- 7). Cover the bottom of the box with old, clean blankets, and introduce the mother to the box before she gives birth to allow her to get used to it. Replace the blankets with cedar wood chips and newspaper after the puppies are born so that the dirty blankets are no longer in the box.
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