Dog beds for whelping box

My dog is due to have puppies on Friday and it is best to be well prepared. Gaia looks like a whale, but I am sure she will just have a few, uhm….

My bestest friend Anne’s husband Steve originally built a fabulous whelping box large enough for the size of a German Wirehaired Pointer. The box has been doing its rounds and been the base for many lovely litters. I think most dogs will start off digging up their dog beds and start delivering their pups in one of the Tuffie Nest dog beds or similar, but it is  important to move mother and babies when there seem to be an opportunity to do so. This prepares everything for the quiet time where mother should just settle down and let the little newborns suckle away as much as they can. After the birth the bitch will be very tired, but will still want to stay awake, full of adrenalin after the big experience of having all the new pups.

At the moment, though, Gaia is just looking big:

Gaia in the garden, five days to go.

I remember when my Vizsla, Alice, had her first litter, I just got hold of a huge big cardboard box from the white goods shop in town and lined it with waterproof fabric, normally used in our waterproof dog beds. I fixed the pig rails (broom shafts) and then noticed that there was a sticker on the box (used for a fridge originally) that said “Early delivery”, which I thought was very funny and even funnier as she did deliver her pups two days early.

What fun it is to have little pups as long as the birth all goes well of course. Can’t wait till it all happens.