Can a dog give birth in a cage? A Complete Guide

Select the room where you want your mother dog to whelp well in advance of the birth. A week or so before her due date, you will notice your mother-to-be begins to seek out quiet places and dig there. She is nesting, or preparing her own place to give birth. Have her whelping area ready at least a week in advance to avoid the litter arriving in a place you dont want your mother dog to use, and begin to accustom her to being there before she is in labor. Once its ready, take her into the room and show her the box. Put her inside and let her sniff it. Add a favorite toy or blanket so it feels familiar to her. Feed her meals in the box, and let her sleep there for a few days before shes due to deliver.

Decide what youll use for a whelping box once youve chosen a room. Your mother and puppies will spend their first month in the whelping box. You will be cleaning it frequently, so it should be sturdy and convenient for you to make bedding changes. Consider placing a wire ex-pen or baby gate around the whelping box if you have other pets that might wander in and upset your mother dog while shes with her puppies.

Ready-made whelping boxes made of wood or plastic can be purchased. Most require assembly. You will need waterproof flooring for the whelping box. A plastic liner or piece of linoleum slightly larger than the box works well. A childs plastic swimming pool or the bottom half of a large, plastic dog crate can also serve as a whelping box. Choose a box according to the size of your mother and the litter expected. The box should be large enough for your mother dog to lie on her side with 1 to 2 feet of space around her for the pups to nurse. Avoid using a box that is too large. It can allow the puppies to wiggle away from Mama and become chilled.

If your mother dog goes into labor on your couch during the night in spite of your preparations, dont panic. Dont move her until all of the puppies are born. Cover as much of the area as possible with a towel or old blanket to absorb fluid. Make your mother dog as comfortable as possible. Stay calm. Keep other people and animals out of the room to avoid stressing her. Once the puppies have all been whelped, carry them gently to the box youve prepared. Your mother dog will probably follow you and appear nervous. Reassure her in a quiet voice. Once her litter is all together in their box, she should settle in to nurse.

If possible, install a ledge, called pig rails, inside your box 1 to 6 inches off the floor, depending on the size of your breed. The rails should go all around the interior of the box and be set so they will be above the puppies until theyre 2 to 3 weeks old. They prevent the mother dog from accidentally laying on a puppy against the side of the box. Line your box with soft bedding that wont bunch. Whelping pads or pieces of washable rug cut to a size slightly larger than the floor of your box can be used.

What should I do to be prepared?

1. Make sure you have plenty of clean newspapers and sheets or towels.

2. Select the place where you would like her to have her puppies and put a suitable whelping box in that location. The whelping box should be large enough for her to move around freely, with low sides so that she can see out and easily move in and out. A large cardboard packing case with an open top and an opening cut out of the side is ideal for smaller dogs. Be sure to ask your veterinary healthcare team for more advice on making a whelping box for your pet.breeding4-whelping_or_birth-2

3. Line the bottom of the whelping box with plenty of newspaper. There will be a large amount of fluid at the time of whelping. If sufficient layers of newspaper and cloth are in place before whelping, you can remove soiled layers with minimum interruption to the mother and her newborn puppies.

4. Acrylic bedding, which is easily washed, can be used to cover the newspaper. However, during whelping, plain newspaper is more absorbent and the puppies are less likely to get hidden beneath it.

My dog has not had puppies before. Do you think she will be all right left alone during whelping?

Primagravidas, or females having puppies for the first time, should be kept under surveillance until you think they have finished, just in case they get into trouble. Make sure your dog is properly caring for her newborn puppies, particularly if she is still in labor. Some females are more concerned with straining to produce the next puppy than caring for the puppies already delivered. If that is the case, place the puppies in a small cardboard box containing a towel-wrapped bottle filled with warm (not hot) water, and covered with another towel to keep them warm and protected until the mother finishes delivery.

Delivery times vary. Dogs with slim heads such as Shelties, Collies and Dobermans may complete delivery of all the puppies within two to three hours. Brachycephalic breeds, or breeds with large, round heads such as Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, and Pekingese tend to have deliveries that are more difficult; sometimes they will produce one or two puppies relatively quickly and then rest for a while before labor starts again.

If your dog has produced at least one puppy and does not strain again within two hours, contact your veterinarian. If the whelping female has been straining continuously for a couple of hours and has not had a puppy, she requires immediate veterinary attention.

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