Indoor Whelping Box

The puppies are now 2.5 weeks old which means they're getting around much more and making more of a mess! These are the steps in creating a functional whelping box set up for this age puppy. Any earlier, and the puppies are too small and can get wrapped up in the bedding and suffocate. Step 1 - Clean the bottom of the whelping box that has a cleanable surface, in this case vinyl tiles, with a bleach spray and rinse thoroughly. Wipe dry. Lay some traction material that one might buy to put under a rug, on the bottom of the whelping box. All done while puppies are safely tucked away in a laundry basket. Note the padding all the way around the whelping box. This is to make the puppies' exit from the whelping box safe.

Step 2 - lay some absorbent material over the traction mats.

Step 3 - Place a couple bath mats over the top of the absorbent material. These will allow the moisture to wick away from the puppies and into the absorbent material.

Step 4 - Put puppies gently back into box

Step 4 continued - watch as they ALL pee on the newly cleaned material

The little exit on the right has a door that can be placed to block it off, however, we found that Rayna then tends to jump in and out which isn't safe for the puppies so we plan to leave it open and puppy proof the entire room.

Their little personalities are shining through!

Everyone is exploring and playing. They especially like sucking on their siblings' noses.

Rayna/Arrow Puppies: 2 Weeks Old

Granite - Male - 4lbs 5oz

Vistonic - Male - 3lbs 14oz

Gucci - Female - 3lbs 5oz

Lobo - Male - 4lbs 1oz

Tikan - Female - 3lbs 9oz

Flame - Female - 4lbs 3oz !

Typhoon - Male - 4lbs 2oz

Coco - Female - 3lbs 14oz

Did I say that these are some BIG puppies! Wow, they just continue to grow so quickly. They were introduced to toys and a new area last night. We've got a puppy cuddle chart to make certain the pups are getting picked up and held at least 8 times each day. Feet, toes and ears are played with and fur is stroked backwards and forwards so that the pups become very acquainted with the human touch. They are doing so well and so is Rayna. They began to notice each other at about 10 days old and eyes fully opened at 12.

Rayna/Arrow Puppies: 1 Week Old (December 4th)

Granite - Male - 2lbs 14oz !

Vistonic - Male - 2lbs 10oz

Gucci - Female - 2lbs 3oz

Lobo - Male - 2lbs 5oz

Tikan - Female - 2lbs 5oz

Flame - Female - 2lbs 9oz

Typhoon - Male - 2lbs 8oz

Coco - 2lbs 8oz

All I can say is these are BIG puppies! Looking over statistics of previous litters I've found that these guys are significantly larger at this age. Rayna is a very good mom and giving far too much of herself, like most moms do.

Rayna/Arrow Puppies: Birthday on Turkey Day

Granite - Male - 1lb 4oz

Vistonic - Male - 1lb 3oz

Gucci - Female - 14oz

 

Lobo - Male - 1lb 2oz

Tikan - Female - 1lb 3oz

Flame - Female - 1lb 2oz

Typhoon - Male - 1lb 2oz

Coco - Female - 1lb 2oz

After over 24 hours of labor, Rayna had eight healthy puppies on Thanksgiving Day and what a day it was! Sleep is NOT overrated. We have a half and half crew with four males and four females. We chose our puppy names out of the lineage of the puppies as these puppies represent three different lines in our kennel. Typhoon, Flame and Gucci are named after relatives/ancestors in the Bassich line. Coco and Granite are named after relatives/ancestors in the Zulu line. Lobo, Vistonic and Tikan are names found in the Hedlund lineage. One thing noted about these particular pups it that they absolutely hate being picked up by the scruff and have yet to get used to it. We do this with all of our puppies at an early age to desensitize them. Not quite working yet with these pups.