This page is dedicated to providing information on responsible breeding.
Are you considering breeding but unsure of the next step? Do you have puppies on the way and feel uncertain about what to do? Would you like to learn more about genetics, care, and sales?
We’ll be regularly adding resources to this page with the goal of making it a valuable tool for both new and experienced breeders.
Whelping Set Up
At Stormy Heights Homestead, we do things a little differently than most. The information we share reflects what works for us, but it is by no means the only way to whelp puppies. We do not receive any compensation for the items we recommend; links are simply provided to make it easier for you to find them.
Supplies List
- Suction Bulb
- Towels (These can usually be found at thrift store)
- Calcium Powder A great article on calcium and dosage during whelping can be found here
- Greek Yogurt
- Puppy Pads
- Non slip machine washible pads Buy these 1ft larger than your whelping box so the box can sit on top of them, if not mom and pupplies will pull them up.
- Colored collars
- Notebook and Pen
- A scale. We use a small food scale for the first two weeks until they wont fit anymore, then we use a larger vetrinary scale.
- Thermometer
- Cord Clamps (never used)
- Bottle (hope you don't need it but good to have on hand)
- Puppy formula or raw goats milk (hope you don't need it but good to have on hand)
- Small tube feeder (hope you don't need it but good to have on hand)
- 6 mil or thicker plastic this will be the barrier between your floors and the first layer of puppy pads
- Camera This is optional but I wouldn't go without it. These do need wifi but will alert you to movement. At anytime I can open the app and see and listen to what is going on in the whelping box, the night vision works great as well. Here is a photo from the app...
The Whelping box. We whelp our puppies inside so we can have a more hands on approach. We have 2 whelping boxes that can easily be taken apart and stored when not in use. One is 2 ft tall and the other is 4. One dog likes the taller and the other prefers the shorter. We left an opening for the door and used 2x4's around the inside as a roll bar so the mamas wouldn't crush the puppies. For sanitary reasons we have since painted to the wood to make them easier to clean which I highly recomend. We have a layer of thick plastic on top of the floor, then a layer of overlapping disposable puppy pads. On top of those goes the washable pad and then a comfy bed for mom. During the whelping I will place dispoable puppy pads over everything to to any mess can be quickly disposed of and mom has a dry clean place to bond with her puppies.
After the layers are complete we make a cozy bed with bones and toys mom enjoys. Also note we never let another dog step foot in this area. We want mom to feel at home and not smell other dogs or feel she needs to defend her whelping area. This box is 6x6.
We use a small cart outside of the whelping area but within reach to hold all of our sullplies. We also have a small area outside the opening blocked off with an xpen so mom can leave the box if she wants but not go far. Notice the lip on the opening so young puppies cannot follow. Dog moms need breaks too. I also like to have paper towels and a small trash can near by.
Pictured is our shorter whelping box. This one is on the smaller end but is still large enough for mom and puppies to stretch out and move around. We attach the camera to the box so we can check on them when we are not in there. This box is 4x6