Ok dog breeders another question for you all..

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

What do you all use for your mom and pups as they get older?

Right now the pups are in a crate a plastic one with the top off so mom can come and go as she pleases. However they are going to be walking pretty soon (they can all get up on all 4's and make it a few steps before falling )

I am going to need something bigger and big enough to have a room for them to be contained yet play and have a potty spot.

Ok so I am here with them almost all the time so I can clean pretty much as soon as they go potty most of the day and a couple times at night.

I have looked at the dog exercise pens they are small about 4x4 I am told.

I am thinking of maybe making a "box" out of the small diamond shape lattice with something washable or asto turf or something on the bottom.

It needs to be fairly moveable and really after these pups I wont be using it again no more pups here but I would like something I can contain them in for a while to help get thru the puppy stage safely for those that we are keeping.

So what do you all use? How much space do they really need? I am thinking that we will take them out a couple at a time for playing and more room but I wont be able to keep an eye on all 5 at once

Love to hear what works for you

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Lisa, when I had the schipperkids I bought one of the exercise pens. 8 sides, I got the 40" tall one with a door. Mind I only had Fia and the 2 but it was a great thing. I put in a small box to sleep, cut a shower curtain to fit the circle and laid out newspaper or wee wee pads. The pups learned quickly to potty on the papers. I also have a big porch out front and I took orange snow fence and tied it all around the perimeter and put up a baby gate. That way on nice days they could spend the days outside. They had a box and potty papers out there also. I can try to find the link if you like. I paid $50 for mine off ebay! I was able to leave the door open so Fia could jump in and out by duct taping an 8" piece of cardboard across the doorway. Hope this helps.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I use the spare room- sorry, I know that is not much help!!!

 

[Gena]

What I love using is a plastic swimming pool (my sheltie friends do this too, we use them to whelp in too, you can keep everything very clean and as they whelp each puppy you can turn the pool instead of them) We start out with the smaller size and then move them into a bigger one as they grow. The pools are easy for the moms to jump in and out of. They have their newspaper potty spot and their blanket sleeping spot. I use the Clorox wipes to wipe down the whole inside of the pool once in the morning and once at night. When they get older they will figure out how to climb out (about 6 weeks old) so I then put the xpen around the swimming pool. Because of the pool I can put them in the livingroom on the carpet when we are in there or move them to the kitchen when we are in there. Our kitchen and dining room are together and have tile, we have gates that close and let them run a few times a day the whole area and they love that...I just put the newspaper down on the tile and they will use that to go potty. By the time they are 8 weeks old they are completely potty trained this way and makes it easy for their new owners. We will also a couple times a day take them outside to get use to the grass and outside. We also give them different noisy toys to play with...I will also run the vacuum around them, bang kitchen pans etc. so they are used to noises. When they are about 6 weeks old they potty A LOT so cleaning does become a lot of work but they are also so much fun at this age

 

[user 488]

I use a plastic swimming pool too. Works great. Plenty of space to play. I put a small crate in the pool so they can go in it and sleep.........like their den. Mom can come and go as she pleases. I use the spare bedroom for this and at night I close the door so mom can still get out of the pool but not too far away from the pups.

 

[keeperofthehorses]

I used to have one of those nice whelping pens, basically an exercise pen with a floor that could be adjusted to different hights, and a lid. It was great for small breeds but really heavy, and metal so it scratched the floor. So I too became a member of the blue pool club for my golden litter. I lined the bottom with paper and those flannel hospital blankets on top. I did put an xpen around the pool (perfect fit, by the way) more to keep daddy out, as momma had had enough of him.

Another thing I've done for my terriers is taken a large airline crate (the plastic ones with the vents), taken off the top half and taped a little piece of cardboard across the door, so momma can step over and out, but the little crawlers cant. Those are a bit smaller than the pools.

My favorite is my sisters old setup. She just turned a closet into a materninty ward, put a baby gate across the door.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Thanks everyone for the ideas.. wish I could find a plastic pool here in ID this time of year

 

[gimp]

I also used a plastic pool. I suggest putting a "wanted" ad on Craig's List or Freecycle or perhaps checking out the neighborhood for someone with small kids...they would likely donate one to you for a peek at the pups

:

 

[Cronewolf]

:saludando: We always used an old fashioned slated play pen, the wooden kind, with rabbit wire around the outside. Covered the floor with tile for easy cleaning and newspapered that. All of our pups were paper trained when they went to their new homes. The puppy pen then folded and put away until the next batch. A good friend of mine who was disabled bred Chihuahua used bassanetts with a shoe box in one end. That way she didn't have to bend over to clean the puppy pen. She lined them up along the back of the coach to make it easy for the mothers to get in and out. She always had 3 or 4 litters at a time and this was perfect for her.

 

[EAD Minis]

We have an outside run for Nella that goes into our 'playhouse' which is a lil insulated shed. She has a small box the go into that has a heat lamp and blankets and straw. its VERY cozy and she can go in or outside wen she wants. I LOVE it.

:

 

[Stacy Score]

Hi Lisa

Well, guess I'm not the only one who uses a kiddie pool (and I thought I was so unique last summer when I thought this up!) -- I actually line the pool with that cheap carpet you can get at Home Depot - I cut out several circles that fit the bottom and have wee wee pads in one spot for them to learn on - carpet gets tossed each week, but it is not slippery for them to walk around on - they are really cute playing in their pool - but eventally do learn how to crawl out!

Craig's list is a good idea, and you might try some daycare people, or put up signs in some of the suburban developments that have a lot of kids - your local Fred Meyer probably still has pools left over from summer, but it might be hard to get someone to help you dig one out this time of year!

Stac

 

[disneyhorse]

My friend use(s) those black rectangle cement mixing trays from Home Depot or wherever. Sort of like a kiddie pool, but maybe easier to find this time of year?

Andrea