Tips & Tricks

The Whelping Box

Disposable whelping box liners are a great help in cleaning of your whelping box. They come precut and sized to fit both 36"x36" and 48"x48" boxes. They are very economical ($1.05 for 12 or more of the 48" size) and provide absorbency in order to keep your puppies dry. They can be ordered through the J-B Wholesale catalog (800) 526-0388.

Also great for the whelping box (after pups are weaned) and other areas where you need absorbency, is shredded computer paper. I shred this myself at work in order to make sure that only computer paper is in the bag (I have found people shredding transparencies and staples at work so opt to do it myself). Or, you can find a company (or several) that just throw away their shredded computer paper and offer to pick it up for them. I figure that I have used at least 100 bags so far. This is excellent for putting in the crates when shipping puppies. It helps keep them clean (or clean them up after they have been romping in the dirt) and they love bouncing through it just like kids in a pile of leaves when you first put it in. The only drawback I have found is that it is very dusty in the rest of the house (the pups don't seem to have a problem with it).

Clean-up

A great item to have around if you need to clean up runny poo or vomit (anything very liquid) is a dustpan with a rubber edge and a window squeegee. Just pull the liquid into the dustpan with the squeegee and dump. The pan and squeegee can be hosed clean easily and disinfected with bleach.