puppies in winter

I DONT EVEN WANT TO GET INTO THE REASON FOR THERE BEING 9 FRIGGIN PUPPIES AT MY HOUSE....BUT WHO HERE HAS HAD PUPPIES IN THE WINTER TIME? IM TALKING 9 DEGREES BALL-SHRINKIN COLD. HAVE YOU EVER HAD ANY COMPLICATIONS DUE TO THE TEMP? HERE IS A BOX I HAD TO BUILD TO BRING THE LITTER INDOORS. IT IS 8'x8'x2' PARTICLE BOARD. THERE ARE TWO CLAMPED HEAT-LAMPS OVERLOOKING THE AREA AS WELL AS A SPACE HEATER BEHIND THAT FAR WALL THAT'S WARMING UP THAT ENTIRE WALL SPACE. I PLACED INDUSTRIAL ABSORBANT MATERIAL DOWN ON THE CONCRETE FOR INSULATION FROM THE COLD GROUND, THEN 40 POUNDS OF SHAVED RED CEDAR ONTOP OF THAT. THE PUPS ARE DOING GREAT, AND HAVE ALOT OF SPACE TO WOBBLE AROUND THE SPACE WILL HELP WHEN THEY GET A LITTLE BIGGER. THIS IS ALSO MY FIRST REAL WINTER, NOT JUST MY DOGS'.....SO IM LEARNING. IM FROM PHOENIX FOR GOD SAKES!

 

You are doing the right thing by bringing them indoors. Although we don't have that severe of temps, we have still seen pups die in temperatures under 50 degrees F despite heat lamps, warm water bottles, etc.

 

I bought a cheap electric heater from meijer's and cut out a hole in the roof (yeah, I put a roof on it) of my brood box. I'd be careful with the cedar chips, I had pups choke and die from them.

When I had pups in the winter, I had them on a kinda drafty enclosed front porch, so I was paranoid about them freezing. Well, my paranoia almost lead to me killing them from too much heat. One day I looked in the box and they were all panting like crazy. I left the heat lamp on 24-7 after that and they were all fine. Im in Michigan out in the country and it gets mighty cold here too. I dont have pups that often, but I SWEAR i'll never have them in the winter again.
Good luck!!


YFIS

 

for now the wobbly lil critters might be happy on the litter but a lil while and they will dig up the insulation....need to rethink that... they will go thru anything to get what they smell underfoot....since you have spent that much already a bit of correction wont be much....also to keep heat in and not all over a very light capping that can be **peeled**back for easy access to the cleaning of your pups is a good deal... thinking nice canvas on pvc poles or what you got handy... that will keep heat from the normal travel preference of heat to float upwards and away from the very area you are heating up!! so with the nice tarp type top canvas is super nice..the heat you are working so hard to provide your babies will stay put...... and please please rethink what is under them to make them safe.... when i had some pups i used that blue tarp that is water resistant around here that size is 99cents....at northerntool co... makes it easy to clean too... then i piled lots and lots of paper **unshredded** and then some shredded becuz the shredded kinda wraps itself around the poo and makes it easy to get .... hope anything i got on here makes some sense...and helps..

good luck with your babies

 

I keep the temp at 72 in my house year around. In the summer it gets hot here and cold enough in the winter to kill pups so I always bring the bitch in about five days prior to welping. Helping dry and clean them with towels when the bitch is laboring. warm damp rags help also. I use linnin not wood chips till they are about two weeks or more. Changing it often enough. They shit some. lol I have one brood kennel out side with a heater in it that I can turn on in the winter if I have more than one litter. That is very rare. But now that I am retired knowing me I will be building my yard up again. Maybe not maybe so. Any way keeping them warm but not too warm is key also dry and out of the breeze. I have a 110 gallon water trough made of that black plastic stuff and put it in my laundry room at that time. 72 is warm enough and cool enough in the summer.

 

I GOT LOADS AND LOADS OF THE ABSORBANT PADS. I CAN GET EM FROM WORK (DISHONEST, I KNOW. BUT....) AND I HAVE A NEW 40 LB BACK OF CEDAR TO CHANGE ONCE EVERY SATURDAY. THE CANVAS TOP THING IS A GOOD IDEA. MIGHT HELP KEEP THE POWER BILL DOWN TOO THOSE ABSORBANT PADS ARE EXTREMELY HEAVYWEIGHT FOR THOSE LITTLE BOOGERS TO LIFT UP (FOR RIGHT NOW). AND WHEN THEY GET OLD ENOUGH TO DO SO...THEY'LL PROBABLY BE OLD ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE TEMP OF THE CONCRETE FLOOR THAT IS UNDERNEATH. THANKS FOR THE INFO....IM GETTIN GOOD IDEAS....