Whelp Kit

You will need important Whelp Kit supplies to be ready if anything happens while your dam is giving birth. A good whelping supply list must be complete although there is a very slim chance for you to use it; you should actually wish not to use it. Yet, your whelping supplies have to be easily and quickly available at all times during your bitch’s end of pregnancy.

While the dam is giving birth, you should stay well away to supervise the whole process. However, if anything requires your intervention, use gloves to be as sterile as possible. Do not manipulate and handle the puppies or the dam with bare hands, you could pass on your dirty microbes to them.

If you read our post on how to give special care to new born puppies after birth, you will know to keep track of each puppy’s weight as the progression of weight must be noticeable and follow some pattern.

Speak to your vet to get the breed’s “normal” weight for the first couple of weeks. You will need to regularly check your pups’ weight, individually, using a quality set of puppy scales. It’s a good idea to disinfect the scale after you checked the whole litter.

Often, even if everything goes well, you need to monitor and track your puppies’ temperature. The main reason behind this is new born pups are unable to regulate their own body temperature. They need their mum / dad to make sure they stay warm, otherwise, this could be a serious situation for the puppy’s if their temperature was to fall too low. To take the temperature, use a rectal thermometer, and a lubricant like vaseline and you will need to leave it in the pup’s anus for a minute to get the correct temperature.