Progress

Despite the amount of time we have to wait we are already quite busy preparing for the litter from Yara and Miro. All kinds of things must be purchased and chosen. Numerous options are available and every now and then all these choices make you doubt a little.

This is also the case with the whelping box. Searching, doubting, more searching and checking. What size is good, what material should I choose? A whelping box doesn’t come cheap so it would be a waste if you throw it out after 1 time because you are not totally happy with it. When you start the hunt for the perfect whelping bos the choices are overwhelming. Different materials, shapes, heights, sizes, gadgets..

The original idea was to make the whelping box ourselves from a lightweight material. This way you can make it exactly how you want it. Because of certain circumstances this idea did not come through. So then we were on the lookout for somebody that makes good, decent whelping boxes. I almost got seduced by the cheaper options but after doing some research with other breeders those seem to come with several flaws like crevices or sharp corners. This is not something I want of course. After a while you can buy a new box because the cheap one does not complety fits your needs. After asking around I found Fokkersplaza. I have not found any bad reviews about this company yet. Their boxes are quite pricey though. After even more doubts I decided to take the plunge and look at this: Yara her beautiful whelping box!

Well, I am ready!

It has arrived yesterdag and I am already very happy with it! It is very solid, it can be disassembled, light weight and nice and light. I deliberately took a larger size (90 x 105 cm). This way I can come and join Yara and the puppies in the whelping box and Yara can choose to lie down outside the heat of the heating lamp. The lamp is ceramic by the way. In contrast to an infrared lamp that gives a red light the ceramic lamp only gives heat with no light. This is nice and convenient for making pictures and for the people that are watching our puppycam. The box has another nice feature: a split side. This split side makes reaching in during birth much easier. I absolutely hope it will become a real whelping box and not just a box where the puppies will stay. I very much hope for a natural birth for Yara her future litter. I hope the puppies will not come to this world through a c-section, wich is very common in the breed.

Look, everybody can see easily in the box like this!

The whelping box will be standing in our living room, in a quiet place. The puppies will be in contact with a lot of sounds and smells that are common in any household. These are nice socialization moments.

Of course this is not all we will need for the puppies. I am still on the hunt for THE perfect puppy pen, among thousands of other things. When I have made my decision and I have the products at home they will be shared with you all of course!