Whelping supplies

911Newfs

911Newfs

New member
Interested in knowing what items you, as a breeder, keep on hand for whelping. I have my first litter due on the 18th and of course have all the general items (hemostats, scissors, feeding supplies, heating pad, towels, paper, and the list goes on). What are some of the items you have that are not typical that you feel are essential to have on hand?
And, yes, we are using Whelp Wise! :)








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victoria1140

victoria1140

Active member
a huge stack of towels, a good supply of coffee in case its a long birthing, safe whelping area , a fan that can blow hot and cold, blankets , newspaper for toilet training, a big, big list of questions to ask potential owners.
a good camera video or stills to record everything

have your vets on stanby just in case as ifit is a difficult birth then it is so useful to be able to talk to someone.

get a good supply of mops and buckets, feeding trays ( we used cat litter trays) for later use, plenty of disinfectant , a good washing machine, worming syrup, mild shampoo for when they need a bath.

also if this is your first time a lot of patience, as they are time consuming . a good therapist as you will be crying when these pups go you will obsess about them in their new homes and probably drive their new owners mad with phone calls checking up on their welfare

enjoy them and hope it all goes well
 
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911Newfs

911Newfs

New member
lots of towels - check
coffee (have a commercial grade Bunn airpot brewer) - check
whelping box - check
blankets - check
tons of newspaper - check
puppy questionnaire - check
camera and camcorder, both with extra rechargeable battery packs (and tri-pod) - check
vet on standby (Saturday due date) - check
a fan that can blow hot and cold - do not have
feeding supplies - check
mop, cleaning supplies - check
good washing machine/dryer with sanitize feature - check
worming syrup - getting from vet
mild shampoo - check
patience - most of the time :)
good therapist - several available (Saphira's breeder, all my Newf friends)





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Pipelineozzy

Pipelineozzy

New member
Thermometer
Scale
Chart to record weights
Chart to record whelping progress
cordless phone so you don't have to run for the phone - preferably with a mentor on the other end..lol.
hand sanitizer and lube, or good latex disposable gloves, if you are inclined to use them (I don't)
baby wipes for cleaning little bums if mom isn't great at it..(they work well to "help" them poop if she isn't doing the job)
Cloth diapers...(which I prefer to towels..I have piles of the plain white flannelette ones, which are FAR superior to paper..I can slide them in under mom's backside and absorb fluids etc.) I use dozens of these, but I detest newspaper and never use it. HATE wet sticky newspaper, I'd rather wash sheets and diapers.
Access to cold running water..for that difficult to start puppy..running cold water on their little butt will often snap them into action if other efforts fail.
Milk and honey...for the bitch that is getting exhausted. The calcium seems to help.
A foamie mattress...I lay on the floor of the whelping box with the bitch when she is in labor.
I like my heat lamp...(which I also lay under while the bitch is in labor..lol.)
Bleach..to get the stains off everything..including your hands..after the whelping.
 
911Newfs

911Newfs

New member
Sun Valley said:
Most importantly...sleep...get as much as you can BEFORE puppies arrive...:)
LA
Click to expand...
Yes...certainly doing that as much as I can. I think this will result in yet another list:
Visine - to get the red out
Ice pack for puffy bags under eyes
Red Bull, 5 Hour Energy, etc.
Under eye concealer for those dark circles
:crazy:



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911Newfs

911Newfs

New member
Thermometer - check
Scale - check
Chart to record weights - check
Chart to record whelping progress - check
cordless phone so you don't have to run for the phone - preferably with a mentor on the other end..lol. - check
hand sanitizer and lube, or good latex disposable gloves, if you are inclined to use them (I don't) - check
baby wipes for cleaning little bums if mom isn't great at it..(they work well to "help" them poop if she isn't doing the job) - check (even the butt-wipe-warmer to keep them in)
Access to cold running water..for that difficult to start puppy..running cold water on their little butt will often snap them into action if other efforts fail. - check
Milk and honey...for the bitch that is getting exhausted. The calcium seems to help. - check
heat lamp...check (have a Lectro heat mat with rheostat)
Bleach..to get the stains off everything..including your hands..after the whelping.- check





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Codes

Codes

Active member
Ice cream!! Vanilla for her..dark chocolate for me:D Other than that, my list is pretty much like what everyone else keeps on hand. Oh I do keep fading puppy remedy on hand. I get that from Marina Zacharias www.naturalrearing.com

Also, a couple pups from my last litter were a bit constipated so I now keep laxatone on hand. That helped clear things up in no time.

Yeah to Whelp wise!! Karen and her crew are awesome. I used them for both my litters and won't whelp a litter without them. I bought the whelping kit from them and love it. Best of luck to you!
 
911Newfs

911Newfs

New member
Codes said:
Ice cream!! Vanilla for her..dark chocolate for me:D Other than that, my list is pretty much like what everyone else keeps on hand. Oh I do keep fading puppy remedy on hand. I get that from Marina Zacharias www.naturalrearing.com

Also, a couple pups from my last litter were a bit constipated so I now keep laxatone on hand. That helped clear things up in no time.

Yeah to Whelp wise!! Karen and her crew are awesome. I used them for both my litters and won't whelp a litter without them. I bought the whelping kit from them and love it. Best of luck to you!
Click to expand...

Oh yes, ice cream!!! :)



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janices

janices

New member
Nothing to add to list that see offhand. My list pretty much like what everybody else keeps onhand. Best of luck to you!
 
DreamTime Newfs

DreamTime Newfs

New member
I use betadine and q-tips to clean the cords. This works great for drying them out. It would take me a year to list everything that I have for whelping supplies. Overkill is an understatement. That is the nurse in me. :) I find that baby wipes can irritate their little butts if used on a regular basis. I prefer cotton and a little warm water. It is a matter of preference.

Good luck!
 
cedarvalleynewfoundlands

cedarvalleynewfoundlands

New member
Everything said above plus feeding tubes, a DeeLee (sp?) Mucous trap, lactated ringers and syringes and needles (personally, I like the butterfly with 12 inch t
ubing) to give sub q fluids if necessary
 
911Newfs

911Newfs

New member
DreamTime Newfs said:
I use betadine and q-tips to clean the cords. This works great for drying them out. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Understand all too well (nursing, EMT, and firefighter background here). I have both Hibiclens and Betadine solution in the house at all times. :)

I have pretty much everything that has been listed, and some! More interested in knowing if there is anyone who needed something not typically found in a "whelping kit." Lou Ann mentioned the availability of fresh frozen plasma; I would not have thought to ask our vet to make sure this was on hand - never know, but certainly better to be safe than sorry.

Some people use hot water bottles, the Snuggle Safe discs, rice in a sock, etc. as a source for heat while taking puppies to the vet. As a hot water bottle cools down, they can also cool down the body temps of the puppies. One thing to get around this is instead of using water, use the rice in the water bottle. Rice will retain the heat much longer than the water and the cost of a water bottle is significantly more cost effective than the snuggle safe discs.

So, basically, just picking everyone's brains for those unusual things they use (or may not use).

Thank you everyone; a lot of great information!

And of course, with this being Saphira's first litter and my first litter, just want to make sure I have all bases covered, and then some! :)




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