How To - Whelping and Weaning Dogs

By Russell Hancock

Puppies can bring exciting times into any home and some simple pointers to keep in mind with whelping puppies can help ease the process of puppy rearing. Firstly, looking at how packs raise pups can offer some insight on how to effectively emulate an environment that will allow your mother dog to properly rear her offspring. Choose a room of your house that your dog can use for at least a month as her whelping room. This room should be kept dark as much as possible. Black lights or red light bulbs can allow humans to see what is going on, however straight white lights can hurt a puppy's eyes and potentially affect his or her vision in the future.

This whelping room may look similar to a cave, keep it dark, and warm, however provide areas with fans blowing so that the mother can cool off. A chair or a sofa may be utilized by the mother to rest when she wants to get away from her pups for a little while, however make sure that the chair is situated close to the area that the pups are in as most likely she will want to be able to see them as she rests.

Always keep ample supplies of food and water on hand for the mother to eat and drink as she sees fit. A little mother's milk to the mother can help her in producing her milk as well. Always limit the flow of people in the whelping-room. Typically, one person should be the main person maintaining the water and food supply as well as conducting the linen changes in the room. Too many people flowing in and out of the room can cause the mother stress and as most people know, mother dogs in stress can respond very harshly. Provide a safe and quiet environment for your mother and make every attempt to limit any unusual sounds in the house. Limiting people coming over is a good idea as well, since unfamiliar scents can cause a mother stress as well.

Puppies can be very exciting, however newborn pups should not be directly handled unless absolutely necessary. Only one person should handle the pups when they are very young and when doing so, be sure to move slowly in an effort to make sure that the mother dog understands what is being done so that a harsh response is not received. Through these careful tips, pups will arrive in the next stage of their life in a healthy manner, which is when they are in the explorative frame of mind, and interaction with sounds and people provides for healthy development.

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