Are you planning your first ever dog whelping and you don't know how to begin? You've come to the right place! This article will show you everything that you will need to breed your first litter.

Puppy breeding can be a fun and rewarding activity, especially if you love dogs.

While it is a very exciting process, you always need to remember that breeding comes with some very serious responsibilities. 

The whole goal is to bring as many healthy and happy beating hearts into the world as safely and humanely as possible.

Breeding pups requires proper planning and a few mandatory whelping supplies that will make you and your animals lives so much easier.

With the right breeding supplies, you'll be setting yourself up for success to breed the largest and healthies litter possible. All while giving your laboring momma maximum comfort and happiness.

When it comes to breeding, your whelping supplies can make or break you. There are a few necessary items that every breeder needs. They will dramatically increase your odds of success. 

1. Whelping Box

A whelping box is a large box shaped item (usually 48" x 48") that designates the area in which puppy whelping is to occur. They help give momma privacy, shelter, and comfort. They are also designed to keep the puppies safe and secure during labor and early life after birth. 

All whelping boxes are NOT created equal!

Traditionally, breeders would use whelping boxes made from wood (since this is what was thought to be the most efficient material). This has been scientifically proven to be false.

There are many reasons why old fashioned wood whelping boxes are a thing of the past.

• wood whelping boxes harbor disease and bacteria
• impossible to clean
• wood is very bulky and heavy
• storage is a pain
• a whelping box made from wood requires a series of tools, carpentry skills, and a lot hard work

Those are only a few of the reasons why whelping boxes made from wood are inefficient, unhealthy, and unsafe.

What DOES make a great whelping box, in short, is the exact opposite of all those issues above. 

Why you need to buy a plastic whelping box like the PUPez Whelping Box

• The PUPez Whelping Box has a sealed surface, making it impossible for bacteria and disease to penetrate the material
• Wipes completely clean in seconds
• Extremely lightweight, easy to assemble, and easy to store
• Includes the Puppy Safety Rail System (saves puppies from being squished by momma and gives them a feeling of comfort and safety)
• Adjustable entrance to accommodate the size of your momma, while keeping the pups contained

These are just a few of the reasons what make the PUPez Whelping Box the perfect whelping box for everyone. Whether you are a new breeder or 30 years in the business, this whelping box was built for you.

You can check out our whelping box here.

Now that you have chosen the perfect whelping box, all of your other preparation frustration has now vanished. It's time to get the right whelping mat.

2. Whelping Mat

 

A good whelping mat, you are risking the health and the comfort for not only momma, but the puppies as well.

Newspaper, towels, or blankets do not cut it. They do not have the built in design and layers that an actual whelping mat has. They cannot match the warmth, absorbency, and safety a whelping mat creates.




Because of this, a whelping mat is the only true solution to place under your whelping box during breeding. A litter lying on a cold floor will harm them.





So, as you choose the perfect whelping box, make sure to buy a warm and easy-to-clean whelping mat to lay inside the box.

3. Whelping Heating Pad

A whelping heating pad is an excellent way maintain warmth inside the whelping box for momma and the pups.

While there are a few other safety precautions to take to ensure that you have the right temperature for momma and the new litter, a whelping heating pad can help greatly.

• Easy to regulate
• Emits safe heat
• Requires low energy cost
• Keeps momma and pups warm

The whelping heating pad regulates a consistent temperature and doesn't require a lot of energy. This allows for you to leave it turned on all day and all night without worrying if it is too hot, or costing you a fortune on your electric bill.

Whelping heating pads emit non-ion heat, which is safe for puppies and keeps the new litter warm and toasty.




A whelping heating pad is recommended since they are easy to regulate and they emit safe heat that will not harm the litters.

4. Whelping Collars

Whelping collars are another tool in the experienced breeders arsenal that are worth every penny. Quality whelping collars are reusable, easily disinfected, and last forever.

There a few reasons why an experienced breeder will use special whelping collars for their litters.

• Easily identify each pup (whelping collars are always color coded)
• Help monitor their size, weight, and monitor growth and development
• Easily allow potential buyers to know which pups are sold and which still need a home

An experienced breeder will make sure to take weight and measurements of each new puppy in the litter when they are born. This will give you the birth measurements and a base foundation to understand their development over the next few weeks or even few months.

The whelping collar color code assigned to each pup will make it very easy to decipher who is who without making any errors. This is key to keeping your data as accurate as possible.

Another benefit of having color coded whelping collars is to let potential buyers know right away which puppies need homes, and which are already spoken for. When a buyer shows up later to pick up their new addition to the family, it would be very embarrassing to mistakenly sold their pup to another buyer. This will not bode well for future litters.
 
When shopping for whelping collars, you want to make sure to invest in something that will be comfortable for the pups and do not cause irritation, colors that are easy to distinguish, and collars that are designed to last. 

Conclusion

There are a few essential products you need in order to have a successful whelping. Some are more important than the others. But we recommend all of them if you want to avoid the problems that many rookie breeders face in their first whelping.

All breeders agree that the most important product you need is a whelping box. The right whelping box will set the tone for a successful birth for YOU, momma, and the pups. 



At the end of the day, while getting prepared for the big day, if you always remember to think of the pups, momma, AND YOURSELF, you will be on the right track for a successful whelping.