Our Puppy Nursery
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Our Puppy Nursery |
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We thought you
would like to see our puppy nursery. This is where we whelp our litters.
It is one of the bedrooms upstairs directly across from our bedroom. We
keep a gate in the doorway of the nursery so we can keep the door open
at all times. The nursery has 2 big windows, so it gets gets lots of
sunlight. It is very important that our babies get vitamin D from the
sun as they grow. We want them raised in a bright, warm, happy
environment. This is also important for momma as well. We have
everything the puppies will need... including anything we may need for
unforeseen emergencies and puppy intensive care. We are prepared so we
can respond immediately, since 9 times out of 10 the puppies arrive in
the middle of the night. We feel that it's important for our families to
see how their puppies are cared for from the moment they arrive. If we
have more than one litter at the same time, we put a whelping box in the
spare room next to the nursery. These rooms face each other, are the
same size, and have the same bright windows. We also have a space in our
bedroom for Andee's whelping box. It is a bit smaller than the other's
since she is our mini. Our dogs are our family and they are used to
being spoiled. Even when they have a litter, they still want to be part
of the family... So, it's only fair that they are all kept very close to
us during the process, and that momma and puppies are very well cared
for at all times.
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| Goldie in the whelping box. She is in early stage labor, so we are monitoring her. We put a quilt over the box, so momma feels like she is in a den. At this stage they like to go under the bed or furniture, so we try to simulate a nice den for them. | This is our supply cart. It has everything we need for whelping and puppy intensive care. It is on wheels, so we can move it to wherever we need it. The table gives us more area to work on the puppies. | As you can see, our supply cabinet is well stocked with anything we may need. On the right is our puppy scale and warming box. This is where we weigh them and put on their ID collars after they are born. |
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| It is EXTREMELY important that momma has fresh water and food at all times. After the puppies are born, we supplement with a goats milk shake twice a day while they are nursing. It contains goats milk, a raw egg, renet, flaxseed oil and honey. This is an excellent source of calcium they need while they are nursing. We also double their food intake and add puppy food to their diet so they will also get the extra calories they need during this time. | Of course we must have a work space. This way we can be with mamma and the puppy at all times and still be responsive to email and get communication out to our puppy families as things progress. We try to keep our families informed each step of the way. This is of course your new family member, so we feel you should be involved through the entire process. |
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