How to Build a Square Whelping Box

A square whelping box will provide your dog with a place to give birth. The best boxes will be the right size for your dog and will provide you with a chance to help in whelping if needed. Whelping boxes should also be the place where your dog will raise her puppies.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Plywood
• Nails or screws
• Blankets or towels
• Sandpaper

1. Cut one piece of plywood 3-by-3 feet for the floor of the box. Cut three pieces of plywood 3-feet-by-10-inches high for three sides of the box. Cut a fifth piece of plywood 3-feet long by 3-inches high for the last side of the box.

2. Screw or nail the four sides of the box to the flat edges of the 3-foot-by-3-foot floor panel. You should have an open top box that has three tall sides and one short side. Be sure that the sides are flush against each other. Do not let them overlap.

3. Sand around the outer edges of the sides of the box so that there are no slivers or exposed and jagged wood.

4. Line the interior of the box with felt, towels or old blankets.

5. Present the box to the mother dog in a place that is quiet and out of the way. It should also be a place where the mother can easily and safely raise her puppies. Remind the mother of the whelping box at several points during the duration of her pregnancy. As she goes into labor, be sure that she is in the box, or that you have moved her to the box in order to have her puppies. Once she has had her puppies in the box, she will leave them there.

Tips & Warnings

• Using scraps of old towels allows you to change them out when they are dirty.
• Do not leave your mother dog unattended in the whelping box as she is giving birth.

References

• Whelping Box