In or out

bubbatd, that one is 6' by 6'.

the big part is for the actual whelping, and where the puppies stay for the first 2 to 3 weeks.

The small area in the front is for the bitch to get away from the puppies if the wants to in week 2 and 3, and then it is their potty area.

I have slats that slide in, so I can make the height of the opening between the 2 areas zero, or 8, 16, or 24 inches.

This is my second box, and I thought long and hard on the design before my hubby built it for me.

the bottom has a piano hinge down the center so that it can fold in half for storage. The pig rails are PVC. I've only used it once so far, but it was great, ESPECIALLY the potty area for the puppies from 3 weeks until 6-8 weeks, when I begin crate training them.

That's what I liked about yours...do your roll bars pull out when the danger's over ??? Your size fooled me ! Mine was built over a trundle bedframe ...my hubby wasn't as handy as yours. !!! I think a stickie would be good in the breeding section. Plus mention of the book " How To Raise A Puppy You Can Live With " !!!

Yes, the pig rails come out, I take them down when they are about 3 weeks old usually.

I can also remove the center partition if I need to as well.

I have a whelping box similar to RedyreRottweilers but have not had the chance to use it yet. When Zoe had her first litter I cleaned out my walk in closet in my bedroom, layed down a piece of linoleum (sp) to protect the carpet and then I was able to sleep in my bed but always have an eye or ear out for the pups. I cannot imagine them being outside of my house! For the first couple weeks I was with them nonstop.

I put a cot in the garage and slept there with them the 1st few days. One litter , I hadn't put it away, came down in the morning and Mom was on the cot with her crew !!! She was so pleased with herself. Scared the you know what out of me !!

I whelp inside the house, we have a garage I use for whelps.But after the first couple of weeks they're moved outside into kennels.

I don't have an honest kennel set up just a dog run for when we need to confine them outside for a bit...

ALL my girls whelp inside in the spare room/playroom...I sleep in the whelping area for the first weeks, too. LOL.

the pen is there in the closet...ex penned around to keep them together. Later on when they're bigger the have time wandering the room and some outside too. Supervised.

Depends on the breed. Many LGDs whelp litters outside in the barn. Some hard core stockmen believe that that is the only way for them to be good guard dogs (not that I agree).

All my dogs whelp in the home. I personally could not stand the idea of their being trouble and me not knowing and being ready to assist.

I've yet to breed a litter in my adult life, but I couldn't see letting the mom whelp outside. Perhaps its because my dogs are house dogs, and maybe I'd feel differently if they were out in kennels or whatnot. But if I ever decide to breed a litter, I want to be there for the whole thing, and have mom and pups nearby for monitoring.

I did breed my male to a female who had a very nice outside kennel area .... I almost didn't breed until they assured me that they would camp out with her ( summertime ). They even built a whelping pen to satisfy me .....Luckily all went well ! To me it really depends on the area .... but I prefer an indoor whelp with constant monitoring .