What You Need for a Mama Dog
Planning on fostering a pregnant Mama dog? Here’s a list of what you might need:
* A few good resources on how to whelp puppies.
* A secluded room away from family commotion and other animals.
* A door that closes and nothing in it that you would mind getting ruined – including the door and walls.
* A floor that is easily cleaned with a bleach solution.
* A space heater that you can leave on all day and all night without fear of fires. Not one of those kinds that blows hot air. We have an oil one. You could also use a heat lamp. You need to keep the room at 85 degrees Fahrenheit for the first two weeks of the pups’ lives. They can’t control their own body temperature on their own until 4 weeks of age.
* An area for whelping, nursing, and eating, and a space far enough away from those for elimination (for those stray Mamas who weren’t house trained.)
* A plastic or wood “box” with sides high enough so little young pups can’t crawl out but older, bigger ones can. We use a small turtle sandbox – it is perfect. I’ve also heard of people using plastic swimming pools. With Bella I build a box that was too big and she hated it. Never used it.
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