Fluffy Havanese Pups

When the puppies are not around and life is normal, this is our regular set-up.  Each dog has its own regular size crate, and there is one big crate that two dogs can share.  Dodger must have his own small kennel.  Daisy and Missy like to share the big kennel, and Penny likes to not be kenneled at all.  (We didn't get her as a puppy, so we are litterally trying to teach an old dog a new trick.)  When we need to go out and we need assurance that our dogs won't destroy anything and that they are safe, all we need to say is "kennel up!" and they know just what to do.  Which ever kennels they end up in, we know they are safe. 

When the puppies come everything changes.  We now have the whelping box set up.  The whelping box is the box that the puppies are born in and then stay in the first several weeks.  A heat lamp is shone on part of the box so that the puppies never get cold, and Daisy doesn't get too hot.  Daisy very much controls the time that she is with the babies by laying outside the box, but within the pen when she does not want to nurse.  Once the puppies try to stand on their back legs to peer out of the box, the housing situation needs to change.  Since their legs are not strong enough to support that kind of weight, we remove the temptation and we move them into the big crate.  This way they do not need to stand up to see out.  Also by this point, they are pretty much weened and no longer need unrestricted access to Mommy.

The Whelping Box

All along the journey, we try to encourage the puppies to be playful.  Playfullness cannot be fostered by anyone but Missy.  Therefore, as much as the puppies will cooperate, we have "Playtime with Missy".  Pictures below are taken when the puppies were two weeks old, and was under the watchful eye of Daisy from behind the scenes.