The whelping box

[eidna22]

Have any of you used the Dura Whelp whelping box? What is your preferred method? I have seen great use of children's swimming pools and am wondering if a dura whelp is worth the money. I realize that at some point nothing will hold these pups back

[selzer]

I went with the rolls royce of whelping boxes, the jonart. They cost an arm and a leg, but after five years of service it is as good as new, easy to clean, etc. I like that it is insulated from the floor and is very sturdy.

[boeselager]

I went with the dura whelping box. It is nice but not too sturdy. I think you could make one yourself a lot cheaper than what I paid for mine. Chris Wild has a nice whelping box that they made for their dogs.

Sue, is there a website for your whelping box?

[selzer]

Yes, here it is, it is even more expensive now:

Jonart Whelping Box

The thing is, I really like it, and I have left pups in and around it for over five months without them EATING it, so, it is durable.

I got the 48x48.

[alaman]

I had a carpenter make me one that looks like new after 5 years. 5/8" plywood, protection shelf around the inside, front has slot for several boards to fit to allow ease of dam to exit box. Covered with stick-on shelf paper on sides to make it easy to clean. Cost $125

[Smithie86]

We tried a durawhelp. based on another breeder's(in the area) recommendation. She has two and uses them with no issues.

Not again. Not sturdy enough at all. Gabor built two instead.

[Chris Wild]

The Jonart box looks super nice, but yikes on the price. I don't think any whelping box is worth that! I also prefer something larger than 4x4, especially when the pig rails are in there.

I've never tried the Durawhelp and have heard mixed reviews from others. It seems they are not durable enough for some dogs, which isn't a surprise given the materials and construction. But other breeder's love them and have ones that are still going strong after several litters. So it really would depend on the individual female I think.

Most breeders I know use homemade wood whelping boxes. Our first whelping box was wood, covered with coat upon coat of hard enamel paint to seal the wood so it didn't soak up nasties and to make cleaning easier. It was sturdy, and cheap, and certainly did the job. Downside was it needed to be repainted after pretty much every litter due to claw/teeth marks, and it was so huge and heavy it was not easy to move for cleaning, storage, etc..

Our current whelping box that I absolutely LOVE was homemade by DH out of PVC privacy fence. Very sturdy and durable. It's been used for 4 litters now and is pretty much as good as new. Super easy to clean, no worries about it soaking up fluids, just wipe it down. Lightweight enough to be easy to move around for cleaning or changing the pads on the floor. Disassembles pretty easily for storage and reassembles in just a few minutes. Did I mention I LOVE it?

We probably spent around $300-$350 for materials as the PVC fence panels weren't cheap and we used 3 of them as we wanted a 5x5 whelping box instead of the more common 4x4. It did take quite some ingenuity to figure out how to make the whole thing and provide enough support in the corners, but we're very happy with the end result.

[elisabeth_00117]

Chris, although I am not a breeder, your set up is amazing!

I love how your girls have so much room to stretch out and it gives the babies room to explore too when older. Love it!

[eidna22]

Chris do you by any chance have some sort of instructions for your design? I have to admit I would have never thought of that. I will no longer be considering the durawhelp. I did think it may be a bit hinky for larger breeds. I think for toy breeds it may work very well but a 60lb bitch leaning up against corrugated plastic in her spot over and over must take its toll. I think the Jonart is another option but does seem over priced. I guess you do get to use it more than once so... Chris I hope you have instructions and dimensions! You may need to patent that! Now the waiting game continues for my girl!

[Chris Wild]

No instructions, no. The concept is pretty simple, just a big of aggrivation to pull it off. It's just 3 panels screwed together, with another shorter board across the front, also screwed on, to provide bracing. Tim cut the panels to the size we wanted, and installed wood braces in the corners (slid inside the slats) to provide support and give us something solid to put the screws into. Getting the wood bracing installed was the biggest headache as they had to be slid up inside the slats and that required cutting out lots of little plastic pieces to make room to slide the wood in.