John D
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Missouri
Posts: 4321 |
I've got a litter of 12 pups that were born in an oversized dog house about 4 weeks ago and all have made it so far. We had some single digit temperatures right after they were born and several cold nights since.
I've had a heat lamp in from the beginning and for those first few critical days I had a heat pad in for them.
New born pups need 85-90 deg. After the first few days the temp can go down.
The pups will tell you if its too cold or not. If they are crying and piling up, shaking and cold to the touch then they are too cold. Do something or you will lose them if they are newborn. A heat lamp is nice because if the temp. is right they will be in a pile underneath it and resting quietly and comfortably. If they get too hot, they will start scattering out and may even lay outside the range of the lamp. Another nice thing about a heat lamp is it keeps the pups from piling in a corner where they are more likely to get laid on. Its good to have a big enough area that the mother can lay away from the heat just a little. She won't like it as warm as it needs to be for the pups.
You can regulate a heat lamp's temp. by using either a 250 or 125 watt heat bulb. If the 125 watt heat bulb is too much, just use a regular 120 watt light bulb.
As far as flaps on a house, you have to be careful of making it too tight. All the humidity from the animals breathing in a small aread may condense and make it humid and stuffy.
P.S. Here they are, today getting some soaked food. I've got the lid on the house raised and the heat lamp is attached to it.

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Last edited by John D on 12-29-2009 at 11:14 PM
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