I'm having puppies and need some help please

My Jack Russell is pg and is due at the end of May. I'm going to the vet to find out all the "medical" needs for her pg but what are the other things that I need to know. It will be cold outside, so I can't keep them outside, but what do I keep them in? I'm sure I don't want them running around my house and messing on everything. My girl normally sleeps on my bed so this is not an option for her and her puppies. Also, at what age do they start going outside and playing on the grass etc. I've never had puppies and am totally clueless. Any advice please.

You should get a 'crate' which is a large wire cage for mum and pups. Also I think you should have puppy formula on hand incase something happens with her milk and you need to feed them. She will most likely make her 'nest' where she wants, but provide her some bedding and get her used to the cage for a week or so before hand. Puppies aretotally blind for a while after birth - not entirely sure how long that is. The vet will be the best guide for advice though.

How exciting, ausgirl has given you some great advice. We give our dog Puppy Milk for a few weeks after the pups are born, just helps to give her some extra strength whilst feeding. All the best.

Regards,
Dianne

I am a vet nurse and a few thoughts/ideas from the years I've worked with it.

If she is pregnant, she needs to start on a puppy diet now. So go out and get the best food you can afford. Puppy diet. She needs to stay on that until the pups have weaned. Diet is extremely important for mums. Puppy milk is okay, but won't have the amount of calcium she needs without the puppy diet.

The puppies won't be moving around too much, but you may want something like a 2 foot border for mum for the first 4 weeks or so, so that she will be able to escape the pups and have a break. A playpen or portacot is perfect for the first few weeks to lift her in and out of. A good spot would be something like a laundry with a door blocked off with a 1 foot tall board or something the pups can't get around as they start moving more. They will need a few blankets that you can rotate and maybe a hot water bottle or two... puppies don't have thermoregulators for the first 6 weeks, so they need help keeping out of the cold and staying warm, generally they will all lay in a heap but blankets are good. Around 4 weeks they start to wearn, so you would need to use the puppy food mushed up in hot water for them, but you should have that on hand anyway as mum will be on that.

Would also start stocking up on used newspapers. With a litter of puppies you will need them once they start to move round and you start to train them to go outside. You start off with papers covering an extended area and gradually reduce it as the puppies learn to pee and poo on the paper and then you gradually move the paper closer and closer to the door and then they learn to do outside. They're be accidents but do learn. Regarding the blankets I know a friend of mine bought a number of 2nd hand baby blankets on EBay which worked perfectly when she had her new puppy - lovely and soft! Play pen would be a good idea to keep them contained but also give them a little room to stumble round in.

Best of luck. Puppies are lovely though is hard work in the begining.

I completely agree with Christy here. If you need an old port-a-cot, I have one that I no longer use as it got quite used by DS and then a few different friends over the years and wasn't last returned to me in the greatest condition. Works great, just a bit used. The reason you probably wouldn't want a new one is cos they will pee and poop in it lol. I'm also in WA :)