As a large dog breeder, we know that whelping can be stressful and a lot of work. For a while we purchased prepackaged corrugated cardboard for the bottom of the whelping box. We spent well over $2,000.00 for those cardboard whelping pads during the first litter.
There had to be a better way. It doesn't happen often, but I had an idea. Why not make waterproof whelping pads too? We put together a prototype using the 4" foam and a waterproof cover, oops, the pig rails are mounted 4" above the bottom of the whelping box. We had eliminated the puppy safety zone.
We decided to use 1" foam and opted for the high density foam for the whelping pads, it had to be solid but still soft enough to be warm and comfortable. The 1" foam was the ticket.
After having a litter raised on the whelping pad, we discovered stuff leaked through to the floor below. To counter that we started making the whelping pads 1/8" larger than the dimensions of the whelping box. It had to fit snuggly. It did, and problem solved.
The whelping pad can be mopped in place in the whelping box (remove the puppies first). There is no reason to remove the pad, we mop them with a bleach / water solution, it gets cleaned and disinfected at the same time.
These whelping pads are a dream come true for breeders. Send us your whelping box dimensions, we'll provide you with a quote and a custom made whelping pad.
