The list below is intended to give new dog breeders some help on putting your whelping kit together and includes the basic items most often used. You’ll find some options below and it’s really just a matter of personal choice and what works best for you.

 

Basic Whelping Kit  

Digital Thermometer - Taking temperature (pre labour it will drop)

Alcohol Wipes – Quick Sterilize Forceps Scissors Thermometer etc

Lube  - For inserting Thermometer probe also handy if you have a stuck puppy

Gloves x 10 To keep your hands clean and reduce cross contamination

Whelping Cloths good for breach birth, drying etc

Forceps or Umbilical Cord Clamps or Un-waxed dental floss, For tying or clamping umbilical’s to stop bleeding and to stop mums causing umbilical hernias

Suction Aspirator - Aspiration, to remove mucus from nose or mouth

Iodine Sticks x 5 – 10 to sterilize wounds / umbilical cords

Paracord or Velcro Whelping collars for puppy identification

Surgical Scissors - Cutting bandage, Cords etc

Stethoscope – so you check if a puppy is breathing

Nail Scissors – for weekly nail trims

Whelping mats – waterproof backing to keep things dry – but old towels will do – you’ll just need heaps of newspaper underneath and to keep swapping it to keep things dry – otherwise babies will get cold really fast (and can become life threatening)

Notebook – to keeping whelping records – this is really important as it’s amazing how you forgot what time the last puppy was born, being able to double check the duration of labour between puppies will help you make informed decisions

Rubbish bags – if you use newspaper during the whelping

Clock – so you know how long between puppies or how long you have tried to resuscitate a puppy for – sometimes if can seem like hours but is in fact only minutes etc

Heating mat or Heat Disc or Microwave Heat pad 

Puppy Scales – weighing your puppies twice daily for the first 5 days will be one way to know if they are feeding and growing

Bottles, Teats & Feeders  – there is such a variety available, but we suggest you keep an emergency kit on hand,  you don’t want to be waiting for them to arrive if needed