gear

Over the years I have accumulated quite a bit of gear for the puppies.  With my first litter I had little more than whelping box, small indoor pen and small outdoor pen plus a few toys.  When the second litter came along and there was NINE of them - almost double the number of puppies in a normal litter - I bought a second indoor pen and a second outdoor one to double the size. 

There are lots of disposable items that are new with each litter.  Each one sees a new whelping box, new puppy toys, new syringes for various purposes such as administering wormer.  Then there are the bigger items of equipment that last from one litter to the next like new liners & vet beds for the whelping box.  For Emmi's litter I have invested in a couple of new things.  I'm still using the two big pens and now I have a reusable whelping box too. 

I have always been concerned about leaving 4- or 5-week-old puppies unattended in the outdoor pen.  We have a lot birds of prey around here, and one of them could very easily carry off a small Lapphund puppy.  This year I was even more worried as it was only a week or two before the puppies moved downstairs that the news was full of the poor little Yorkshire terrier that was attacked and killed by gulls in Cornwall.  I'm hoping the Chudleigh gulls are not as aggressive as Cornish ones, but I don't feel the need to take any chances.  So for these puppies I also invested in a gazebo.  Not only does it shield them from passing gulls and hawks, but it also provides them with some handy shade.  Particularly useful for these sun-averse puppies.  And pretty good shade for the humans too on those rare occasions that we get enough sun to need to escape. 

Keskiyo modelling the gazebo

Under the shelter of the gazebo, this is what was going on in the outdoor pen at 9pm last night.