Plastic baby pools

I recently saw a breeder I have on my facebook use a big plastic baby pool as her whelping box. I thought this was a great idea as the sides are tall enough that puppies cannot get out of it, but is short enough that Momma dog can get in and out as she pleases. We have one, maybe two, early spring litters coming up and we don't have the slightest idea where we are going to put them yet. The puppy room is absolutely great....except is doesn't have heat because the ductwork isn't finished so we have to keep them somewhere else where its warm. The only room in the house that has lineoleum is the bathroom which we used for our first litter, and lets just say we had to totally remodel the bathroom once they all went to new homes LOL. I thought the baby pool was a fantastic idea and we could keep them in our kitchen with a tile floor, or in the heated basement. Now im just in the dilemma of where to find a plastic swimming pool this time of year. Does anyone have any ideas of where to look for one LOL?

Baby pools are an excellent idea, if you can't find them, I have purchased the kidney shaped black feeders @ Texas Tractor Supply and they work marvelous The sides are taller than the baby pools and the moms can still get in and out easily They stay in these longer than the baby pools. you can also put some pine shavings in them and it makes clean-up easy and keeps odors @ bay.

Con: they are a little pricier than a baby pool, but worth the investment long term.

I have used the baby pools for when I raised and bred my Aussies but I always just use crates with my doxies.
Sherry those pools from Tractor Supply sound like a great idea also......I may just have to go take a look see.......LOL!!!!

We have a tractor supply about 7 minutes away from us. I'll have to go check them out

My mom uses the plastic pools with her Westies. You can also try looking for some on Craigslist or if there is a Freecycle group in your area, they are sometimes posted there as well. If you get a used one, just be sure to bleach it really well!

Angelboys3 wrote:My mom uses the plastic pools with her Westies. You can also try looking for some on Craigslist or if there is a Freecycle group in your area, they are sometimes posted there as well. If you get a used one, just be sure to bleach it really well!

Ahh, yes I didn't even think of that. I am a member of my local freecycle I love it!

When i bred mini American Eskimos years ago i used the baby pools for whelping and as they got older we would fit an ex-pen around the pool perfectly. This worked really well but the round shape made it a pain to tuck out of the way like into a corner, minor inconvenience.

For my poms i use a large plastic drawer/tote, the type made for under the bed storage. They are fabulous, and i have a smaller ex-pen that fits around perfectly for when the pups start trying to get out. I have been wondering what i will switch to in the future for dachshunds, i don't think my old pom pens will be big enough especially if it was a large litter...I will have to check out tractor supply when the time comes.

I got one of the baby pools for whelping, it was good until Mylee decided she didn't like all the space. So for whelping I'd suggest something smaller and then use the baby pools for when they get older.

These plastic pools come in different sizes...Summer time comes around they usually have them at petsmart,etc...but Walmart/kmart and such carry the most variety(Some with stairs and a slide for momma...woooohooo)..lol..I think I may get one with a slide for my adults to play in..lol..

With larger dogs we used baby pools,but for smaller breeds,storage containers work best overall(easier to move,clean and tuck away in a corner...Mine whelp inside of a super size litter box,or a under the bed container,BUT once I am sure they are not going to gt squished,I move them to a crate...Once they are to the super playful and eating stage,they get moved to expens...

We got a small one for Taffy and it was a good size for her only have two pups....its probably the same size as the plastic containers you use Chris. It was good until about 4 weeks when they found out they could escape. They have bigger ones with taller sides at Walmart that I think would work better for Hollie and her gigantic litters, but with my small ford escort and Darren's two-door cobalt I can't figure out how I would get it home LOL

I just don't like them because It's hard to put them in a corner..lol...Even the smaller ones...WIth doxies,they are the size that doens't need/or want that much space with a new litter..yep...4-5 weeks is when they don't work anymore...Mine figure out they can get out when momma jumps out and they can follow..lol..

littletinydachz wrote:I just don't like them because It's hard to put them in a corner..lol...Even the smaller ones...WIth doxies,they are the size that doens't need/or want that much space with a new litter..yep...4-5 weeks is when they don't work anymore...Mine figure out they can get out when momma jumps out and they can follow..lol..

Yeah even the small one took up most of our bathroom floor because we couldn't fit in the the corner. Down in our puppy room it really doesn't matter. I'll have to be on the loookout for some cheap plastic containers after next xmas when they go on sale

I do too..lol..The darn under the bed things are now almost $20 at our walmart!!!Used to be half that...I know it's still not much,but geeze,price hikes..