Litter supply checklist
66 things, in the order you need them. Most lists give you a pile. This one gives you a sequence, and tells you which items scale with litter size.
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General educational information and estimates only—not veterinary advice or a diagnosis. No veterinarian-client-patient relationship is created. Confirm care with a licensed veterinarian; for urgent concerns, contact a veterinarian or emergency clinic now.
The items that don't scale, bought once
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Litter supply checklist
66 things, in the order you need them. Most lists give you a pile; this one gives you a sequence — and tells you which items scale with litter size. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
What scales with litter size, and what doesn’t
The rest is fixed whatever the count. Get the real count from a radiograph at day 55 before ordering these.
| Item | How it scales | For a litter of 8 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk replacer, topping up | 30 mL per 115 g of birth weight per day, x 0.4 | toy 30 · medium 78 · large 117 · giant 157 mL per pup per day | x 0.4 for topping up. Full hand-rearing is x 1.0. |
| Milk replacer, hand-rearing | Same rate, x 1.0 | Four times the top-up figure | Vet-directed. The exception, not the rule. |
| Colostrum | 1 unit per puppy | 8 puppies = 8 units | First 24 hours only |
| Feeding kits | 1 per puppy | Not one per litter | Teats tear and need boiling between pups |
| Disposable pads | Roughly 10-15 a day during whelping week | 100+ for a big litter | The most under-bought item on every list |
| Puppy worming | Per weight, per dose, fortnightly to 12 weeks | 5 doses per puppy | Ask your vet for the product and dose |
| Dam's food | 30-60% more from day 42, then more again in lactation | Roughly double her normal by peak lactation | Free access. Do not restrict. |
| Weaning food | Roughly 2 lb per puppy from week 3 to week 8 | 8 puppies = 16 lb | Soaked at first |
| Puppy ID collars | 1 per puppy, and they need enlarging weekly | 1 set | Check them every few days |
What every list tells you to buy that you don’t need
These are the items you can leave in the basket.
- Whelping box heat lamp with no guard
A lamp she can knock is a fire and a burn risk. Guarded, or a pad.
- Umbilical clamps
Hemostats and floss do the job and you already need hemostats.
- Puppy formula 'for all ages'
Neonatal formula and weaning formula are different. Buy the neonatal one.
- Anything described as 'increases litter size'
Nothing you buy after the mating changes how many puppies there are.
- Calcium supplements marketed for pregnancy
Supplementing calcium during pregnancy suppresses the hormonal machinery she needs to mobilize her own calcium stores at whelping, which raises the risk of eclampsia. It belongs at whelping and during lactation, on your vet's direction, never before. (Merck Veterinary Manual.)
- Elaborate whelping thermometers
A $5 digital one is as accurate as a $40 one.
- Puppy 'milk bars' for large litters
Most litters nurse fine. Buy one if you need it, not in advance.
- Bulk newspaper
Ink transfers, and it does not wick. A fleece pad over disposable pads instead.
Frequently asked
By day 45. She needs time to settle in it, and a box that arrives the week she whelps is a box she will refuse in favor of the wardrobe.
Milk replacer, colostrum, feeding kits, disposable pads, worming doses, weaning food and puppy ID collars. Everything else on the list is the same whether she has three or eleven. Get the real count from a radiograph at day 55 before ordering those.
Enough for a top-up, before she whelps rather than on order. The Esbilac label rate is 30 mL per 115 g of birth weight per day. Topping up a nursing litter is sized at 0.4 of that; hand-rearing at the full rate, vet-directed.
No. Supplementing calcium during pregnancy suppresses the hormonal machinery she needs to mobilize her own calcium stores at whelping, which raises the risk of eclampsia after whelping. It belongs at whelping and during lactation, on your vet's direction, never before (Merck Veterinary Manual).
Usually not. They tend to be cheap versions of the few things worth buying properly — the gram scales and the aspirator. Buy those two well and skip the bundle.
More than you think. Ten to fifteen a day through the whelping week, and a large litter will go through more than a hundred. It is the most under-bought item on every list, and running out at two in the morning is a genuinely miserable experience.
Not everything. The box has to be in by day 45, ten days before the radiograph, so she has time to settle into it. Buy the fixed items early and the scaling items once you have the count.
Sections one to three are the ones that matter on the night. If you are short of time, pack those and leave the rest. Everything from week one onward can be bought after she has whelped.