Whelping supply checklist
37 things to have in the room before she whelps. Box up by day 45, kit packed by day 55. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
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Essentials: 0 of 14
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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 three things most lists get wrong
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Whelping supply checklist
37 things to have in the room before she whelps — the box, the delivery kit, the newborn station and the first 48 hours. Box up by day 45, kit packed by day 55. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
When the checklist stops and the phone starts
What's actually essential in a whelping kit, what to skip, and the signs during labor that mean call the vet rather than keep reading.
When the checklist stops and the phone starts
Nothing in the kit substitutes for a cesarean. These are the moments to stop reading and call.
- Strong contractions for 30 minutes with no puppy
An obstruction does not resolve by waiting. This is the classic cesarean call.
- More than two hours between puppies when you know more are coming
Uterine inertia. Treated early it responds; treated late it does not.
- Green or black discharge before the first puppy
A placenta has separated. The puppy attached to it is on a clock.
- She is straining, distressed, or collapses
Assume it is serious and let the vet tell you it isn't.
- Trembling, stiffness or panting in the days after whelping
Eclampsia. It is an emergency — call now. It can happen whether or not she was supplemented, so do not rule it out.
- A puppy losing weight, cold, or crying continuously
Call your veterinarian or emergency clinic promptly and follow their warming and feeding instructions. Do not feed a cold puppy unless a veterinarian directs you.
What to leave in the basket
These are the items you can skip, and two of them are worse than useless.
- Umbilical cord clamps
Hemostats and unwaxed floss do it better, and you need the hemostats anyway.
- Unguarded heat lamps
A lamp she can knock over is a fire and a burn risk. Guarded lamp, or a pad with a cool zone.
- Oxytocin bought without a vet
Given at the wrong moment it saturates the receptors and stops working when it is actually needed.
- Calcium supplements marketed for pregnancy
Calcium use in pregnancy and labor is a veterinary decision because inappropriate supplementation can cause harm. Do not purchase or give it for this purpose unless your veterinarian directs you. (Merck Veterinary Manual.)
- Hot water bottles under the bedding
They cool to below the puppies' temperature and then draw heat out of them.
- Bulk newspaper
The ink transfers and it does not wick. A fleece pad over disposable pads instead.
Sources
- MSD Veterinary Manual — labor, delivery and postpartum care, cord handling and neonatal warming.
- Merck Veterinary Manual — eclampsia risk, and the cautions on calcium and oxytocin.
Verified 11 August 2026.
For planning. Not a substitute for veterinary advice.
Printable
Whelping supply checklist, printable
The same 37 items on one page, to tick with a pen.
Download the sheetFrequently asked
By day 55. Puppies come early, and a kit that is half ordered on the night is a kit you do not have. The box itself goes up by day 45 so she has time to settle in it.
A written emergency plan, your veterinarian's contact details, clean towels, a gram scale, a warm holding area, and the supplies your veterinarian recommends for your dam. Ask your veterinarian to review the kit before labor.
About 85 to 90 °F in the nest area for the first week, with a cool zone the puppies can move away from. Newborns cannot shiver, and overheating is as dangerous as chilling.
Both are veterinary decisions and can cause harm when used at the wrong time or dose. Do not give oxytocin or calcium unless a veterinarian who is directing the animal's care tells you to do so.
Record weights consistently on a gram scale using the schedule your veterinarian recommends. Contact the veterinarian promptly about weight loss, failure to gain, weakness, poor nursing, or any concern.
Ten to fifteen a day through the whelping week, and more with a large litter. It is the most under-bought item on every list, and running out at two in the morning is genuinely miserable.
It happens, which is why the kit is packed by 55 rather than on the due date. If she goes early and the kit is not ready, the items that matter on the night are the bulb syringe, hemostats and floss, dry towels, a warm holding box and a scale. Everything else can wait until morning.
Not necessarily, but decide in advance who you would call and whether they can drive. Whelping runs for hours, sometimes overnight, and the moment you need a second pair of hands is not the moment to start asking.