No Bars - Asha had 9 in here! |
These bars are there for a reason, they are life savers, particularly with a large litter. When the bitch goes in to feed she needs to find a safe place to lie, should she misjudge and a puppy goes behind her there is a danger of him being squashed or suffocated. With the bars, the bitch simply puts her weight against the bar and there is room for the puppy behind her. It works, I've seen it work. This box was ordered for GSD size puppies, these puppies at this age are about twice that size so I guess the bars are too close to the box wall. So we are damned if we do, damned if we don't!
We decided that removing the bars was the safest option. With just the three of them we'll have to rely on mother getting it right and the strength of the pups to now get out of the way if necessary. On saying that one of us was up checking on them every two hours last night!
Soon it will be time to introduce toys to the box. I can't help but smile at the memory of Ziva's pups, all out of the box ... and Ziva took all the toys for herself into the box. Somehow I think Sammi will be just the same!