When a new litter is on the way, time slows down in our house for a few weeks. Everything here gives way to the gentlest miracle of all — the arrival of small lives.
You often ask me how our whelping room is set up, and why I spend practically the first fourteen days in it. The answer is simple: love and devotion know no shortcuts.
A quiet corner, far from the bustle
Our whelping room is a carefully arranged, warm little corner in a quiet spot, far from the everyday bustle of the house. The window looks out into greenery, and the room is bright and still.
For those first weeks the mother is completely safe and undisturbed there. The other dogs of our family have their own peace in other rooms — not because they are unwelcome, but because every mother and her newborns deserve to have nothing disturb them in the first days.
And I keep watch there with her. I admit that during those first weeks I barely sleep — or at least not the way we are used to sleeping. My bed is right beside the nest, and my eyes and thoughts are with them without pause.
The nest
The nest itself is thoughtfully adapted. It is built from an adapted enclosure, and the base is carefully insulated and protected with soft padding and linens that can be washed at high temperatures, so that hygiene is always at its highest.
Above it hangs a canopy of white fabric with soft trims and an embroidered teddy bear — a small thing, I know, but it makes the corner soft and homely.
Everything is designed so that the room and the working surfaces can be thoroughly disinfected, while we also make sure there is a constant supply of fresh air, without draught, so the environment stays clean and healthy. Above the nest there is also an additional source of heat, giving the little ones that true, motherly warmth.
Come and look with us
Because some things are easier to show than to describe, we filmed a short walk through our whelping room.
The scale, our faithful companion
In this period the scale becomes our faithful companion. In the first days we weigh the puppies every twelve hours, then every twenty-four, until their weight becomes completely stable and reliable.
Every gram is a meaningful sign of their progress. Every gram tells us that they are growing exactly as they should — and that is why we weigh them at three in the morning too, if we must.
For those who can hardly wait
During this period we do not allow visits inside the apartment. The peace of the mother and her little ones comes first, and we make no exceptions to that.
Even so, we understand how hard the waiting is. That is why we have arranged it differently: our whelping room has a completely separate entrance, so you can come and see the puppies through the window, without ever stepping into the apartment. You get to see them and watch them grow — and the mother keeps her quiet.
You can see them without disturbing them. That is exactly why they do so well.
When the world begins to open
But life does not stay confined to that first room. As the puppies grow a little and become curious explorers, their world gradually opens up.
If we have more than one litter in the house at the same time, the other mothers are settled in their own quiet rooms until the little ones are big enough for shared occasions. And before they step into the main part of our home, a special in-between room awaits them — our ante-room.
There we introduce them carefully and safely to the other members of our dog family, several times a day. It is a wonderful, genuine introduction to the canine world, full of scents, soft contact and first social lessons.
Why all of this
All of it — the sleepless nights, the careful measuring of grams, the warmth of the lamp, the scent of clean linen and those first steps in the ante-room — is not merely part of breeding.
It is our story. The story of how every one of our little ones, before setting off for a new home, is given a send-off woven from unconditional love, safety and countless hours of devoted care.
