While Yorkshire Terriers have been having puppies successfully without help for generations, it’s a good idea to have these Yorkie whelping supplies on hand if you need them.
First, you’ll find a “Bare Bones Supply List.” These are the items you for sure – MOST DEFINITELY – want to have on hand.
This is followed by an “Other Important Items List” of items that would be helpful, but not absolutely necessary to have on hand.
Finally, we’ve listed out all the items in categories of when you’ll need them and how you’ll use them.
Use these lists as a checklist so that you can be prepared with the supplies you need.
Bare Bones Yorkie Whelping Supplies List
- Whelping Box
- Bedding (soft, sanitary, and easy to clean; ex. newspapers, towels, and sheets are popular)
- Thermometer
- Alcohol for sterilization
- Surgical gloves
- Lubricant (ex: ky jelly)
- Aspiration bulb
- Extra towels for drying wet puppies
- Sharp scissors (umbilical cord)
- Unwaxed dental floss (umbilical cord)
- Heating pad, heat lamp, or hot water bottle
- Small bottles and Milk replacer
- Notebook and pen
Other Important Supplies
- Hemostat to crimp cord
- Ribbons to identify pups
- NutriCal
- Syringe to help dam drink if needed
- Calcium (Ex: Calsorb)
- Indoor Thermometer
- Portable heating unit or air conditioner
- Pee pads
- Notebook and pen
- Clock: Record Times of delivery
- High precision weigh scale
- Flashlight or Head lamp
- Bed to sleep by whelping box
- Hand sanitizer or Antibacterial Hand Wipes
- Baby monitor
- Rubbing Alcohol or Alcohol Prep Pads
- Iodine or Iodine Prep Pads
- Garbage can
- Phone Numbers: Vet, Helper, Babysitter
- Vehicle: Full tank of gas, set up for a quick trip to vet
Yorkie Whelping Supplies Explained
Get Your Vehicle Ready
While whelping will probably happen without any major problems, you should be prepared to head to the vet if something goes wrong with labor, delivery, or the health of one of the puppies. If this happens, you won’t have the time or energy to gather supplies. Make sure your vehicle is ready to transport mama and/or puppies quickly to the vet. Have the supplies ready ahead of time so that you can leave without much thought.
- Full Tank of Gas: be ready to make the trip to the vet without any stops
- Dog-proof your vehicle.
- Place a box or crate in vehicle in which mama and/or puppies can be safely transported.
- Place fresh and clean blankets, towels, or pee pads to protect your vehicle and keep your dog(s) in a warm, comfortable, sanitary environment.
- Have hot water bottles ready so you can keep everybody warm during transport. Keep these inside in an easily accessible location so that you can fill them as you head out the door.
Phone Numbers to Have Ready
As the time for whelping draws near, it’s not a bad idea to let each of these people know that you might be calling on them for help at a moments notice.
- Vet
- Breeding Mentor
- Friend that can come help
- Babysitter (if you have kids)
Whelping Box
A good whelping box is a wonderful asset during labor, delivery, and early puppy care. It is designed to keep your puppies safe and clean.
Bedding
Breeders use a variety of bedding choices. Find the ones that suit your needs. For whelping, it is good to layer the bedding. As the bedding gets soiled, peel off the top soiled layer and the clean layer is ready to go underneath.
- Whelping pad: designed for the job; prevents leaks, washable
- Mattress protectors: prevents leaks, washable
- Newspaper: can throw away when soiled
- Rags: washable, easy to find, already small size
- Towels: absorbent, washable, easy to find
- Sheets: washable, can be easily layered and cut into smaller pieces if needed
- Pee pads: can throw away, prevents leaks
Whelping/Delivery
Hopefully, you won’t be needed during delivery, but it is good to be prepared just in case.
- Surgical gloves
- Lubricant (ex: ky jelly)
- Flashlight or Head lamp: for late night deliveries – head lamp is nice because your hands stay free and you won’t get it dirty
- Calcium (ex: Oral Cal Plus, Calsorb): cacium should never be given to a pregnant dog that is not in labor, once labor has begun – calcium can be very helpful; calcium supplementation can be continued through lactation. Talk to your vet for specific recommendations.
Caring for Pups: Immediately after Birth
Your Yorkie mama is going to do a lot of the care for her puppies. However, if your assistance is required, here are some good tools to have on hand.
- Aspiration bulb (also known as: bulb syringe, suction bulb): use this to help get mucus out of the puppies airways
- Warm towels for rubbing puppies down after birth: a wet pup who is struggling will benefit from a thorough rub down in a warmed towel (warm in dryer for a couple minutes)
- Unwaxed dental floss or Hemostat to crimp cord: about an inch away from the puppy use dental floss to clamp umbilical cord before cutting.
- Round tipped scissors: to cut umbilical cord: some breeders like to do the umbilical cord cutting themselves rather than let the dam do it; as the dam can sometimes cut the cord too short.
- Iodine or Iodine Prep Pads – use on the cut umbilical cords to keep the area as clean as possible
- Rubbing alcohol or Alcohol Prep Pads: clean scissors in-between puppies
- Exam gloves: change gloves in-between puppies
- Ribbons to identify pups: its hard at the start to keep pups differentiated from each other. Tell them apart by using different colored collars.
Caring for Dam: Immediately after Birth
Your Yorkie mama has worked hard and expended a lot of energy. Offer her water and give her a nutritional boost to perk her up.
- Warm broth: liquid, delicious smelling nutrients for your dog
- NutriCal: a calorie dense gel if needed
Maintaining Puppies Temperature
Newborn puppies cannot regulate their own body temperature. The job is up to you and your mama Yorkie to help them maintain a proper body temperature.
- Indoor Thermometer: A thermometer in the whelping room is very useful so that you can know at a glance if the room is too hot or too cold.
- Portable heating unit or air conditioner: helpful to control temperature of whelping room
- Heating pad: should not cover entire area, puppies should be able to move away from it if too hot
- Heat lamp: should not heat entire area, puppies should be able to move away from it if too hot
- Hot water bottle: good to use if pups have to go in vehicle and don’t have power source for heating pad
Supplementing Feeding, if needed
If you need to feed your puppies, you will need some supplies. They are not old enough to feed from a bowl as they can drown or aspirate the liquid. They will need to use a bottle.
- Small bottles
- Milk replacer
Records
- Notebook or binder and pen
- Clock: record times of delivery
- Different Colored Ribbons: record identifying collar and markings on each pup
- High precision weigh scale: record puppy weights at birth and then daily to ensure proper weight gain
- Thermometer and Lubricant (ex: KY Jelly): record temperature of pups
Self
Remember to stay clean and care for your own needs as well.
- Bed to sleep by whelping box
- Baby monitor: if you’re not sleeping by the whelping box a baby monitor (especially a video monitor) can keep you aware of what is goin on
- Hand sanitizer or Antibacterial Hand Wipes
- Rubbing Alcohol or Alcohol Prep Pads: keep all your tools and the area clean
- Exam Gloves: keep changing gloves so you don’t spread germs between puppies
- Linen bag: remove soiled bedding as soon as possible to maintain a clean environment
- Garbage can: dispose of garbage as soon as possible to maintain a clean environment
The birth of puppies can be a stressful but rewarding experience. Be prepared with these Yorkie Whelping Supplies.
Go back to Yorkie Pregnancy
Go to Yorkie Puppy Life Home Page from Yorkie Whelping Supplies