French Bulldog Whelping: Ideal Set Up by Puppies Age

Of all breeds to whelp for, French Bulldogs are some of the most difficult. Having a good set up can make all the difference. Also, you don’t have to shell out a bunch of money to have a great set up. Here is our set up for the 3 phases of whelping French Bulldog puppies.

Ru-Trans Incubators for French Bulldog Whelping

Phase 1 - 1st Bringing Mama Home (usually days 1-2 up to day 4)

Most French Bulldogs require a cesarian and are out of it coming home. They are still recovering from anesthesia and on pain medication and are the not in their right minds. I’ve heard many horror stories of mama Frenchies laying on and smothering puppies or even eating their own puppies post cesarian. I witnessed first-hand our mama dog nesting aggressively near the puppies and injuring them by scratching the bed and pup in the process.

I highly recommend having mama and puppies separated while not supervised during these first few days until they recognize their litter as their own and are no longer drowsy from their medications. During this time, you’ll be waking up every 2-3 hours to latch each puppy on mama for feedings. While not with mama, puppies will need to be in a warm place. Ideal temperature is 85-90°F (29.5-32°C) for newborn French Bulldog puppies. This temperature can be accomplished with heater lamps or an incubator. If you have preemie puppies (puppies born before 58 days gestation), the incubator is the only option as you will need oxygen as well.

Whelping Box from You Winnie Some Frenchies

Phase 2 - Non-Walking Puppies (Weeks 1-3 up to week 4)

The set up shown above expires the moment the first puppy is attempting to walk. We made the mistake of having pee pads as the flooring for our first litter and it caused “swimmer syndrome” in a few puppies. We were able to catch it early and resolve the issue, but it can be easily prevented by just having a non-slippery surface for the puppies.

This box is homemade nearly from things entirely found at any home improvement supply store. What I love about our set up is it expands into the whelping pen for when puppies are older. PVC pipes are used as the bumpers to keep pups from getting stuck in the corners. We also kept a basket of essentials next to the box for easy access. Not shown in this photo is our heater lamp which we raise as the puppies age to decrease the temperature for their comfort. My rule of thumb is if the puppies are huddling for warmth the box is too cold and if the puppies are scattered your box is too cold.

For mama’s comfort, we added a pool noodle to not have her recently c-sectioned belly rub against the entrance and exit of the box. We also added a step to help her make the jump in and out with ease. We also have an egg crate foam pad under the pee pads to

We add a camera to keep watch at all times. For fun I purchased a sticker of our logo on Zazzle and some wall paper for the sides. I do believe having your set up looking cute does matter, because it can determine the type of buyers you’ll attract.

Whelping pen from You Winnie Some Frenchies

Phase 3 - Active Puppies (Weeks 4-8)

Puppies at this stage will need a separate play area, potty space, and bed. I highly recommend pellet training the puppies to promote a separate potty space (and give you easier clean up). This also has proven helpful for the new families in potty training their pups and it is way cleanier/easier for the whelper. I like to do a few toys sometimes I set up some hanging which they seem to really enjoy.

We use G-Flooring to provide a grip for walking puppies. Its also fairly easy to clean and protects our hardwood floors underneith. It is not permanent so we just roll out the G-floor and then roll it back up when we’re not whelping.

Our pen is not large enough to wear out puppies by 6+ weeks old so we do allow the puppies to have a safe space in our yard on the grass to play supervised. This is not an option for many whelpers due to the risk of parvo outdoors prior to the completion of their vaccines, but just something to note.

We do home all our puppies at 8 weeks old so I didn’t add a 4th phase. However, over your entire time of breeding, you will likely run into circumstances where you end up with older puppies (we’ve had puppies returned ect). At this point, I usually do a home integration set up where they are treated as I would taking home a new puppy given doggie door access ect.

Why does the whelping set up matter?

Your whelping set up does matter for the well-being of the puppies. A horrible set up such as lack of heat can cause the loss to an entire litter. A good set up can actually prevent many medical issues from arising in your litter such as giardia (from unclean conditions), swimmers syndrome (from overly smooth flooring while learning to walk), or splayed feet (from being kept in a cage). Additionally, a good whelping set up will impact what types of homes/families you attract as a breeder. Families that care about ethical breeding practices are usually the types of families that will not drop their dog off at the shelter, abuse their dog, neglect their dog, or even treat their dog as less than a family member.

Additional Information:

We do not sell whelping set up. However, we are available to help if you would like to duplicate our set up in your own home.