There is another link talking about getting things ready for puppies.
My question is this- just when do you set up the whelping box?
The girl is pregnant and should deliver in a week.
Do you set up the box now and let her sniff it, lay in it etc?
Encourage her to be in it?
It will be super clean at the time of whelping but I want her to be comfortable in it ahead of time.
Anyone ever have a bitch not want to be in the box?
What do you do?
OK, you guessed it, it is my first litter!
I probably will be on here alott in the next week or so.

Sometimes they don't want to stay in it until they realize what is going on. Right at whelping time. Others just go in there and sit down a while. They are all different. But yes, have it set up and let her sniff. You will be having fun soon.

A week ahead sounds like what I would expect to be correct! We are planning for our first litter so we'll be asking that again in about 2 months! HOPEFULLY!

I set mine up 2 weeks before they whelp and if they want to sleep in it they can but I do encourage first timers to at least go in it to get used to being in there. If they don't want to get in there I have a treat and will sit and play with them in there so they'll like it.
Aloha,
jackie

I get them used to sleeping in their whelping area at least one week prior to their estmiated due date to let them get used to it and know that when they are ready, they have a safe, warm, comfortable place to take care of their babies.

The nesting instinct often kicks in days before the actual delivery, which is why they need to be used to it before hand so they don't go looking to have the pups in your bed instead, lol.

If need be - if she isn't sleeping or won't go in the box on her own - at the least you could feed her in the box so it isn't completely foreign to her. I wouldn't force her to sleep in it but that's just my rookie opinion.

I had my first litter (my girls first too) this summer and I set the whelping box up a week ahead of time. My pregger girl could have cared less about it but my other two loved it. When the day came that she was ready to deliver, she labored on her pillow/bed in the kitchen, delivered her first pup in the whelping box, delivered her second pup on my make shift bed beside the whelping box and the rest of them in the box. I had to literally put a slip lead on her to get her out of the box to go potty once she had the litter. I fed her in the box after she whelped as she would not leave it.

I usually set up the box 7-10 days ahead and sometimes earlier if she is HUGE. I have an X-pen around it and let her stretch out in it instead of her kennel/x-large crate. It also helps get the other dogs used to that being her area and she is free to nest or simply enjoy the stretch out. I put in towels and other fun things for her to toss around and rearrange until she begins to whelp.

I'd set it up roughly 2 weeks ahead of time for a new mom. At my house she would just know it's there for about a week, then I would gate her in the area where the whelping box is each night until her due date. Depending on how you are set up and where your box is, you might do it differently. With an experienced mom it wouldn't matter. They know the drill.

Can I ask why it is a bad idea to set it up early?

Like I stated in my other post, I put mine up and took the crate out of my girl's room, it has an ex pen around it and she stays in there while I am gone to work. She is about 2 months from her season, and then of course the gestation. She doesn't mind, we are in a one dog household, there are no other dogs in or out.

Why is it so bad to have her in her box early? It will of course be completely disinfected before its 'real use'.

Its not a bad thing IMO. Just not necessary this far before a whelp. And especially since your girl is not even in heat or bred yet. You still have 4 months till you hopefully expect pups.

Oops, forgot to mention I set my whelping box up about a week to a week and half before due date. Especially with a first timer.

I have had some that won't go in the whelping box before the pups are due. I used to stress over it and make them get in the box to have their puppies. That only stressed them out more. Now, the box is up, ready to go, if they want to have their pups in the box - OK, if not, I provide old comforters near the box or another room of her choice for the actual whelping - and when she is done and the puppies are clean they all go into the nice clean box and Mom is very happy with her new babies in the nice clean box. By the way, it is much easier on me with my bad knees to let them have the pups on the comforter on the floor. I don't have to squeeze my big butt into the box to help her if she needs it.