Ok, I know alot of you raise litters and are a single person doing it. What words of wisdom do you have? Do you just let the Mom do it all and hope for the best? Or do you spend the first several days trying to help her get acclimated? Tips and advice welcome!

You stay available for her, but you let her raise her babies. If you interfere overmuch , she will not do her job.

The first couple of days, I sleep on the sofa next to them, then I hook up the baby monitor and I go to my own bed, I can see and hear them on the monitor .

This is her job , allow her to do it. Feed her multiple times per day, toss some bumpers for her, and back she goes to her "job". Using this method, I have generations of outstanding brood bitches, it is hereditary, I have girls that I have to put a leash on to get them out of the whelping box to go outside to urinate. [and they make me drag them out]

When I was single, I raised many litters. But now that I have help, mom still does most of the work. Unless there is a problem, she does it better than a person anyway. I knew that for a couple of months the litter would pretty much use up my time and some sleep. I knew I had to get up early, always come right home after work, and would just manage the evening to accommodate those. I was lucky in that I was always able to find someone to come in and take care of mom and babies at lunch. I found this to be key. Early on, mom needs the bathroom break and toward the end, the pups need cleaning and to play with a person. You may need to pay someone to do this.

I had requested a 2 week vacation and then paid the maid to come in for 5 hours/day for the 3rd week. Third week was about keeping the area clean and making sure mom went outside. I had to save up for it, the other side of it was my house was given a spring cleaning. There were also other circumstances surrounding someone being at the house.

Pretty much the same comments here. While I'm not single, most of the whelping tasks fall on my shoulders.

Once I'm sure Mom is done whelping and settled in her babies. I'm sleeping in my own bed with a monitor next to her box.

The first few weeks are the easiest but I allow extra time in the morning for clean up before I leave for work and I'm straight home with no OT during those two months.

I am blessed to have a retired neighbor who loves my dogs. She comes in once a day to be "noontime nanny" when we have little ones.

She lets Momma out for a noon break and lunch while she's nursing and then when weaning is in process, she's gives the little one's their lunch.

Maybe you have a local petsitter who could fill in as your noontime nanny?

I found with my litter (my first) that the beginning few weeks was easier for me to be away from Momma and the babies (other than being dead tired). I took off about 2 weeks from work and worked from home, but I wish I had taken off the time after 4 weeks. The babysitter I hired (a neighbor) got frustrated with the mess and I would have liked more time to play with them when they were old enough to play.

So, I am thinking of having a college student who lives nearby handle the earlier weeks and I will take my vacation or work at home time in the later weeks.

Good luck!

My cleaning lady is fabulous too! She loves the adults and when she found out I was having a college girl come feed pups mid day, she begged me to let her come play with pups, so I now pay her to puppy sit/clean when I have litters. She comes for about 3 hours in the middle of the day and lets the adults out, feeds pups and mom, and tidies up the puppy room (and kitchen and whatever else bugs her while she's there). I have a private webcam so I can watch them from work and although she's only hired to be there 3 hours a day, she is usually there over 4 hours, sitting and coddling them like I do. She has worked for me for four years (cleaning) and has helped with the last two litters. She gets a big tip every Christmas too!