Litter records: from whelping to the 12-week check

Each litter in WhelpHQ has its own page with the birth details, every puppy, their weights, treatments and feeds, the waiting list and the puppy care schedule.

Log the litter

1. 1Go to Breeding → Litters → Log Litter, or tick off her Birth due reminder in Reminders.
2. 2Pick the Mother (Dam) and enter the Birth Date.
3. 3Enter Total Born (alive and stillborn together), Born Alive and Stillborn. Birth Weight (kg) is an average for the litter; you’ll weigh each puppy on the litter page.
4. 4Add notes and photos if you like, then tap Log Litter.

WhelpHQ then asks you to Add the pups: pick Male or Female for each one and add a colour if you like. You can skip this and add them later. If you haven’t logged the heat she was mated on, it also asks when she was in heat, so her next season can be predicted.

What WhelpHQ sets up for you

• Puppy care reminders from your care protocol, counted from the birth date (worming and vaccinations, unless you’ve changed the schedule).
• A reminder for her next expected heat.
• A reminder when the litter turns 12 weeks old, to record where every puppy went.

The litter page

Open the litter from Breeding → Litters. From there you can:

• Add or edit each puppy: name or call sign, sex, colour and markings, birth weight in grams, microchip number and status (Active, Keeping, Sold, Deceased or Went home with dam).
• Log each puppy’s weight and compare the whole litter on one chart.
• Tap Treat Litter to record a wormer or vaccine given to every puppy at once. Set # of Doses to 2 or more, with Repeat in Days, and WhelpHQ adds reminders for the later doses.
• Record a Health Event for the whole litter, such as a vet check.
• Keep the litter’s Waiting List: names, contact details, what they’re after, deposits, and where each person is up to (Waiting, Reserved, Purchased or Cancelled).
• See the Protocol Schedule and tick off each step as you go.

When puppies go home

Set each puppy’s status to Sold as it goes. A puppy you’re keeping can be turned into a full dog record with the up arrow on its card (Upgrade to a full dog record), usually at about 12 weeks. It then joins your Dogs list as a dog in its own right.

Close off the litter

When the litter turns 12 weeks old, WhelpHQ reminds you to close it off. On the Litters tab, tap the tag icon (Close off this litter), enter the Date settled and how many were Sold, Kept or Died (and Went home with dam, if she’s left), then tap Close off litter. If you never added the pups one by one, WhelpHQ then offers to add the ones you kept as dogs. Otherwise, upgrade each one you kept from its card.