# I use cedar chips



## Jason Glavich (Apr 10, 2008)

So I use cedar chips with the pups instead of newpapers, clean up easy, contains smell, not horrible to look at.

Here are my questions:

1:What do you use? Pros/Cons?

2:How do you keep it out of the water and food bowls?

My answers

1: as I said I like cedar chips, I hated newspapers, whelping pads are ok but the washing machine took a beating. Downside the water and food bowls are always getting covered in it. Pro: The pups always smell good.

2: I have to constantly clean them out, now they are getting into mommas food and she is not happy about it(how they get them so high up I do not know). 

Just wondered really I toss alot of food due to being covered in woodchips, especially when i am making puppy gruel.


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## frontier (Nov 3, 2003)

Cedar shavings cause contact allergy in some puppies, due to the cedar oil and cause eye issues so be cautious. Puppies can also develop itchiness and sometimes hairloss. Cedar chips can also cause respiratory issues in puppies. 

Watch for constipation as well with wood chips..some puppies will eat a lot of them. 

Suggest your consider changing to regular wood shavings rather than cedar chips. Also purchase the wood shavings marked as low dust. I place them in two small low pans at the end of the large puppy play room.. pups learn quicky to use that end as the potty area.


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## Kasomor (Nov 29, 2008)

You may run into problems with the oil from the cedar irritating the puppies eyes.

Try using compressed pellets (it's sold at feed stores for horse stalls) in a pan/ tray at one end of their pen. Bottom of a big vari kennel would work as a pan.

Pro's shavings do not get into food or water....clean up is simple and your pups will end up partially house trained.

Con's...none.


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## Leslie B (Jul 3, 2009)

I use whelp pads for the first 3 weeks and then switch to the low dust wood shavings (not cedar). My vet said not to use cedar as they can cause lung problems.


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## mwk56 (May 12, 2009)

I use pine shavings in a "litter box" for winter pups that have an indoor pen. I use a puppy water bottle instead of a bucket or bowl--the type they lick to get water.

If it is a spring litter, they go to an indoor/outdoor run at 5 weeks and figure out the dog door in a day. 

Meredith


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## helencalif (Feb 2, 2004)

We switched to pine shavings because our vet warned us against cedar because of the problems puppies can have with the cedar oil. She has seen these problems in her practice.

When we fed the puppies their puppy gruel, we put the food pans inside the whelping box which had no shavings. It has a linoleum floor which was easy to sweep out and mop. We always use bleach-water when mopping.

The water pan was a problem. We had to keep changing water and dumping out the shavings.

Pine shavings are great, but they fly around and get into everything. Pine shavings seem fluffier than cedar shavings and also seem to be more absorbent than cedar.

Helen


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## ErinsEdge (Feb 14, 2003)

I only use pine shavings in a litter box as soon as they are out of the whelping box, at about 3 weeks. That way they associate going to an area and not eliminating right where they are. Before then mom does her job so all I use are whelping pads.


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## Jason Glavich (Apr 10, 2008)

Well I guess the most prevalent response is not to use cedar shavings, I have never had a problem with them myself. I actually only switched to cedar from pads and newspaper because a breeder(30+ years) said that was all she has ever used. None of my pups have seen bothered by the cedar or had eye problems.

I will look into the pine shavings for sure though, just because I havent had an issue doesnt mean I want to suddenly have one.


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## Jim Stevenson (Mar 18, 2010)

helencalif said:


> We switched to pine shavings because our vet warned us against cedar because of the problems puppies can have with the cedar oil. She has seen these problems in her practice.
> 
> When we fed the puppies their puppy gruel, we put the food pans inside the whelping box which had no shavings. It has a linoleum floor which was easy to sweep out and mop. We always use bleach-water when mopping.
> 
> ...



linoleum sounds like a great idea.


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## Jason Glavich (Apr 10, 2008)

I switched to pine last night, seems ok, doesnt smell as fragrant. Seems to be way less dust though. Could only find 2 bags so it may not last long, I will have to find more.


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## aichach (Jul 16, 2005)

I get them for the horses any place you get horse food like a feed mill.


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## frontier (Nov 3, 2003)

Jason Glavich said:


> I switched to pine last night, seems ok, doesnt smell as fragrant. Seems to be way less dust though. Could only find 2 bags so it may not last long, I will have to find more.


A dog has more than 220 million olfactory receptors in its nose, while
humans have only 5 million. Just imagine what that wonderful cedar smell that you perceive might smell like to a dog.. and especially a pup just starting to explore the world.

Jason, glad to hear you eliminated the cedar. 

If you have a Tractor Supply in your area, they carry the low dust shavings.


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## Laura McCaw (Jul 28, 2010)

Not sure if you have a tractor supply in your area, but if so, they have HUGE bags of it for only $5.99 . We buy this for our chickens and it lasts a long time. 

http://www.tractorsupply.com/wood-shavings-5027706


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## Jason Glavich (Apr 10, 2008)

I found a bag at walmart and 1 at petsmart, both low or no dust.

Yeh i agree it might have smelled a little strong to the pups. Although they seemed very confused by the fluffy pine and were rolling in it makin snow puppies.

I have a TSC about 30 min away i will see what i can do to get down there.


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## Jason Glavich (Apr 10, 2008)

Laura McCaw said:


> Not sure if you have a tractor supply in your area, but if so, they have HUGE bags of it for only $5.99 . We buy this for our chickens and it lasts a long time.
> 
> http://www.tractorsupply.com/wood-shavings-5027706


So I have to ask, has it changed? The reviews from recently seem to rate it 1 star and say it has changed from how it was, and a few complaints about it being dusty. Any opinion?


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## Laura McCaw (Jul 28, 2010)

Jason Glavich said:


> So I have to ask, has it changed? The reviews from recently seem to rate it 1 star and say it has changed from how it was, and a few complaints about it being dusty. Any opinion?


Actually we stock up on it, so we have not bought any from about 3 months and I just went to go get dogfood the other day, and the bags were different, like the picture I just showed you. We use to pay $4.99 also. I personally have not tried this new bag of stuff as we still our stocked up on our other bags, but I HOPE it's not bad.


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## windycanyon (Dec 21, 2007)

I like the woody pet pellets personally. Nice smell, and when "spent" they go to sawdust and you just scoop the sawdust out. Barn Dry is one of the brands our co-op has carried.


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## frontier (Nov 3, 2003)

windycanyon said:


> I like the woody pet pellets personally. Nice smell, and when "spent" they go to sawdust and you just scoop the sawdust out. Barn Dry is one of the brands our co-op has carried.


Would the wood pellets expand in the pup's stomach if injested? I've never used them for that reason...


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## ErinsEdge (Feb 14, 2003)

I used pellets once and had an obstruction scare. I would not use any pellets again. For one, they can smell like food if food spills on them them.


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## Centerfield Retrievers (Jan 28, 2007)

Personally, I stay away from pellets for the same reason. Some puppies like to eat everything! I only use the pine shavings in a portable pen once pups are 4 weeks old. I bought the last two bags from TSC about a month ago and didn't have any problem with them. Water bowls are a pain. I like the bottle idea.


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## Jason Glavich (Apr 10, 2008)

I have been introducing the water bottle, some have caught on quicker than others. A few found them on their own. and a few are flat out refusing.


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## windycanyon (Dec 21, 2007)

frontier said:


> Would the wood pellets expand in the pup's stomach if injested? I've never used them for that reason...


I start w/ pellets at ~2.5 wks in a tray in their whelping box (when I start to notice they'll go to the corner w/ stinky newspaper) so I never have had a problem w/ mine eating the pellets.


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## Angie B (Sep 30, 2003)

windycanyon said:


> I start w/ pellets at ~2.5 wks in a tray in their whelping box (when I start to notice they'll go to the corner w/ stinky newspaper) so I never have had a problem w/ mine eating the pellets.


Same here... In the puppy play pen the litter pan is at the far end of the pen. Feeding is done at the opposite end. Shavings were a mess and dusty. The pellets stay in the tray and break down as soon as their wet. The closest I've found to a scoop-able litter box.

Angie


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

I use the actual dog litter pellets. They've worked the best for me of anything I've tried. I prefer the Purina brand but Petco's is okay too. Litterbox at one end, food/water the other end of the puppy room. I don't feed or put anything else in the actual whelping box other than the washable pads. By the time they are 3 weeks, they are getting out of the box, eat their mush on a towel over the laminate floor and start using the litter pan. Much easier cleanup than having them do anything in the whelping box itself.


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## Waterdogs (Jan 20, 2006)

Wow I know of a breeder that uses ceder once they are up and moving. I don't know how many litters he has had over the years a bunch. My guess is his whelping sheds are huge and can be opened up and closed. They are very nice so I do not know. They are indoor outdoor when they get big enough. I Do know of several Pros that use ceder in their older dog runs and I do know some dog do have allergies to them. I have been using regular pine but only because the store didn't have ceder. I wonder how a mix would be? I could see how it could cause problems in a confined area and little air flow if it was dusty.


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