Your Shih Tzu matron will keep her whelping box clean the first few weeks. She will stimulate her Shih Tzu puppies to eliminate and ingest their wastes. Newborn Shih Tzu puppies are born incompletely developed. The Shih Tzu matron must stimulate them to urinate and defecate or the puppies become toxic and die.

The whelping box still needs to be cleaned and disinfected daily. Use ¾ cup Clorox bleach to one gallon of water. Clorox bleach is highly effective against Parvo virus. Your Shih Tzu dam's discharge must never be profuse, overly bright red, greenish or odorous. Should any of these conditions occur, call your veterinarian for advice.

Change the Shih Tzu whelping box linens daily the first week and twice daily thereafter. Do not allow the bedding to become damp. Chilling is fatal to newborn Shih Tzu puppies. Bedding in the whelping box should be completely flat. Shih Tzu puppies can become lost under wrinkled bedding.

Newborn Shih Tzu puppy stools should be checked as they eliminate. A bright or strangely colored stool, yellowish streaked, foamy or mucoid of consistency are signs of trouble. Hard stools accompanied by straining and crying or loose stools of a diarrheic condition are indicative of life-threatening conditions. Normal Shih Tzu puppy stool has form, is not overly hard, runny or mucoid. It is brown and holds together in a soft but formed "rope."

The only time a Shih Tzu matron should wear a collar is when you take her out the yard or to the vet. Remove the collar prior to whelping and throughout the time Shih Tzu puppies are near their dam. Do not use flea collars when the dam is with her Shih Tzu puppies.

Four interlocking layers of opened newspaper on the floor over heavy plastic film such as that used by painters are helpful in preventing serious cleanup problems. It is not necessary to discard plastic sheeting after each use. Clean with a solution of ¾ cup Clorox bleach and 1 gallon of water.