I agree with Jeangenie. My bitch recently had hetr first, veyr healthy litter and I am pretty sure one of the factors in this was the fact that I didn't really treat her any differently to pre-pregnancy, apart from letting her dictate how much walking was enough, and not letting her jump into the boot of the car. We only have a small, mainly patioed garden, so she needs to be off lead on walks so she can have a run. She also hates going to wee on concrete, as do lots of bitches, as she gets splashed!

I think mental well being for in whelp bitches is as important as the physical.

Surely a bitch needs to be kept at the peak of physical fitness throughout the whole of her pregnancy?  As has been stated, this is one way of ensuring she is fit enough to deliver the puppies without assistance, in a reasonable time and without becoming over tired.   Lead walking on concrete would not be enough for most breeds to achieve this, free running off lead is the only way the bitch gets enough exercise but doesn't overdo it in the latter stages.

With my last litter the bitch went for a 2 hour walk/run off lead on the day she whelped, at her pace and certainly not as fast as her non-pregnant companion, but still faster than I would have been able to walk her on lead.   She delivered her very good sized healthy litter in under 2 hours - I was told it was an extremely good time for a first time mum (of this breed) and for the number and size of pups.  I'm sure her physical fitness was a big factor in this.

I have used the Panacur 10% suspension now for 5 generations of pregnant bitches and their pups.

> Besides, in a kennel situation

I would hope that most decent breeders do not keep their dogs entirely as Kennel dogs, and suspect that the vast majority of modern breeders have their dogs as part of their own households, who share in their outings and lives.