Quote Originally Posted by borzoimom
Okay for the chords- get a little bottle of iodine. You put a few drops on the cord end and a drop or two on the cord. Tie the cords with dental floss- but make sure you have a firm grip on the puppy as pulling the tummy from the cord will make a hernia.
For towels a pack of cloth diapers ( I use to have 3 packs of 8) are perfect. EAsy to wash with Tide with bleach alternative, and they work. Remember pups can not grip on newspaper so the sooner to a blanket- have one for the birth, one for after she is done, then wash it seperately. I use to let the females sleep on the birthing blankets for a few days, then wash, then keep them until I saw signs of birth. They knew the blankets by then. I use to put in some newspaper at the front because the mothers like to tear up the papers when getting ready- but got the paper out after they already started delivery.
When the pups are born, break the sack at the head- mother can eat a few placentas, but not many- it makes their stomach upset. Usually her licking the face helps, but watch for open mouths with the pups- that means they can not breathe.

I will stop with the rest of this as you said you have a near by person that knows how to do puppies. Remember- the pups should come every 20 minutes- no longer than an 30 and by 45 watch for signs of strain- at a hour- call the vet!

Use like baby diapers? I do actually have some I have a little boy who is potty training now so we have them and I bought like dish towels incase I need them to wipe the pups, and for sure I need to break the sacs? and then if she isnt to eat all the placentas what should I do with them?