Are there any precautions in using old clothes for covering in a whelping box.

I plan to not use any long sleeve top or long pants. But T-shirts etc should be OK.

What do you think?

I used old sheets and blankets
Mom eats the poop anyway
you can wash out the sheets and blankets
Helps keep the pen cleaner for you to hand wash out or sanitize
I used corrugated HDPE sheet for the inside of the whelping box, it's a dream to keep clean and I don't have that peed on wood smell
I guess whatever trips your trigger

good will and salvation army has plenty of stuff at bargin prices.......

sheets, towles......

Don't use stuff pups can get under and get stepped on or stuck in. 

Think of what pups would be in naturally and go from there.

How about straw?
Hank

THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING. WHAT ABOUT STRAW?

I used to use comforters, but had a bitch who was a digger and fluffer... one puppy got tangled in the cloth and laid on by accident.  I now use heavy duty rugs such as you'd see in winter time in stores and such to soak up the snow and water.  I cut them in 1/2 to fit the box... to wash I clip them to a fence and wash with heavy duty sprayer and let them dry.  I like them because they wisk the mositure away from the pups instead of having them lay on a wet blanket til it's changed... and also gives perfect footing for them when they start waddling around.

Same here, I only use the indoor-outdoor mats/rugs I get at Costco. I have to cut about 4 inches at the bottom to fit. Had a bitch one time chew and swallow a piece of towel that strangulated her intestines and caused a blockage. Because it was a string that towels shred into when chewed it did not obstruct like a normal foreign body so it took 3-4 days to diagnose as it did not show up on an x-ray like a normal obstruction would. She became sicker and sicker until we did an exploratory only to find nearly two feet of towel strings strangulating her intestines. She survived the surgery but died that night from complications. Most horrible night of my life. I will never use towels again unless it is supervised and for a whelp. Once everything is clean towels are removed. Blankets, clothing are not much different. And every bitch reacts differently when they nest and dig before whelp and after pups arrive. Just depends on the fabric if it passes well or not. The best fabric for passing without stringing is polar fleece.  I have also had similar experiences with blankets and bedding or sheets as above mentioned. Had a gorgeous litter one year by one of my very best mothers 4 puppies got tucked and rooted up in folds and laid on. If you can imagine what it was like to come back in to check babies and count them ..then find one then another then another flat dead and laid on.... really horrible and had I known better would not have happened.  Needless to say some lessons are hard learned but you only have to learn them once. 

To just the opposite too slick and flat of a surface can result in puppies who can not get traction and as a result can acquire "swimmers" syndrome..... the best I have found has been the rubber mats. 20.00 ea they can be pressure washed and cleaned easily or just thrown away between litters. They maintain body heat and insulate from the floor of the box. The rubber is almost 1/2" inch thick and I have yet to have a bitch dig one up or fold it over a pup or get a pup under it. The fabric soft sided top surface is semi repellent to liquids so when a pup pees a bitch can clean it easily and not much gets absorbed. One mat stays very clean for almost 3 weeks here even with a very large litter. Just the right amount of time before they start out of the house anyway and onto shavings from there. As well the textured surface also provides nice traction for newborns to easily get their footing on and motor about early which has its own advantages. I don't like either to teach puppies to pee and poop on bedding or blankets from birth.

The ones I use are carpeted industrial mats... it gives the softness of a rug with 3/4 " nap, and the rubber bottom so it doesn't slip or leak thru. The pups are nice and dry, safe and no swimmers.  Something like Horse Stall mats I've heard people use also.

after the actual whelp, i use

Drymate Whelping Box Liner

http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/818-Drymate-Whelping-Box-Liner.aspx

Absorbent liner provides the perfect whelping area for your pets

Soft, non-woven fabric absorbs and contains liquids without leaking through

Gives your puppies an insulated and sure-footed surface

Durable, dark green fabric looks great and hides stains

Machine washable and dryable