Fostering

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Annette4

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Has anyone/does anyone foster?

How do you cope handing them over? How long do you generally have a dog? What issues have you had?

OH and I are toying with the idea of fostering for a while. I'm not 100% sold but I suspect it's because I'm still hurting over Tia.

I'm nervous of behavioural issues as Jack has been through enough but we have made that clear to the rescue who have assured us they will only give us dogs who have been 100% assessed.

Part of me wants to wait and get a puppy (got my heart set on a whippet) but it will be a little while before we can commit the amount of time a puppy needs.
 
I foster, all 3 of my dogs are rock solid with other dogs, the foster dogs have been mainly over exuberant young Dobes who just needed some training and plenty of exercise. My last dog a newly neutered male Manchester Terrier stud dog had been born and spent most of his life in kennels, been sold and had 5/6 homes in less than 9months before he came to me. He was not house trained and took a while to get right mainly because he was incredibly nervous, my dogs gave him lots of confidence and he came out of his shell after a while. They are a nervous breed anyway and to start with he tried to fight with my male Dobe who told him off but didn't bite him, he had no doggy social skills so again he learnt this from my dogs. I am always ultra careful and would never leave a foster dog alone with my dogs however good they are. I had him from last October until February this year purely because he was not ready for rehoming, he has been my longest to date but I work on the assumption that it takes as long as it takes. I was sad to see him go but he went to a lovely home on the Isle of Wight to a wonderful owner who sends me weekly updates with photos.

Dogs that are assessed in kennels can be totally different in a home setting so you have to be competent enough to deal with issues as and when they appear and most good rescues have a behaviourist on hand,Im lucky enough to have Cayla on speed dial lol.

I pick up my new foster dog tomorrow a Dobe x Cocker, she will come straight from the owners home to mine and everything the owner tells me I will take with a pinch of salt,my dogs safety takes priority.
 
The dog they have in mind for us is coming from one of their other foster homes which gives me a bit more confidence, she has been a model girl and they need to free up said foster home for the more challenging doggies but she does not cope in kennels.
 
Thats a good way to start but take what they tell you with a pinch of salt until you know different, I dont let my foster dogs off the lead for a long time as it is a huge responsibility, I keep them on a long line and after a few weeks depending on the dog I let them drag it about loose but by then I know Ive got good recall.

I would also be careful with toys as that could cause friction, dont make the mistake of becoming too attached as you will become whats known as a failed fosterer when you adopt your foster dog lol. Enjoy your experience its very rewarding and a good thing to do.
 
My daughter wanted to foster for a dog rescue. She already had a Golden Retriever and a Springer x Lab. Her first rescue dog arrived - lived on tenth floor of tower block where there was domestic violence - Springer x Staffy. Sadly daughter fell in love with rescue dog and couldn't bear to part with her so adopted her! Calls her "her token urban dog"!! Had her for a year now and adores her! We've raised money at a couple of car boot sales for the rescue centre, too!

Little dog is SO enjoying being a country dog, ha ha!!
 
We got our first foster a 7yr bull lurcher after a request for fosterer's for 8wks so kennel work could be done & seemed a good opportunity for us to try it out. The rescue would reimburse food & vet bills but asked to be contacted first in non-emergencies. We weren't allowed to let the foster offlead without prior permission but that suited us fine.

We did have a few minor scraps between her & our male dog, our female dog did her back in about a week or 2 later so was on crate rest for a month, surprisingly they got on better I was concerned with them both being attention seekers. We had to buy a crate to stop her jumping our dog gate and going upstairs or on the dining table in search of microscopic crumbs of food. We were told she was ok with other dogs but discovered she could be reactive on lead. Our 2 adopted dogs came with no home experience or much assessment so it wasn't a total shock.

We bought an "adopt me" jacket from St Roch which helped draw attention while out & about. We kept her on past 8wks with hope that she'd find a home easier as had been in kennels 18mths & is so people oriented. We did get a few homing enquiries but weren't ideal for her, its a bit of an emotional rollercoaster mix of excitement & sadness. After a year we decided to just adopt the foster as couldn't imagine life without her.

I didn't find it too bad attachment wise upto around 6 months and then it just got harder. I don't think I should foster any potential long termers again. We did recently have a short term foster here, it didn't go too smoothly mixing the dogs, but there's bit more info gained on the foster after her holiday and some nice photos.
 
I foster for Scruples whippet rescue, i got in to it as i was wanting to get a friend for my bedlington youngster, was on the waiting list for a rescue puppy. So they asked if I would foster for them. I had several whippets through, who were lovely, some needed medical care, all needed love and care, and I had dogs and bitches. Eventually, I failed as a foster carer i adopted Nonny. She and Flodden were just perfect together, and 18 months later she is perfect. I have had several other foster whippets through and all have got on with my two.

I think fostering could be perfect for you, and why not foster for Scruples whippet rescue, then you can foster for as long as you want, and if you meet the perfect match, you can adopt :)
 
Bosworth said:
I foster for Scruples whippet rescue,

I think fostering could be perfect for you, and why not foster for Scruples whippet rescue, then you can foster for as long as you want, and if you meet the perfect match, you can adopt :)
Click to expand...


I have a Scruples whippet! Alfie has been with me for 3 years now and I do believe he wouldn't have made it if he was in Kennels.


I couldnt foster as I know i would 'fail'!
 
Hello Dappyness, I am also in Devon. And I managed to foster 8 before I fell for Nonny, sometimes they are not the perfect match for you and you let them go knowing they will have a perfect home elsewhere. And then you meet the perfect match, and you just click :)
 
I fostered for a while a year or so ago. Didn't have any problems handing them over - I found I didn't get that attached as I knew it was short term. Out of the multiple dogs we had through there were only two which I would have liked to keep but neither really fitted well with our existing and for various reasons in the end I was reather glad when they went (they were both longer term fosters).

Most of ours were a week or two at most although we had a couple longer than that - one puppy with a broken leg who we had until he got the fixator off his leg and was healed so had him a good 3 months (trying to crate rest a 10 week old puppy is very hard!!! - he got very destructive as he couldn't exercise) and the other was a collie with some form of ataxia and occasional behavioural issues so took a month or so to find the right home for him.

I did enjoy it while we did it but had to stop as we never got a break - it was a small local rescue we fostered for and we no sooner handed one dog over to the new home for us to be asked to take another dog and if we said we couldn't we were almost guilt tripped into taking another one (only for a day or two which would stretch into several weeks) so I ended up saying I couldn't take any more at all - our dogs never got a break from having strange dogs in their house and it does get exhausting as every single dog we had through had no manners or training and were pretty hard work. If I fostered again I would want more time in between each foster
 
Bosworth said:
why not foster for Scruples whippet rescue, then you can foster for as long as you want, and if you meet the perfect match, you can adopt :)
Click to expand...

I've actually applied for a whippet they have in at the moment so just waiting to hear from them. Once they've been in touch I'll certainly mention it. I'm still not sure I'll be accepted to do either but we shall see.
 
I would give them a call, and they will do you a home check, and you can mention being a foster carer then, I know they are really struggling at the moment as last week alone there were 19 whippets taken into their care. So they are rather snowed under. But are always in need of foster carers, especially further north as their main base is Devon and they cover the whole country from there with the help of their supporters.

You will have to have a home check regardless of whether you foster, or adopt, unless you have had one recently from another rescue.
 
As soon as the landlord has replaced our fence at the bottom of the garden (it's only 4ft and coming down atm) I'll give them a call.....we won't pass a homecheck with the fence the way it it now unfortunately.
 
I am a useless fosterer. I've fostered three so far. The first one I loved to bits. He was fab in the house but unpredictable outside and difficult to hold onto if he saw another dog or even a person that he thought might have a dog. The kennels found him a lovely home and I cried when he left. The lovely couple that adopted him still send me pics of him. The second was a nervous wreck and only stayed a couple of weeks. He ended up going to a specialist rehabilitation trainer who kept him. And the third one I failed totally with. She is asleep on my sofa at the moment LOL.
 
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