One of the most important ingredients to a successful foster experience is your partnership with the rescue group. These are the people who will—ideally—support you during the weeks and months that you have your dog.
You should never feel alone with this big project, so make sure the group you hope to help has a good track record with solid adoptions and that they take matching foster dogs to foster homes as seriously as they take creating those final adoptions.
Using drama and desperation to find homes shows up in some rescue circles, but it’s not a sustainable way to do business. Avoid drama junkies.
It’s a good idea to look over a group’s foster home contract in advance to make sure you like what you see. Will they help you with obedience training? Vet care? Your family vacations? How will they problem solve and promote?
In return for being a good support system for you, your group will want to know that you’re willing to follow their guidelines and instructions and that you’ll be good about communicating questions and concerns that will undoubtedly come up along the way. No question is stupid—really. Ask, ask, ask.
An experienced group will want to get to know you, your lifestyle and your skill level before giving you a dog to foster. They’ll want to see if your personal dog has good manners and if he’s comfortable with sharing his home. (Your dog doesn’t have to be friends with your foster dog – but he should tolerate its presence. More on that later.)
They’ll also want to make sure that everyone in your household is okay with the project and willing to participate in some way, especially, with double-checking those doors and gates, and reinforcing the new house manners you’ll be teaching the dog.
These are some beginning need-to-knows offered to us by BAD RAP trainer Linda Chwistek. Linda is usually working with many foster dogs for BR. That means she’s over-seeing the details of ‘her’ dogs’ progress and making herself available to the foster homes as questions come up.
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The dogs coming from shelters often smell bad and have fleas. You aren’t getting a shiny coated, well mannered, clean house pet. You will be proud when you make him one.
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Fostering can be long term so be ready to make a commitment. It’s fun, it’s rewarding, but it can take time to find the right match for your foster.
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Know you own pets and their needs. If your personal dog is 15 and wobbly, let the rescue know so they can match up a dog that will be suited to yours.
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Just because your dog doesn’t chase cats doesn’t mean a foster won’t initially think that’s a fun game. Let the rescue know if you have a cat, make sure your foster has been cat tested, and follow introduction instructions.
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The dogs coming from shelters often have kennel cough. And sometimes they get sicker before they get better. It’ll go away, but come up with a plan to keep germs away from your personal dogs until your foster is well.
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Fosters might develop a behavior you find odd or interesting. You may find tail chasing cute, but it can be an obsessive behavior that has to be handled. Always bring up any new or odd behaviors. They could signal health issues or a behavior that needs to be addressed with training.
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Let you neighbors know you have a foster and if possible, have them meet. If he inadvertently gets out, they may recognize him.
Fostering a dog is a very rewarding experience and without them, many dogs won’t make it out of the shelter. If you’ve ever thought of opening your home to a homeless animal, I can tell you from experience—you won’t be sorry.