Thinking about fostering dogs?

Here are a few things to consider beforehand…

A few years ago my husband and I decided to try fostering dogs. This came from multiple conversations about getting a younger sibling for our pup Finn. As we talked about it, there were elements of doubling the amount of dogs that felt really overwhelming. One was the size of our backyard, the amount of cleanup, dog hair in the house, cost and that we like to travel and sometimes getting care for one dog can be a challenge and/or a significant expense.

Fostering seemed like a good way to donate some time, care for a pup and see if 2 dogs felt like the right move for us. We had friends who do/did it, so we talked to them. And then we filled out the application to foster. Our approval process was fast and then it was up to us to pick the first dog.

A few notes about being a foster that people always ask me:

1.       Do you get to pick the dog you’re going to foster?

Yes, the shelter we go through sends a list of dogs and everything they know about the dog. Sometimes the dog you request gets claimed, often our shelter will suggest a dog in age, size and demeanor that is similar.

2.       How long will you have the foster pup?

Until they get adopted. Our fosters have averaged just under a month. Our current foster has been with us for almost 3mos (and is a special case as to why, story to come soon).

3.       What do you pay out of pocket?

The shelter provides everything you need, including food. Foster homes are supposed to be safe places to give love, consistency and safety. You are not required to pay out of pocket for anything, but Levi and I don’t mind chipping in for food to ease the burden on the shelter or other things we thing would help the dog that the shelter doesn’t provide (an example is we took one foster to doggie daycare for more socialization experience, so we paid out of our pocket for that).

There are some things I think are important to know before fostering.

1.       The descriptions of the dogs are not guaranteed.

Often the descriptions are written by large shelters who have only spent short amounts of time with the dogs. Larger city shelters are often overwhelmed and do the best they can with very limited resources. So learning to ‘read through the lines’ can be helpful. Often when the description says, ‘good with other dogs’ or ‘bad with cats’ they really mean it. Sometimes the ages can be a bit off and the breeds are frequently a best guess.

2.       The adjustment period to having a foster in your house is about 2 weeks.

Do not think you’re going to bring home a pup and sit down and watch tv. That dog has just been through a hellofa thing and they often don’t know how to be in a home (especially if they’re young). They need a lot of special attention those first few weeks as they adjust. And you will need to take care of yourself too. Even the best puppies/dogs bring a lot of disruption those first few weeks.

3.       Keep an eye on how your own dog is handling it.

If you have a dog already and you’re bringing in a foster, they have to adjust too. They didn’t get any say, so they are more surprised at this house guest than you are. When we first fostered, it was about a week in before we realized our dog had stopped eating and was losing tufts of hair. He was playing with the foster fine, but he was incredibly stressed out. We made sure to give him some special time and attention and added ‘high value’ food to his regular kibble to make sure he ate. Things got better, but we felt so bad not realizing he was stressed right away.

I have more stories to share, but this is a good start in exploring the fostering experience. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions and I’ll share more pup stories soon!