Comments on: Fostering from a Dog’s Point of View

By: Kolchak & Jodi

Kolchak & Jodi — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:30:23 +0000

Felix is pretty “roll with the punches”, but picking up all his toys would be very stressful for him, so we’d have to make sure he had a space he could just go be with his toys. I would love to foster by our by laws make it very difficult.

By: Roberta

Roberta — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:40:25 +0000

Honey is a wonderfully adaptable dog. Justus will get down on the floor to play with small dogs; he even did it at the store with a Pug puppy. We’re changing dogs all the time with adoptions and deaths (too many in the last few months). Having multiple “foster” dogs at a time and needing to adjust, observe, minimally train, and maintain peace, I try to screen dogs I accept. Most are Beagles or seniors on purpose. I’ve had my “outliers” like Sparky. the Rough Collie. and Snowman, the Great Pyrenees, but even they, in their breed backgrounds, do well with other dogs. Beagles are pack dogs, used to working two by two or more. On occasion, someone will come in, say “hi,” and blend in seamlessly. The new Beagles are doing well except for one teeny, weeny thing: they are both intact boys and Peanut, senior Weim/Lab mix, is finishing her heat….oh, joy, but we are managing!

By: SUGAR: Golden Woofs

SUGAR: Golden Woofs — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:55:24 +0000

Woof! Woof! We were thinking to foster a senior Golden before but remembered how I (Sugar) reacted when we babysit our neighbor’s dog (not Golden). I was not happy. I more of a people dog so I get really jealous if there’s another dog in the house … I dont get mean, I just go to silence (go in a corner). So that’s the end of a dog house guest. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

By: houndstooth

houndstooth — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:43:53 +0000

We fostered Greyhounds for several years, and our other hounds took it totally in stride. I think if any of our dogs would have a problem, it would be Morgan. She just doesn’t take change well and she isn’t good at reading other dogs’ signals if it’s not what she wants to hear. Kuster would be thrilled, but he can also be a bit too exuberant for other dogs at times! I think he’ll be a puppy in his heart forever!

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:39:22 +0000

Honey is an amazing foster sister! Cali was an excellent foster sister too, the only thing we really noticed is that she would not compete for attention, she would just go and pout on her bed. (we were fostering Goldens . .and they REALLY wanted all of the attention!!)

It’s so great to see how well you all handle fostering – I love seeing Layla’s progress!

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:16:57 +0000

This is great information. I’ve been thinking of fostering and was wondering how people handle some situations. I’ll be reading often!

By: Goose

Goose — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 01:55:43 +0000

How interesting! Honey seems like a wonderful foster sibling 🙂 you’ve raised her beautifully! We’ve had foster kitties in our house since I was adopted…but all foster pups were before my time! I’ve taken to all the foster cats pretty well though; to begin with I give them their space, suss them out for a while, and then play with them (or stay far away from them) accordingly! It’s very fun having them around! I’m not sure how well I’d be with a foster pup in my house…I’m not a great sharer, but I turn into destructo pup without things to do, I also don’t like being away from the action either…so for now, I’m a solo kind of a pup! 😉

By: Gizmo (@GizmoGeodog)

Gizmo (@GizmoGeodog) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 23:51:32 +0000

I’m thinking about getting back into fostering this year so I found this post extremely helpful…Your observations of Honey’s behavior changes gave me some good pointers on what to look for in Gizmo…Thank you

By: SlimDoggy

SlimDoggy — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:48:04 +0000

We used to foster frequently when we had two senior dogs – a lab and a shepherd mix. Several times we fostered seniors, so it was one big snooze fest around here. One time we fostered, not a puppy, but a youngster…it was a bit much, but my two seniors would just ignore him and he entertained himself. Right now, our new girl Maggie is still on the fearful side and SlimDoggy is just a bulldozer sometimes, so adding the confusion a foster brings probably won’t work right now. But maybe in another year or so. It’s a great experience and I think its good socialization for our dogs too.

By: Merciel

Merciel — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:16:35 +0000

My Akita mix Crookytail is a lot like Honey: he seems to naturally gravitate to the role of “guidance counselor” to the foster dogs, whether they’re puppies or older than he is, and deftly adjusts his interactions to make them comfortable. He just turned 2, though, and he’s started roughhousing more than he used to (to the point where it overwhelms smaller and shyer dogs), so I don’t know how long he’ll stay in that role.

My fearful/fear-aggressive German Shepherd mix Pongu HATES foster dogs. Hates them. Snarls and growls and bites at them constantly. (He has very good bite inhibition and has never actually injured any dog, foster or otherwise, but he sure does love to terrorize them.) If they break any house rules, like getting on the couch (where fosters are not allowed, in case their adopters don’t want to let them on furniture), Pongu runs over to me so he can “report” them.

After the first couple of weeks, Pongu learns to tolerate them, and if we have them for a month or so, he seems to genuinely befriend them. But it’s always bumpy in the beginning. He’s just a jealous insecure dog.

I don’t think it causes him severe stress — and I think mild stress helps him learn to cope with life a little better; it’s a variation on learning frustration tolerance — but yeah, I spend those early days supervising them VERY closely, and making good use of our foster crate.