This site is not only to share our current foster dogs but also to help provide education for other foster homes. As a dog behavior consultant I have been called by many rescues to assist with foster dogs and support many foster families. Having fostered so many dogs over the years I have learned quite a bit and have also seen where folks tend to go wrong. Here are some of my "foster rules" for success.
1. Provide structure! Dogs relax when expectations are clear and definite.
2. Follow the dog's lead. Study body language and DO NOT push them. Take into consideration the environment they came from and observe them contstantly for how they handle new situations. Offer breaks and quiet time.
3. Don't rush encounters with other dogs or cats. Windsor has only sniffed one of our dogs, Duke. This is on leash only and a calm fast sniff followed by a good boy and redirection. Duke is very neutral and is excellent with other dogs, unlike my female gsd mix and siberian who will take more time. As for my cats. All have sniffed Windsor through the crate and Windsor has shown nothing but polite behavior. Like all dogs that come through, he is not given an opportunity to test this. He is always on leashe or crated. That is how we work with all of our foster dogs. Windsor is more polite to them than many of our other fosters have been. Again, supervision is a must and always a controlled situation. I do not take chances that would put my cats or Windsor at risk.
4. Always supervise. Every dog that enters our home is tethered to me (around my waist) or on a leash in my hand or crated. I trust noone until I have observed them for lengthy periods of time. It is rare for any of our foster dogs to have free roam of our home due to 3 kids, 5 cats and 2 of our own dogs, one of which is a quirky female.
5. Expect changes to happen once they become comfortable, healthy and situated. The honeymoon is always misleading! Time reveals the true dog. This is the hardest lesson of all and sadly not all dogs are able to recover from their past experiences. I sure hope this boy can!
This has led to our success and lack of squabbles etc. I hope this helps other fosters!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Great information...particularly with regard to the honeymoon. When our bully rescue realized this was going to be his forever home he began to get protective/possessive...something we weren't familiar with. We called a trainer to help us understand...so glad we did...he's an awesome boy.
Thanks for the information and for caring for this boy. He's worth it.
Thanks for explaining how the process of fostering works and how an experienced foster person manages their dogs in a way that will maximize the dog's chances to succeed.
Windsor, you are in good hands!
Post a Comment