Why do we need
Foster carers for the dogs of the Trust?
We would not be able to help the dogs needing it if it were
not for foster carers. The trust doesn’t have many kennels and they are there,
really, for dogs that have nowhere else to go.
The dogs are far better in foster homes as we are looking to
place them in new homes. Fosterers can report back with their assessments to
enable the rest of the team to find the right home for that dog.
Parting with your foster dog can be hard sometimes, but
knowing that he’s going to people who really want him and that you played a
huge part in that is very rewarding.
What do we need
you to do?
We need you to prepare the dog for a new home. Any little
(or large) problems or even little quirks in their nature we need to know
about. The foster home is the ideal place to iron out things. Anything at that
can be misconstrued by someone else needs to be noted. There is nothing more
upsetting than seeing a dog being returned to a rescue, sometimes time after
time. It’s what got me into behaviour counselling in the first place.
Pound dogs often come with no background info at all so we
need the fosterer to fill us in on all aspects of the dog’s character and
behaviour. You don’t have to be an expert just tell us what you see. Pound dogs
are not homed with young children but you as the fosterer may find that he is
fine with children he meets outside and maybe your friends children so an
adoptive home with younger children may well be an option.
We need you to tell us what he is like with other dogs,
whether he pulls on the lead, how he is off the lead. (Never let a foster dog
off the lead in an unenclosed space and then only if you are as sure as you can
be that he will come back to you whether there are other people/dogs there or
not and never within hours or a couple of days of fostering him.)
First Steps in
preparing a dog for a new home.
You must have very strong boundaries for the dog from the
start and stick to them no matter how he looks at you with those big brown
eyes! Not every dog in the Trust has had a bad beginning to his life. Even if
he has you can’t make up for it so don’t try. Dogs remember by association ie
if he has been battered by a rolled up newspaper then he is likely to have an
adverse reaction to a rolled up newspaper but he isn’t going to sit there
worrying about it unless it happens. Not all dogs who need a foster home have
problems of any sort but still need the initial boundaries.
Dogs like to know where they’re supposed to be and where
their place is in the family. A dog that is allowed to do what he likes is not
usually a happy dog, they like to have a bit of structure. He wants to know
where he is allowed to go, where he’s going to sleep, when he will eat, when he
will have exercise etc.
Adoptive families also need to have the same sort of
boundaries initially.
What sort of
Boundaries
You will find that the dog appears to ‘settle in’ quite
quickly. Sometimes almost straightaway, this is fairly superficial though.
Within a couple of weeks he will have worked out any weak spots and will have
found out what he can get away with. He may well start to push his luck now if
he is that way inclined. Of course, all dogs don’t take advantage of this but
you have no way of knowing initially if your foster dog is one of them that
will. So the first two weeks or so are very important in laying down the ground
rules, calmly and quietly so he knows where he is. Avoidance of problems is
much better than trying to cure them. Dogs sometimes are returned because the
adopters don’t realise that the dog was allowed on a bed in the foster home,
for instance, and become worried when the dog growls at them because they try
to remove him from theirs.
Don’t let the dog have the run of the house. His adopters
may not want a dog on the furniture, for instance, or upstairs. There can be
difficulties in adopting a dog, teething troubles so we want to make that
transition as easy as possible. It is far easier to relax the boundaries bit by
bit if you want to than to suddenly change the rules because you now realise
it’s not the behaviour you want.
If the dog is crate trained then make sure you use the
crate. If not then it’s a good idea to crate train him. (See the blog on crate
training). Have him sleep in the kitchen or utility, not in the bedroom. Having
the dog with you all the time can create problems with separation anxiety, if
not with you, then with the adopters. Also if you are a person who is home most
of the time, make a point of leaving him now and again so he doesn’t become
dependant on someone being around all of the time.
Support
There is always support for fosterers and adopters. We’re
all volunteers and most of us have day jobs and other commitments but we will
always respond as quickly as we can.
The important thing is not to let anything get out of hand.
No one will think you ‘silly’ or ‘a bit of a wimp’ if you voice your concerns
no matter how small you think they are. We would much rather know early on
before they become bigger issues.
You may foster a dog and not have a problem at all and we
need to know that too.
Linda Bettles
Canine Behaviourist
01296 733747 or 07749240471
lindashearman@btinternet.com
Linda kindly supports the dogs in the care of the Algernon Trust and also offers a private service to people in need of advice with their dogs.
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