Should I Foster A Dog?

It doesn’t have to be exactly the same schedule every day, but there should be a general routine, especially around feeding and walking.

Shelters typically do a good job of scheduling regular vet visits for your foster dog around your schedule. However, in the likely chance of an unexpected emergency, you may need to bring your shelter dog back to the rescue or the emergency vet yourself.

Many shelter dogs do just fine being crated while you’re at work or school, especially fresh out of a shelter. However, many fosters struggle with accidents, anxiety, and crate training. You may need to prepare to allocate more time to help them adjust, especially in the beginning.

The duration of fostering can be unpredictable, so it’s essential to be prepared for this uncertainty before committing. While fostering dogs with medical conditions, like heartworms, might have a more predictable timeline, typical fostering can range from a few days to several months or even more.

If unexpected plans arise or you find fostering overwhelming, it’s essential to have a plan in place. There’s nothing wrong with transferring a foster or returning the dog to the shelter, but it can be emotionally challenging to call it. Make sure you and the rescue you’re working with have a clear understanding and strategy for situations where you might need to end the fostering before the dog finds a permanent home.

You don’t have to commit to paying extra but may realize that you may spend more on your foster dog than you had anticipated.

If your foster dog suddenly needs to go to the vet or needs food or resources the rescue can’t currently provide, they’ll typically expect you to cover those costs upfront. Most rescues reimburse you for approved expenses, but many don’t have cash readily available. It’s best to ensure you have sufficient funds to cover an unexpected expense until the rescue can reimburse you.

Many well-intentioned foster parents are caught off guard by the strength of a shelter dog that seemed calm in its kennel. Common challenges include managing the dog during walks and preventing them from inadvertently knocking people over as they dash between rooms or attempt to exit the house. It’s crucial to ensure you can physically manage and, if necessary, lift the dog you decide to foster.

Many shelter dogs are young, high-energy dogs that require lots of exercise. Ideally, you’ll have a fenced area where you can let them run and play, but you’ll also need to take them for regular walks. Fostering can be a great way to become active and get into shape, but you need to ensure you can commit to exercising the dog every day.

Experience with the kind of dog you’ll be fostering before you bring them home is invaluable. Knowing how to effectively leash and handle a powerful dog at the shelter sets you up for success when you’re doing it in your home and vehicle. After all, if a shelter dog slips the lead at the shelter, you’ll have a few moments of chaos. If they do it in the street, the consequences could be disastrous. If you haven’t worked with dogs before, I recommend you start with small, relatively easy-to-handle dogs like we did.

Having prior experience is certainly useful, but it can get in the way as well. Every dog is an individual. When you’ve worked with a lot of them, it can be easy to typecast the nervous dog, the fear-reactive dog, the outgoing buffoon. However, trying to put a foster dog into a category like this too quickly can be disastrous. Be sure that you approach every foster dog with a fresh perspective, despite the experience you may have had with rescues, client-owned dogs, or your own dogs in the past.

Be honest about your likely emotional stability during the fostering journey. You may face serious hardships dealing with behavior or medical challenges. Or you may bond with a dog over the course of months only to see them go home with someone else. 

Your foster dog will test you. Every rescue dog goes through an adjustment period as they transition from their previous life to life with you. This process includes setbacks in training, unexpected new behavioral issues, and a dog that might seem more independent and detached than before. You must be ready to handle the ebbs and flows of your dog’s behavior and the challenges that come with fostering without taking it personally or losing hope in the goal.

When you start the journey to foster a dog, you are also embarking on a journey of personal growth. This can be a tremendous opportunity for self-improvement, but like all personal growth, it’s also trying. Ensure you’re ready to leave the experience different than you started.

If you enter this experience with the attitude that you are the teacher and the dog is the student, you’ll be setting yourself up for failure. Your new foster dog is going to teach you in everything you do together, from the first time you bring them into your home to the last walk before they join their forever family. If you’re not ready to learn from your foster dog, then you can’t expect them to learn from you either.

If so, it may be a great tactic for you. If you’re not sure whether a dog would improve your mental health, fostering is a good way to try it out before making a lifelong commitment. The unique benefits of fostering can be uniquely therapeutic.

I cannot overstate the emotional turmoil that fostering can cause. There’s simply no way to go into fostering with confidence that the dog will not be sick, have serious behavioral issues, escape, or that some other trauma may result. If you are struggling with your mental health, it is wise to talk to a trusted friend, mentor, or therapist about whether fostering is the right step for you.

If you’ve dealt with loss before, you probably know something about how you handle it. Think honestly about what it will be like to say goodbye to a foster dog. Will a pint of ice cream and a good movie be enough to console you, or will you really struggle?

You might do your best to avoid fostering a dog who will pass away by avoiding sick or elderly dogs, but the truth is that more shelter dogs in foster homes are euthanized for behavioral issues than die of natural causes, in my experience. One way or the other, are you ready for how it might feel if you are the dog’s last home?

I emphasized it throughout this article, but I cannot say enough how important it is that you have a tight-knit group around you to support you. The foster community in my area is extremely supportive and has been invaluable to me in so many things, including dealing with my emotions after the loss of a foster dog.

I’m fairly confident that everyone who has ever fostered a dog has lost patience with that dog at some point. The warm-hearted people who take rescue dogs into their homes are some of the most understanding and patient I know, but dogs have a way of getting under your skin, both for good and for bad. There will be times when you simply need to take a deep breath and decide whether you want to keep going. It’s okay to give up on fostering, but you can’t give up on your foster dog. As long as they are with you, it’s your responsibility to treat them with patience, kindness, and positivity.

When you’re cleaning up the 5th potty accident in 2 hours with your own puppy, it can be easy to justify it by thinking of the many years you’ll spend together. With a foster dog, it can be a bit more difficult to face challenges with grace. Rescue dogs can take a long time to learn basic behavior. After all, some of them have run loose or have been kept on chains or in cages for most of their lives. They may have unlearning to do. You need to be confident that you can approach training a rescue dog with an eye for progress, however gradual the incline towards success.

Regardless of whether the lease says you can have whatever pets you want, or whether your spouse is the type that doesn’t mind if you bring home something unexpected, you need to talk to them ahead of time before you foster a dog. Most shelters and rescue organizations ask who is living in the house and require their approval. Even if they don’t, it’s essential to realize that having a foster dog in the house will impact the other people in the home, perhaps negatively. They need to be onboard and recognize the responsibility they’re taking on.

Regardless of what the other people in your home say, think critically about what it will really look like to have a dog in the house with them. What if it chews up a possession of theirs? How about if it reacts to them fearfully or aggressively? What if they don’t listen to the instructions you leave for the dog’s safety, such as not leaving out potentially dangerous food or objects? Know what you’ll do if the other people in your life don’t do what they say they will.

Make sure that, regardless of the level of responsibility other people in your life will have with the dog themselves, they understand that this is going to be a big change in your life. Ensure they are on board and believe this is a good decision for you, and that they’re ready to support you.

It’s one thing to enthusiastically say “Oh yeah, I’ll help” before a foster dog comes into your life. However, once the demands start coming, your friends, family, and housemates may start to put some limitations and specifications on what they meant when they said they’d help. It’s best to get these questions out ahead of time. Are they willing to take the dog out for a potty break or walk? How about helping to train and socialize the dog? Are they willing to engage in conversations about whether fostering should continue if challenges arise? Find out what the people in your life are willing to commit to so that you won’t base your plans on false expectations.

Studies have found that dogs are more likely to get out for consistent walks when only one person is designated for walking them. That doesn’t mean you can’t share the responsibility, but it does mean that you need to set clear expectations. Don’t just assume that somebody will get to it today. Determine who takes the dog for a walk every morning, afternoon, evening, or whatever schedule you have worked out. Make sure everyone is in agreement about what and when the dog eats, what kind of behavior is acceptable, and what kind of behavior modification, training, and socialization is appropriate and prioritized.

How the house is divided up and where the dog can go is something many foster families do not think about ahead of time. They then encounter problems when they learn that the dog’s favorite place to noisily chew a bone is by the toilet, or that its preference for one roommate’s bed is keeping them up all night. It’s much easier to expand a dog’s space down the road than it is to restrict it once they’ve already become accustomed to it. It’s best to designate a shared area, perhaps a living room or kitchen, to start and then gradually expand the dog’s space as everyone in the house becomes comfortable with it.

Some of these things are almost certain to be necessary, so it may be a good idea to come to grips with what kind of changes you’ll need to make to your house before you’re scrambling to do it while the dog is there.

You can certainly choose a certain type, size, or energy level of shelter dog to focus on. There are plenty of dogs desperate for a good roof over their heads of all different varieties. However, if you want to foster diverse dogs, you may need to make various adjustments. A ramp may be necessary for a foster dachshund, while a higher or more secure pet gate may be necessary for that big sweet bully dog who just can’t stop trying to get to the fridge.

Lots of foster parents are able to let their foster dogs live in their home with all of their current pets without any problems at all. However, it’s best to have a plan in place in case things don’t work out. Baby gates are a great way to introduce dogs to living closely together with current pets, gauge how they’ll react while they’re separated to make a fight less severe, and be a dividing place in case play gets too rough or someone is annoying someone else.

The last thing you need is someone in your household deciding that today is a good day for the foster dog to play with the current pet without your go-ahead. Make sure that everyone knows how foster pets should interact with current pets to avoid problems and potential heartache.

You don’t have to be a Zen master, and it’s okay if your house can be rowdy and loud, but there needs to be a sense of consistency, safety, and familiarity. A home that’s filled with lots of yelling and anger is not conducive to a shelter dog’s needs.

A fenced yard is best, but you can also bring your dog to a dog park if there aren’t any other dogs there. Dog parks make me nervous in the best of circumstances, and I’m loath to give them a shot with a foster dog. Furthermore, most animal shelters and rescues do not allow fosters to take foster dogs to a dog park. If there isn’t a fenced area, long walks, jogging, biking, and playing on a long line are options.

A hatchback is best, but if you have a car or truck where the dog has to be in the space with you, it’s important to use a crate or a dog seat belt so they don’t jump into your lap while you’re driving. It’s essential that there is good climate control wherever the dog will be.

Car sickness is another reason it’s great to have your dog in a crate during transport. A seat protector that makes a hammock of the entire backseat is also a very good idea. Some dogs respond well to pheromones, calming treats, thunder jackets, or other anxiety aids. Others benefit from a little bit of exercise periodically along the drive.

Are they excited? Apprehensive? Indifferent? How your child feels about it matters. A fearful child can make a dog more fearful, creating a cycle that can lead to reactivity. An overly excited child may have a very difficult time letting go when it’s time to adopt the dog out. Kids who are indifferent may happily coexist or may have trouble adhering to rules for the dog’s safety, like not feeding it inappropriate items and keeping doors closed.

Saying that they do fine with your dog at home is not what I mean. The family dog can learn to tolerate all kinds of inappropriate behavior from a child they grow up with and live with. While we do our best to manage interactions between our child and Romeo, our family dog, I’ve turned around to find him happily wearing a hat while being ridden by a doll more often than I’d like to admit. Your child needs to know how to interact with dogs that don’t know them and may be fearful. Do they know to wait for the dog to approach them, and never to approach the dog, especially if it’s eating, sleeping, or with a toy? Do they know how to touch a dog gently and without grabbing? Good dog manners are an essential first step before bringing a foster dog into a home with a child.

There are all kinds of things to prepare before the foster dog comes home:

• Fenced-off areas outside where children can interact through a fence before interacting directly with the dog
• Baby gates throughout the home so that children and dogs can have minimal interactions or see each other without touching
• Teaching regimens with your child so they will freeze and stop moving if you say so, and so that they remember to close doors, put away food, etc.

The shelter worker should facilitate the first introduction between the child and the dog. They will watch for any early warning signs and ensure the dog is showing natural and comfortable body language. However, when you take the dog home, it’s up to you to guide their interactions. Do you know what you’ll do if the dog jumps on the child? How about if the child grabs the dog? Make sure you know what kind of commands you’ll use and what recourse you’ll take if a situation arises.

Depending on your child’s age, it may be much easier to just fill the food bowl or take the dog for a walk yourself than to talk them through it and supervise them while they do it. However, it’s worth the extra time. Having your child help you in caring for the dog will instill responsibility in them, but it will also teach the dog that your child is someone to look to as a leader.

The key phrase above was “supervise.” You’ll need to supervise your child to make sure everything is being done correctly. It may be your 10-year-old who wanted to foster in the first place, but it’s you who needs to take a walk with them and the dog to ensure they’re teaching good leash manners and not letting the dog pull them all over the neighborhood. Your 5-year-old may be gung-ho about handling morning feedings, but it’s you who needs to ensure that the correct amount of food is distributed.

Make sure that you and any other caregivers in the child’s life have talked to them extensively about the fact that this is not your dog, but a dog who needs your help before they move on to their final home. It may help with young children to explain that they are just babysitting or that the dog is on a vacation. Ensure the temporary aspect of it is emphasized throughout the fostering experience.

There will be tears. Are you ready? Crying together and expressing your feelings of sadness when saying goodbye to a foster dog is perfectly natural. In fact, this can be a wonderful opportunity for children to learn how to handle loss and transitions. While it can be helpful to mention that now there’s room in your home for the next foster dog, it’s also important to thoroughly grieve the end of the lovely experience you had with the last one. Encourage the new foster home to send pictures and videos of your foster dog in their happy forever home to help your child realize that while they’re sad that the dog is gone, the dog is happy in its new home.

Your child should be able to recite back to you why it’s so important that they are consistent and deliberate in their training. Make sure they can demonstrate the same training protocols repeatedly even before the dog comes home.

Most children have a sense of things that they absolutely must never do under any circumstances, and a vast majority of things they are not supposed to do, which are things they can kind of get away with sometimes. It’s important that your child understands that dog rules are the first kind of rules. A dog must never be fed food that an adult has not approved for it. A child must never take a dog that they are not physically able to control for a walk or out in the yard by themselves. These rules have to be ironclad for the safety of your child and your foster dog.

• Either gender: Some dogs have specific fears or preferences based on past experiences. It’s important to know if a dog is comfortable with all genders to avoid potential conflicts.
• Children: Kids have unpredictable movements and may not approach dogs properly. Ensure the dog is child-friendly if you have youngsters at home.
• Other dogs: Determine a dog’s temperament around other dogs. This is crucial if you already have another dog to avoid tensions or fights.
• Livestock: If you have farm animals or smaller pets, assess whether the dog has a high prey drive or can coexist peacefully with them.

• Breed or Mix: Being aware of the dog’s breed or mix can give insights into its likely behavior, needs, and temperament.
• Prey Drive: Some breeds have a strong instinct to chase, which can affect how they interact with smaller animals or even moving objects.
• Reactivity towards other dogs: Recognize if the dog tends to react aggressively or fearfully to other dogs, which can influence social interactions.
• Likely Characteristics: Familiarity with common traits of the breed or mix helps in setting expectations and preparing for potential challenges.

The longer a dog has been with the rescue, the more information they’ll likely have about its behavior. Has the rescue identified any specific issues, such as anxiety, aggression, or fearfulness? Observing a dog in various settings (like a home, play area, or around other animals) provides a comprehensive view of its adaptability and temperament.

• Personal Connection: Trust your instincts about whether you feel a bond or rapport with the dog.
• Physical Handling: Consider if you can manage the dog’s size, energy level, and strength, especially in challenging situations.
• Emotional Handling: Reflect on whether you can support the dog’s emotional needs, including potential anxieties or behavioral quirks.

A dog that has been with the shelter for some time should have known medical issues, if any. However, a dog that has recently arrived may show signs of illness later on.

Foster dogs may require any kind of medical care that any other dog could need. They may need to have regular medication given, including the kind that’s not so fun, like for ear infections. They may need a specific diet to overcome allergies or to be on restricted exercise to treat heartworms.

One of my own dogs cannot be vaccinated, so I’ve always ensured that all of the foster dogs that come into my household are long-term shelter residents who have been fully vaccinated and been with the shelter long enough to be sure that the vaccinations are effective.

A case of ringworm in a healthy kid or pet is annoying, but might be devastating in an immunocompromised person. Make sure you’re thinking about what the foster dog might be bringing into the home.

Make sure to be clear that this is a potential outcome and know whether it is allowed and how it will go from the beginning.

Some foster families start out intending to foster for a while, but can’t give up the first dog. If you’re worried this might be you, make sure you’re as particular about your first foster dog as you would be if you were planning to adopt.

The same people who are willing to foster homeless dogs are also people who tend to have big hearts. There’s nothing wrong with letting your heart lead you down your foster journey, but it is important that you not let it get in the way of the dog’s successful outcome.

Familiarize yourself with regulations specific to your area regarding dog ownership, care, and responsibilities. Some regions have bans or restrictions on certain breeds ore requirements that dogs to be leashed in public spaces or specific locations. You should aalso ensure you understand licensing or registration requirements for dogs in your locality.

Remember, if fostering isn’t a good experience for you, you’ll stop doing it. The best outcome for you and the dogs is to ensure that fostering is fun and comfortable for you.

It’s important that you stand up for your rights, but it’s also essential to be realistic about the world you’re entering. Remember, no one’s making money off of this enterprise. These organizations are funded by scanty tax dollars or fully by donations and largely run by volunteers.

Talk to the rescue organization you’re working with about how much of a role you’ll be able to play in adoption and let them know your preferences. Some fosters I’ve known would much rather send their dog to adoption events and not be there to have to say goodbyes.

You’ll handle the ups and downs in your dog handling confidence better if you are prepared for it and believe that you’re benefiting from it.

Whether you want to be a vet, a groomer, a trainer, or open up a dog daycare someday, there’s no better way to get acquainted with working with lots of different kinds of dogs and lots of different personalities and issues than by fostering.

Dedicate time to investigating local dog fostering organizations to identify reputable ones and ensure their mission and practices resonate with your personal beliefs. Try to gauge whether the organization’s expectations match your availability and if they undestand your skill set, experience, and capacity to handle specific dog needs.

• Backup Plan: Always have an alternative strategy should the organization fall short of their commitments.
• Alternative Support: Identify other local resources, such as veterinarians, trainers, or pet supply stores that can assist if needed.
• Communication: Ensure you maintain open lines of communication with the rescue, voicing any concerns promptly.
• Contracts & Agreements: Review any written agreements you have with the rescue to understand your rights and obligations.

Before you work with a foster-based rescue, think critically about whether your schedule is flexible enough to stick it out with this dog, even once you’ve decided to find it a new foster. It may be emotionally challenging to continue to commit to the dog once you’ve decided a new home is best. You’ll need to be mentally prepared to deal with that.

Please don’t let one rejection stop you from fostering. Appeal if you really want to work with that organization, and apply to more organizations as well. Many rescue coordinators will reconsider with a heartfelt request.

Consider modifications to your living space to make it safe and dog-friendly, such as secure fencing or dog-proofing rooms. Adjust your daily routine to accommodate the needs of the dog, ensuring adequate time for feeding, exercise, and bonding. Continuously educate yourself on dog behavior, training techniques, and breed-specific needs to better address your foster dog’s requirements. And make sure you have access to essential supplies like food, toys, and health products, and perhaps identify local pet services or support groups.

This is also a good question for the other adults in your home and a landlord if you have one. The fact is that there will probably be some kind of damage done somewhere, so be ready for it.

Waterproof slipcovers protect the couch and the bed if the dog will be sleeping with you or allowed on the couch. Bite-deterrent spray protects furniture that looks tempting. Waterproof protectant for the floor and areas dogs will be make cleanup easy. Make sure to provide your dog with plenty of chew toys and food distributing toys so that they will chew on the appropriate things and not on your home. Crate training is the most invaluable tool you have for protecting your home from foster dogs.

Are you the type who can’t stand being woken up? It may be best to take a foster transfer from someone who already knows the dog sleeps through the night. However, even in this case, an unexpected ailment may cause even an adult dog who’s well crate-trained to cry to get out at night.

If you’ve trained a puppy to sleep through the night before, you probably have some idea how to do it with a rescue dog too. Restricting drinking and eating before bedtime, a late-night potty break, and a chew toy in the bed to occupy them if they get bored at night are all helpful tips.

House training is not hard, but it is repetitive. The best way to do it is to take the dog out every hour or even every half hour, depending on age and size, and give them an opportunity to go. When they do, mark it with a click or reward sound and promptly give them a treat. In time, they’ll learn to hold it in order to get the treat or toy.

Even if you are very committed to house training, accidents may still happen. Make sure that nowhere is available to be soiled upon that would be very difficult to clean, like that antique rug or those dry clean-only drapes.

Have a plan in place for dog-free zones, pet gates, slipcovers, chew deterrent spray, and other techniques to protect your belongings from your foster dog.

Plenty of chew toys and food distributing toys are a great way to encourage your dog to chew on the right things. I’ve had great luck with bitter apple spray, but deterrents don’t work on all dogs. Plan to supervise your dog very carefully to deter them from unwanted chewing and redirect them to appropriate chewing.

Too many fosters I talk to think that training will come intuitively. On some level, it does, but some basic education on training techniques is essential before bringing a foster dog into your home.

Sometimes, it’s not until a foster dog goes into a home that a serious behavioral challenge is recognized. It is perfectly acceptable to send the dog back to the shelter or find a foster replacement. However this can be difficult for some fosters. Know whether you’re willing to take the next step in training if you end up with a serious problem or whether you’ll be okay with returning the dog.

Any inconsistency in training will result in training delays. Even slight differences in what dogs are rewarded for or reprimanded for can be extremely confusing for foster dogs. It’s essential that everyone agrees on what training will look like before the dog comes home.

Working through apparently random fits of anxiety or aggression, overcoming random fears of things like newspapers or shoes, and a refusal to accept people in your life can be exhausting.

A trainer who can help work through some of the more difficult behavioral challenges or an understanding shoulder to cry on and someone to listen to you as you work through challenges with your rescue dog can be invaluable.

Sometimes household pets and foster dogs get along great from the first day. Sometimes they take a little acclimation. Occassinally they do fine until, for some reason, they don’t. “Crate and rotate” is a reasonable way to separate pets. It is also perfectly understandable to find a new foster home or return the dog to the rescue if your current pets are suffering.

Never assume that your foster pet will get along great with your current pets. Foster animals need to be supervised closely with your current pets, typically for the duration of the foster experience, except in rare circumstances. Know where the foster dog will go and where your pets will go when you can’t supervise.