Fostering dogs

[Vegansnake]

I'm thinking of applying to foster,is anyone doing so at the moment and can advise...I'm / we arnt ready yet for another family member,but we have love to give,helping someone on their way to a forever home...currently no pets,and enclosed garden.

[CMOTDibbler]

I foster puppies for the rescue my dogs are from. We don't do adults as a) we have cats, b) we have a child and c) the puppies tend to be around for a shorter length of time than the adults which gives us more flexibility.
Its very rewarding, but hard work!

[Vegansnake]

Thanks..I have a 7 yr old,so I was thinking ,if anything were to stop us being approved that would be it...having a 7 yr old I mean...was it yr choice to just foster pups?

[Bubble2bubble]

My Dc were probably around 6 and 8 when I started fostering but had grown up with our own four dogs,so I was confident how they would behave around any new arrivals.
I now only have puppies as one of my own dogs is nervous of bigger dogs since he was attacked a couple of years ago ( though he still loves puppies! ), but I have in the past had older dogs which was lovely.
Rescues are also looking for quiet, no-pet homes for dogs who perhaps need a quiet space, or are frightened of other dogs, are recovering from an operation, or pregnant for example. If you have a bit of dog experience I would be surprised if having a 7 year old excluded you.

[Bubble2bubble]

Puppies are a lot of work and extra mess in your house, but then they look like this and you don't mind...

[CMOTDibbler]

Yes, I chose to stick to puppies - up to 9 months max really.

My son is 10, and dog savvy. I think it also helps that our younger dog was only 2 when we started fostering, and we'd had him from 16 weeks so the memory of puppiness wasn't too far off.

You do have to be prepared to put a lot of work into it - one set came at 4 months having never been in a house, on a lead, no sense of toilet training at all. Fortunatly we have hard floors, but standing in the garden in the rain at 1am isn't great. You also are limited as to how much you can leave them - never more than 4 hours total in a day, not more than 2 hours at a time

[allfurcoatnoknickers]

I highly recommend the other end of the spectrum - foster seniors! I've fostered quite a few dogs and the old ones are by far the easiest. All they want is a warm bed, regular food and a few little strolls around the block and lots of cuddles. They're, also, in my experience, fine to be left for longer 4 -5 hours as opposed to 1 or 2.

I have a friend who exclusively fostered older dogs and said she'd never go back to having puppies as they're so much work!

[Vegansnake]

I've applied to foster whippets,as that is the breed my lovely dog was,and I feel I understand the breed...just waiting to see...we have no pets as our whippet died 😰...I've adult kids and a family sensible 7 yr old

[Vegansnake]

Fairly not family

[Bubble2bubble]

Well done vegan. Hope you get a new house guest soon

[BagelGoesWalking]

I've fostered 2 dogs via rescues working in Eastern Europe. Lovely dogs, with no issues. I was very upfront and told the rescues that I wasn't an experienced owner (don't have a dog but have looked after friends/family dogs) so that I needed dogs without any serious behavioural problems.

The 2 dogs were both lovely, no issues at all except needing recall training, which any dog would need with a new foster/owner. They were each with me for about 2 months (separately). The rescues I worked with don't have much money so I did insurance, paid for food, worming etc but I think that varies with different rescues.

If you haven't got a particular local rescue in mind, there are lots you can look at who do fostering nationwide (usually those working with foreign rescue dogs).

I'd also recommend joining the various FB groups that rescues run. It will give you a good idea of their "vibe", how they react to any issues, how communicative they are, what backup they'll give you (or owners) with any problems etc etc.

Have a look at Help Pozega Dogs, Balkan Underdogs, Black Retriever X - I'm sure others will recommend others. You could also look at the Cinnamon Trust. They have volunteer dogwalkers all over the UK, helping older/ill people who can't walk their dogs anymore, so it helps them keep their dogs at home.

I really enjoyed fostering and am just thinking about how to persuade my OH that I want to do it again!

[Vegansnake]

Thanks everyone for yr replies..I'm probably leaning to whippets and grays ,as that's what I'm used to.....I've only had one dog as an adult,so I don't want to make a mistake with a different bread ,if I did something wrong I mean...

[Vegansnake]

I've had a reply ,and they are coming to do a home check? What will they be looking for?? It's so exciting

[BagelGoesWalking]

From what I know, they'll check you have a secure garden, are all the family on board with the idea, maybe ask about working hours, if applicable.

I'm sure others will add their experiences!

[NoBetterName]

We foster for Just Whippets, or at least we did until we failed and our foster boy is now a permanent member of our household.

We also have DC aged 8 and 12, but this was not an issue in terms of being accepted for fostering though our DC are fairly dog-savvy as we already had two dogs when foster boy came along.

[Vegansnake]

No better name,that's who I've applied with .

[Vegansnake]

No better name,how long from start to finish before you got a dog....

[NoBetterName]

They are a lovely charity, Vegan. They don't use kennels, they only use foster homes.

[NoBetterName]

Sorry, cross-post. From application to getting a dog took about 3 months, but only because there weren't any dogs suitable to be placed with us prior to that.

[Vegansnake]

I only know my whippet ,and he was the most gentle dog you could meet,so I'm assuming all whippets are,or rather hoping they are..no better name,have you had many whippets and what were they like? Foster whippets I mean

[NoBetterName]

He was our first foster, but we have another whippet (adopted from RSPCA) and a lurcher (whippet/greyhound cross we think, adopted from Dogs Trust). He is more energetic than our other two, but he is also still very young and a lot like our first whippet was when he was younger. I think they are a very laid-back, gentle breed though some fosters may need some training depending on the background they are coming from. Our foster hadn't been socialised much, so he's not good with other dogs and he does steal food (another possible breed trait!) we luffs him though!

[Vegansnake]

No better name,Will you be ok when he has to go? That's the bit I'm worried about

[NoBetterName]

He's not leaving Vegan, we ended up adopting him . We clearly weren't very good at this fostering malarkey.

[Vegansnake]

Aaahhh,yes I see.i read yr post wrong ,good for him..x

[airforsharon]

I started fostering last year and ended up a failed fosterer like NoBetter Foster hound stayed put and has been here 6 months now. I haven't tried to foster again, partly because she had (and still has) some 'issues' and has needed a lot of work and care, and partly because I have 2 other dogs and 3 dcs....i'm not sure I can fit in any more!

Good luck Vegan, it's an incredibly worthwhile thing to do and the people I know who foster regularly love it....I know one woman who currently has 10

[Vegansnake]

Sharon...someone has ten? I thought I could only foster one dog at a time as long as I didn't have any of my own,so I could approach other charities and foster different breeds together??