I'm going to the dogs home to foster.

[Doggood]

Kids want a dog.
I don't.
Well I do but I don't feel it's a commitment I can make 100% right now. Long term.

I went to the dogs home last week out of curiosity and the lady said they foster.
2 weeks at a time.

I was looking at all the oldies :(

So I'm taking the kids this week for them to meet a few dogs and if any of the old gals/ guys click we may take them home for a few weeks.

Anyone else done this?

The kids are older so understand what fostering means.

Was watching the Alan davies programme about fostering and thought it would be something I’d love to do but you need an enormous amount of time to do it- can you commit to being with them practically 24/7? The couple interviewed were retired and fostered dogs for months, sometimes years at a time if no one wanted them. It would be a wonderful thing to do if you could commit!

Yes I am at home all day so have all the time in the world. I need something to keep my mind busy.

I hope you find a lovely dog to foster , sounds like a really worthwhile thing to do

I don't think I could foster because I don't think I could give up a dog that I'd developed an attachment to.
I'd worry too much about where it might eventually end up.
So... I'd imagine I'd just end up with a dog that was unplanned.

I understood that it was quite a commitment - when I thought about it -
you need to be able to drop everything to pick up a dog from the rescue, it would be fostering for possibly more than 2 weeks (particularly with older dogs as they need to feel settled and are unlikely to be rehomed quickly)
Would most rescues want fosterers with experience of the breed and to also have other dogs to help with the socialisation.
Would it be tricky with children and/or cats.
When I looked at what was required it seemed far too much of a commitment with potentially losing the dog once you have got attached to them.

From what I understand there is no chance of ‘losing’ a dog you become attached to because fosterers would usually get first refusal . I think it’s an excellent way to dip your toe in the water and see how a dog would suit your family . I’d love to foster but my dog is not suitable .

I doubt that rescues have enough fosterers to be fussy to the point of wanting people with previous experience of the breed, unless they are having significant problems with breed related traits (e.g. guarding breeds that are guarding anything and everything).

Some dogs need to be only dogs and simply wouldn't cope with a second dog in the home, so having the foster as an only could be an advantage. The only time I know an established dog is needed is with ex-puppy farm breeding dogs who have spent more time around other dogs than humans.

Cats and children will restrict things a bit, but if you're looking at fostering elderly dogs you're probably more likely to get the change of circumstances / owner died etc. cases than major behavioural problems.

It's not in the rescue's interests to start taking dogs away from foster carers who want to adopt unless there are major welfare concerns - it would mean losing that foster carer permanently, the dog is unnecessarily uprooted, there's the potential for bad publicity, and fostering as a whole is going to get a bad name if that sort of thing goes on.

Well done on choosing to do a lovely thing. I foster dogs, I've been doing it around 7 years and have fostered about 50 or so. I find it odd they only foster out dogs for just a few weeks, to me that would be unsettling but all rescues work differently and if they are normally in kennels I imagine it does them good to get out even if for a short while.

I foster until an appropriate home is found. When I first started I had fairly easy dogs and now I take those with more complex needs like behavioural or medical. I can have a dog for a few weeks or many months. My longest was a French bulldog I had for 11 months as she had hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and almost died. She is absolutely thriving in her new home now and everything I went through with her was worth it even though I spent many months getting covered in blood and diarrhoea. Sometimes I do want to keep a foster but I already have 4 dogs and owning more means less room for a foster (I foster multiple). It can be bloody hard, I adopted a 5th once as she had terminal cancer and I had her for 8 months until the end. These days I find my fosters far harder work than my own dogs but I love it and it's so rewarding. I think of fostering as looking after a dog for their owner, I just haven't found the owner yet.

I really admire people who foster dogs. I imagine it must be far harder than having your own well loved dog who you've spent time training into a socialised well mannered creature.

I know my dog and she knows me and we work well (usually) as a team but caring for a dog that comes to you with possibly complex physical or emotional problems as Blackbutler86 clearly does is a true labour of love.

It seems to me - perhaps I am being paranoid - but every time I post in the doghouse on a subject where I ask pertinent questions such as
Would most rescues want fosterers with experience of the breed and to also have other dogs to help with the socialisation.
Would it be tricky with children and/or cats
I get shot down in flames.
I did enquire about fostering after I lost my old dog and the requirements were pretty onerous and certainly most fostering was for more than 2 weeks.
I don't object to being disagreed with but it seems that the doghouse is full of experts and other opinions/experiences are not countenanced
That is me told then I suppose.

I don't think anyone shooting you down in flames drearydeardre, just giving their experiences.

It's very possible that the rescues you applied to have particular requirements that some other rescues don't.

Rescues vary enormously in their requirements for potential rehomers and I imagine it's the same for fosterers.

Don’t be so touchy dreary , you’ve given your opinion and others have given theirs , nobody has ‘shot you down in flames’. Obviously different rescues will require different things and commitments in the same way as different rescues have different rehoming criteria . Battersea for example prefer fosterers to have no other pets although they will sometimes accept well a behaved dog in the right circumstances , whereas having other dogs is not a problem for other rescues as highlighted in other responses here .

I fostered a puppy for four weeks after they were found abandoned. He's still here 2 years and 8 months later 😂

It's a fabulous thing you are looking at doing. We have fingers and paws crossed that it works for you

I have heard of rescues who send dogs out to foster homes for 'respite' from the kennel environment. It sounds harsh to me but realistically they may have many dogs in kennels for a long time and perhaps it is a chance to find out more about them and give them a better chance of a home.

My first foster never left. I've since had a few dozen more - some very easy and some very traumatised, but I've learnt from them all and the rescue has given amazing backup. Seeing them all settled into their new homes is really lovely.

I'm taking the kids tomorrow so fingers crossed there's someone there that suits us :)

Best of luck OP!

We foster and it's always been a wonderful experience. It's obviously sad to see them go but we always meet and give feedback on the potential owners and I trust the charity to do the right checks and match the right families.

We've had dogs from everything from a few days (where they were adopted basically immediately and just had to wait for home checks etc) to 4 or 5 weeks. For us, fostering needs to work around work - I work from home most of the time but some weeks I'm out every day and therefore can't look after a dog. It also works well around holidays, weekends away.

My top tip (that's not directly dog related) is to make it very clear to the rescue you work with what you can and can't do. For example, I don't mind illness, I don't mind age, I don't mind breed (within the size constraints of our house), I don't need them to be well-socialised, etc. But I don't want destructive, I can't do 2+ hours a day of exercise, I can't do something with such attachment issues that I can't spend a couple of hours out of the house once they're settled. Similarly, my diary doesn't allow for long term fostering - if it did, I would adopt! This has always been totally fine - we rarely get offered a foster who wouldn't work with us and if we do we're comfortable saying no. You need to work out your boundaries (and they'll develop as you go on) and make sure the rescue understands them so you can work together to achieve happy dog!

Good luck!

Would your DC not be upset to have a dog for a few weeks then see it go?

Your DC want a dog, you don't (understandable, you'll be the one doing the work) .In their minds they want a dog/puppy? In reality they'll get a dog with possible issues that you don't know how long it'll be with you.

My DParents adopted a retired guide dog (they knew the Dog's owner for many years) , the GD had to have surgery after she retired to remove a benign fatty lump.
She had a nice few years retirement but had to be PTS when she developed bone cancer , so really DParents were providing Retirement/End of Life care.
Sad that they knew the time was limited but happy that they could provide her with the retirement home she deserved

Woud that be an option ? Elderly dog end-of-life care?

Nope. We had a full discussion about it and they understand it's not a permanent thing. This was a dog gets a break from the kennels and they get a dog for a few weeks during the summer hols.

They understand completely we won't be keeping it.

I think it's a great idea OP - i just wouldn't want to give them back after 2 weeks.

I 'rescued' a 10 year old lab nearly 4 years ago. He was never sick or sorry and had such a passion for life once he came to live with us. There is something so special about rescuing an oldie. Unfortunately I had to have him PTS on 18th June and miss him so much. Still got my 5yo JRT to run rings round me though although she is definitely missing her old mate. I would love to rescue again but my terrier isn't the most compatible of dogs!!