Matching Dogs To Foster Homes

[kayla1]

I’m interested in what others think about the importance of matching dogs to foster carers. Reputable rescues spend a great deal of time matching dogs to adopters, which of course is for the benefit of both dog and adopter. Do you think the same level of care and scrutiny is required when placing dogs in foster homes? Given of course there won’t be as much known of the dog if the dog has come straight from the pound, which makes matching more difficult.

The problem is in the wrong foster home, issues that didn’t exist previously may emerge, or existing issues may worsen. Whereas in the right environment the same dog may thrive. As an example I have an older dog here that didn’t cope in his first foster home – he was incredibly stressed and lost a great deal of weight, but he is thriving here. Different environment, different outcome.

What do others think? What level of importance do you place on matching dogs to carers?

[Greytmate]

I'm interested in what others think about the importance of matching dogs to foster carers. Reputable rescues spend a great deal of time matching dogs to adopters, which of course is for the benefit of both dog and adopter. Do you think the same level of care and scrutiny is required when placing dogs in foster homes? Given of course there won't be as much known of the dog if the dog has come straight from the pound, which makes matching more difficult.

The problem is in the wrong foster home, issues that didn't exist previously may emerge, or existing issues may worsen. Whereas in the right environment the same dog may thrive. As an example I have an older dog here that didn't cope in his first foster home – he was incredibly stressed and lost a great deal of weight, but he is thriving here. Different environment, different outcome.

What do others think? What level of importance do you place on matching dogs to carers?

Yes, it's important. It depends on what the dogs needs.

When I ran GAP, each dog went to two carers before it was matched to a new home. Different foster carers have different strengths and weaknesses. There are the ones that walk dogs every day and the ones that don't. Ones that have other pets or kids. Ones that don't have any other pets and where the dog will be left alone. Some carers are good at tidying up a dog's coat, providing aftercare, or teaching it obedience. And some are especially understanding of a dog that might chew on door frames and wee on the dining table leg.

After initial assessment I would look at the list of homes waiting for dogs, and place dogs in foster care to best prepare them for that type of home. If people with chickens , cats or toddlers wanted a dog, we would want to give them a dog that had been in foster care with those things. If people want a dog that will be alone 8 hours a day, we needed to be sure the dog could cope with that while in foster care.

We had around 40 active carers at any one time, so this meant a lot of coordination had to be done to give the dogs the most appropriate foster care. The aim is to increase the adoptability of the dog. There are always some people that want to foster, but are not able to maintain or increase the adoptability of a dog, and so these carers should be avoided if they can't be trained or trusted to provide the right type of care.

[kayla1]

I'm interested in what others think about the importance of matching dogs to foster carers. Reputable rescues spend a great deal of time matching dogs to adopters, which of course is for the benefit of both dog and adopter. Do you think the same level of care and scrutiny is required when placing dogs in foster homes? Given of course there won't be as much known of the dog if the dog has come straight from the pound, which makes matching more difficult.

The problem is in the wrong foster home, issues that didn't exist previously may emerge, or existing issues may worsen. Whereas in the right environment the same dog may thrive. As an example I have an older dog here that didn't cope in his first foster home – he was incredibly stressed and lost a great deal of weight, but he is thriving here. Different environment, different outcome.

What do others think? What level of importance do you place on matching dogs to carers?

Yes, it's important. It depends on what the dogs needs.

When I ran GAP, each dog went to two carers before it was matched to a new home. Different foster carers have different strengths and weaknesses. There are the ones that walk dogs every day and the ones that don't. Ones that have other pets or kids. Ones that don't have any other pets and where the dog will be left alone. Some carers are good at tidying up a dog's coat, providing aftercare, or teaching it obedience. And some are especially understanding of a dog that might chew on door frames and wee on the dining table leg.

After initial assessment I would look at the list of homes waiting for dogs, and place dogs in foster care to best prepare them for that type of home. If people with chickens , cats or toddlers wanted a dog, we would want to give them a dog that had been in foster care with those things. If people want a dog that will be alone 8 hours a day, we needed to be sure the dog could cope with that while in foster care.

We had around 40 active carers at any one time, so this meant a lot of coordination had to be done to give the dogs the most appropriate foster care. The aim is to increase the adoptability of the dog. There are always some people that want to foster, but are not able to maintain or increase the adoptability of a dog, and so these carers should be avoided if they can't be trained or trusted to provide the right type of care.

That's interesting. So you found that by using two different carers you were able to learn more about the dog's nature and requirements in the different environments, and were better able to match to a permanent home?

[Greytmate]

That's interesting. So you found that by using two different carers you were able to learn more about the dog's nature and requirements in the different environments, and were better able to match to a permanent home?

Yes, in most cases. We were rehabilitating kennel dogs so the dogs would often change a lot while they were in foster care.

Some dogs are more easily stressed than others, some take advantage of soft carers, some will behave differently when given a larger amount of exercise, and some dogs just thrive anywhere. As you said, different environment, different outcome. When you are selling dogs into people's homes you want to gather as much information about the dog as possible. If all foster carers were perfect dog trainers, we wouldn't find out as much.

Edited July 22, 2012 by Greytmate

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I've just placed a poor little dog from a byb with my wonderful foster carers. They are very kind and calm people with other gentle well socialised dogs. The little munchkin is learnign from the other dogs but has a long way to go from a behavioural point of view. She's not housetrained, never been on a lead, very shy but sweet. She weighs 2.5 kilos.

I was going to remove her from my carers and bring her here as they have no experience of these sorts of dogs however she is very happy and relaxed with them and I feel that as a first step in her recovery, this is probably a good start. I plan on leaving her up to 2 months there to see a gradual improvement hopefully and then reassess.

her back legs were weak, she couldn't walk properly or go up stairs, that's already improved with her following the other dogs around.

So yes, i normally match the dog to the carers, in this case my carers only picked her up from the vet for me to go and collect but then they took a shine to her and wanted to let her stay for a while. They have become very protective of this poor little mite.

I think the two carer approach is very interesting, i've normally only had to do two carers when a dog hasn't suited the first carers or when something has happened in the carer's life and I've had to move the dog - as people say, you can see different behaviours in different houses!

Edited July 22, 2012 by dogmad

[kayla1]

Yes same, when I did adoptions they were the main reasons for moving dogs to different carers. I wonder how many rescues actually use the two carer approach?

[JRT RESCUE]

If only we had enough carers to do this, but I don't.

But I do consider the carer in regards to which jack they get, I have one carer that doesn't have a dog and she is good for the ones that are not that social with other dogs.

With most of my carers who have jacks I put the opposite sex with them but also know their dogs well to usually know what is going to go with their dogs.

I have one carer that has a few males and they all run together so again I have to consider this when sending her down another male.

And they all know if there is a problem then the jack comes straight back to me, no problems.

[cyntah-anne]

Isnt it the job of the foster carer to prepare the dog for their new home.

I socialise mine. I have a list of what I think the dog might be exposed to and I make sure they are exposed to it. I dont have kids, so the dog will spend time with my sister who has 5 etc. I also teach some basic training. I also boot them outside during the day even if im not working that day, they might have to do it it in their new home. I do all of this before I list them up for adoption. For special needs dogs, then yes the right carer for the dog is a must but for general run of the mill dogs then no.

[Guest Ams]

My breed doesn't cope well with being moved from one foster home to the next so it is only done if there are problems.I do agree that moving dogs into a few different homes will give a better indication of the temperament since we all know the "one dog, ten homes, ten different behaviours" addage. I choose my foster parents as carefully as I do my adoption parents. With the exception of two dogs, all dogs have come to me first for assessment before placement. One dog remained in Sydney on foster as he was too sick to transport and another was placed with a carer and never came here due to his mass of excess skin which meant he would be a target in the pack. I am starting to get some foster carers who are confident enough to be able to help with interviews of prospective new homes and make judgement calls on whether they think that home will be suitable for their foster. This is not something I ask all the foster carers to do but since they have had experience with the dog it makes sense for them to have some input into their placement. All placements are still vetted through me first and last.

Jen

[Little Gifts]

As a foster carer I see it as my job to maximise the potential of a foster dog to find their forever home, so I would hope to have a dog placed with me that can benefit from the home environment I can offer here as well as any particular skills myself and my sister have in caring for them. Our two dogs are also very different in personality so they are also an important factor in considering the personality of any foster dog placed here. It is all about being able to provide a nurturing environment that meets the needs of that particular dog (and all of us!).

At present I am home nearly all the time so I can care for a dog requiring more intense support. I also like the challenge of having a foster dog that might need something specific addressed while it is here.

As a foster carer I have to verbalise all this though or how will my rescuer know? I think it would be harder for carers who don't have a coordinator to deal with because we do have questions and concerns and as each dog is different we are developing our skills with each and every placement.

So ultimately I rely on the rescuer to match a foster dog to me (although I can make suggestions!) so we have the most positive end result for the dog that we can. Using this approach has worked well for us and the dogs we have had to date.

[tdierikx]

I get to choose my own fosters... I know what my dogs and myself can handle, and have excellent backup from my coordinator.

T.

[koalathebear]

I get to choose my own fosters... I know what my dogs and myself can handle, and have excellent backup from my coordinator.

T.

I've just started but my coordinator has been very supportive, too. We can't quarantine so will not take any dog directly from the pound - it has to have been at least two weeks out of the pound. We also cannot handle a dog aggressive dog so it needs to have been temperament tested and friendly with other dogs because our own two dogs come first. This limits the dogs we can take but there are plenty of dogs that we can still take and I couldn't be happier with our first foster - he's delightful and just the sort of dog we wanted. We don't mind how crazy, untrained, high energy and destructive they are - if they're smart, trainable and friendly then we feel like we can offer a lot.

Edited July 23, 2012 by koalathebear

[JaneyA]

We match the foster carer to the dog - everyone's preferences, home arrangements, existing dogs, training abilities, etc are different and the carer is ALWAYS free to say "no" to a particular dog or send it back to Stacey or me if it doesn't fit in. All rescued dogs do their quarantine period with Stacey (smalls) or me (big boofas) first anyway, which also gives the dog time to settle from the pound environment and for us to begin assessing their behaviour and which foster home to put them in.

I'm intrigued by the concept of placing a dog in at least two foster homes.  This wouldn't work for some dogs, due to their breed tendencies or disposition, but I see huge benefits if we put arrangements in place to do this as a general practice.  For example, my household has a very clear pack structure and new arrivals learn immediately that I'm the alpha bitch LOL and my old wolfhound female is the beta bitch - she and I simply do not permit certain behaviours.  I've currently got a foster dog who behaved well in my house for many months, but when moved to another foster carer has shown that she has difficulty figuring out where she belongs in the hierarchy - a lot of squabbling over who is dominant - and she has done this at 2 other foster carers.  So, we now know that this particular dog requires a strong leader to keep her in her place and that is going to affect her adoption placement. Unfortunately, this girl is also a big brindle boofer, so she's going to be very hard to adopt out.