Advice Please

[Loreley]

When we got our first foster, to be honest I had no idea. I brought him in the backyard allowed him time to settle then allowed our dog to go meet him under supervision. Our original dog is a very friendly girl though a tad over the top.

The foster is now the dog in residence, our original dog moving out with our daughter. I know he doesn't like pups, though my daughters pup is now 11 weeks old and has been put in its place a couple of times so things seem to have settled. I am still aiming for a foster around the 7 to 12 month old mark as he's missing her terribly.

My boy is around 5 now (at least the age was a guess by the vet), are we better looking for a male doggy friend or female generally speaking to opposite sexes settle better? or is the same sex a better option generally?

But what I really need to know is what is the best way to actually introduce a new foster.

Are there simple steps and dos and donts.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

[Burkes]

I'd go with a girl, opposites are usually the easiest to deal with.

If you can, try and go and meet the dog before you offer to foster it to make sure that it is the right fit for you. It always helps to have an area you can separate as well just in case you have to go out before they are well integrated.

When I started fostering and with my new home intros I always take the dogs to a neutral area and just go for a walk together, preferably one person on each lead. Once they are close together walking side by side comfortably I allow them to meet quickly and keep walking. Only once I feel comfortable with it will I take them home and off lead.

I always try to keep the first day or two very low key and calm. Once they are home I introduce them to areas of the house and yard slowly and keep them on lead. We usually try to just settle and watch TV or something with not too much excitement. We don't play any type of stimulating games like fetch or tug but we will usually do a few basic sits and treats for looking when you say their name.

If they have come straight from a pound, make sure you keep them home in quarantine for approx 2wks so as not to spread disease around the community. Use the two weeks to do basic training and teach house manners, or if they already have them move onto some basic tricks. Get to know the dog well and work out what sort of home it will need.

Hopefully you will have a good foster care coordinator or mentor to help you along the way. Ask lots of questions and learn from other peoples mistakes, it will save you making your own - though they are bound to happen.

Fostering is rewarding, but can be a really hard slog sometimes. Its not for everyone, but if it works for your situation you won't regret it.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

What Burkes said is great advice.

Whenever I'm recommending a new dog or foster, I always find it is best to introduce them on neutral territory. If all is good then that may be the foster/new dog for you.

Sometimes for various reasons there will be a gap between the initial introduction and homecoming (more time in pound, vet work etc).

When bringing the foster/new dog home, get someone to help you and get both dogs on a lead. Walk 100 yards in a parallel line with the dogs apart and then providing all is well, walk both into the home together. I normally go straight into the back yard but Burkes is right - avoid excitement at this point. It's just for a look around and then go into the house.

Fostering is fantastic - it really saves lives. I know of more than one group that is absolutely desperate for foster carers which is sad because they provide a huge amount of support for their carers as well as food etc and just cannot find them and sometimes very worthy dogs don't get saved as there is nowhere to go.

You can take a break between foster caring but you need to be prepared to take a foster dog as a commitment until it finds a new home and sometimes it's quick, sometimes it takes a bit longer. Give plenty of notice to your rescue group if you need to go away on hols or for work etc as otherwise they will have a last minute mad scramble which is

never easy.

Good luck!

[Loreley]

thanks for that, exactly what I was looking for we were basically doing most of that when we introduced this boy with our original girl.

I've already fostered, and failed, so am not new to the pitfalls, my beautiful boy didn't come with baggage, he came with a full set of luggage long road but oh so worth it. No creature is perfect least of all us, so he fits well here :D

as luck would have it the dog in question is a bitch, so thats good. She is only 12 months old, basically one of those 'pretty' puppies purchased, moved to the backyard at around 5 months and then ignored so I don't anticipate much in the way of training. I have contacted the pound and spoken to the Ranger there, she has only just come out of their quarantine and isnt mixing but isn't aggressive either, so far so good. Hopefully now that she is out in the main stream area with the others she will find her feet.

I may well have to drive down to collect and I'm trying to work out whether to take my boy down with me to check them out, or whether it would be safer to bring her back here and do the intros. My boy does get very stimulated every time he goes in the car but eventually settles.

What do you think?

If you think its a recipe for disaster please say so

[Alyra]

I wouldn't take your dog in the car if it was me - too close when they don't know each other but that's just my personal take (Unless they have been able to be calmly introduced off lead in a neutral area already)

Each time we get a foster our routine changes a little more - tweaked a bit more! Our own dog is over excitable and gets a bit upset, so a long walk together is the key for him in neutral territory then supervision and calm for the first few hours especially. And we always have a water spray bottle handy to tell off any bad behaviour there may be between the two.

[Loreley]

great thanks, I was hoping you were going to say that