Does anyone here foster dogs?

General link to all pics of Chloe, the foster dog: https://s1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii487/oumaths/


It might seem insensitive after my lad passed away only last week, but I really do think fostering an SBT/SBTx for the next month or so is the way forward for me in many respects.

With just some paperwork formalities to complete tomorrow, it looks like I've essentially been approved as a fosterer with a local rescue.

They cater for all, but do seem to have a disproportionately high number of staffies and staffie x on their books right now - including a few who escaped being PTS at pounds in the eleventh hour.

Some have been at the rescue for quite some time, and half a dozen have been suggested to me as being in need of getting out of kennels for various reasons, including depression.

Just wondering if anyone else fosters? I'm hoping to take one particularly timid staffie x home with me tomorrow (actually, she looks far more hound than staffie) and work on her confidence and reward-based training, with a view to getting her to shine a little so she'll more easily find a forever home.

I'm not ready to adopt yet - too raw - but think I could do a good job in loco parentis.

Original post edited by hayley,

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I think you'd do a marvelous job!

Some dogs just really do badly in kennels & foster carers are few and far between, so you'll be doing a fantastic thing for these dogs.

It isn't insensitive at all - it's a tribute to Marley & how much he meant to you, that you're willing to help others.

Good luck - if/when you get a foster dog, we'd love to hear about it & see some pics!

i think any one that fosters or rescues a dog is doing a brilliant job ,if you think it is the right thing for you then go for it,you will know when the right dog comes along that you will give a forever home to,just make sure that if you are only fostering one that you dont get to attached which i guess would be so easy to do.

You would be an amazing foster. I am one of those people that think jumping right back into the saddle is the best way to go. I have never been without an animal thats passed for more than a month, thats just my way of coping.

The only concern i have is that you are still raw so would you really cope well with freely giving a dog away when it already has a perfect home with you? It's something to really think about.

Brilliant, you'll be doing a fantastic job xx

Hayley wrote:The only concern i have is that you are still raw so would you really cope well with freely giving a dog away when it already has a perfect home with you? It's something to really think about.

Hayley, I think I could cope with that just fine - as far as I can see with fostering, it's about helping to engineer the best future for the dog. Fosterers' feelings don't come into it.
The one I'd really like to take home just needs some confidence-building and TLC to get her out of her shell - as she is now, she seems to have little hope of anyone taking much interest in her.

Shy dogs can be nice, but they're all too often overlooked when rescue visitors are looking for that perceived special bond.

I think a month with the little lady in mind could bring her out of her shell. Right now, she needs a really quiet home and to learn to trust. Even at its loudest, mine is quieter than anyone's I know - quiet area, quiet neighbours and I always have the tv on the lowest volume setting as my hearing's like radar.

I'd like to teach her some of the usual tricks too, to make her more marketable - sad (but true) as that sounds.

I'd consider building her character up enough to get her rehomed to be a major success.

Of course, this might take many hours of sitting on the floor with her, talking in a whisper before gradually desensitising her to noise and sudden stimuli - from what I can find out, she really is that timid.

Well you are definitely the person to do it and i wish you all the best, whatever dog comes your way will be a dog that will benefit from everything you have to offer

Thanks.

I think its a Great idea as they'll be no pressure on you to love the dog like you did your dog and you won't feel like your replacing them, but you will still have a dog in the house and one you can help, good on you X

I used to foster for a rescue, It was very rewarding, although I was sad to see dogs go off to a home it was a great thought knowing in a few days/weeks I would be helping another dog

I will admit though the reason I stopped was because I "failed as a fosterer" when a little black staffie boy came to me, starved and abused (Removed from a home due to the father allowing his 4 children to lock him in a rabbit hutch and beat him with golf clubs!!! ) he was such a scared boy, he loved Maz (my 11yr girl I still have) within hours he was cuddled up with my daughter at the time was about 5ish.
We was watching the film Blade, so he got named this
After just 24hrs I phoned the rescue said I wanted to adopt him
But 5days after he's come to me he was snotty and lathargic, I took him straight to the vet....................Parvo
He didnt make it was to weak, I never fostered after Blade.

But have just signed up to start fostering again

You will be great at fostering and will find it so rewarding

Working dog wrote:- from what I can find out, she really is that timid.

Poor little mite. I'm sure that, with some dedication & tlc, you'll bring out the best in her.

I don't do it personally but we are involved in a charity that does. I think it's great but I don't do it because I would probally get too attached.

I think that is a marvelous idea... you have so much to give, and I know Marley would want you to do this as well!
You are just the person I reckon!

Hey you go for it. That poor girl needs you, so go help her so she can learn to trust again. Marley would be proud of you. Pictures please. It will be rewarding for you.

Sorry for going off topic, but have a look at my Pixee. She looks very happy and is very loving with us. When we first saw her at the blue cross, the little room they are in behind bars, also had another smaller room through a open doorway. Well there was also a glass window there. Now Pixee when she saw us looking at her, she ran into that room, stood behind that window looking at us and shaking like a leaf. It took some coaxing to get her out. What we did, was walk away, but we went back to her sometime later that same day, again she did the same thing, but soon came back into the first room, but sat down shaking so bad. We didnt give up. Bit by bit she moved to us. When she got as far so we could touch her, she was like whats that you doing to me. Soon she let us make a fuss over her. We left her, she cried, but we came back the next day, and guess what, she came running over to us. We all bonded. Time and patient is what dogs need and lots of love. Good luck with the timid lady.

I'm sure you would be an asset to the rescue centre Keith. They are always in need of loving homes to foster dog into and I couldnt think of anyone better for the job.

You handled Marley in an exemplary fashion with compasion and dignity, which are highly sort after traits. Good luck with it all.

Thankyou all for the vote of confidence - much appreciated.

Well, Chloe is out on foster and getting used to a new house.

We've been to the local park for a walk where she met and played with a young collie male for about a quarter of an hour - much to my surprise as, prior to that, it was tail-between-legs and rigid poker-style walking.

She's incredibly nervous of noises but is also rapidly coming out of her shell - she leapt a literal mile when the retractable lead first clicked back - but it's all about using a sliding scale of degrees of repeated exposure to desensitize - she seems fine now.

She was deemed to be one of the dogs most in need of fostering - the kennels are a bit too much for her it seems.

There's staff in her, but it's far from the dominant gene set - anyone have any ideas what she mainly is?

Here's a link to some pics and videos I've just taken and uploaded: https://s1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii487/oumaths/

She'll need gentle feeding up, a good bath, and some training, though she seems to have previously mastered sit and paw rather well.

Hoping to get her presentable and trained enough over the next month to get people interested in giving her a forever home.[i]

Aw, she's sweet; very thin, though.

If people are interested, do they come to your home to see her, or do you take her to the kennels?

Ahhh Cloe is such a sweet looking girl, maybe a bit of Labrador about her but not certain. she seems very good natured.

Caryll wrote:Aw, she's sweet; very thin, though.

If people are interested, do they come to your home to see her, or do you take her to the kennels?

She is incredibly thin but apparently a lot more beefed up than when she came in. Seems she was a stray but there's little history. Frequent small high calorie meals - I think she needs 3kg on her - are in order.

Cheese, as with many dogs, seems to be a high currency food.

I have to say, the rescue is doing an incredible job - it looks like a one lady band, and I have no idea how it's financed but there are 70 dogs there at a guess at the moment and all are last minute rescues that were due to be PTS.

I think I need to take her back to the centre if anyone comes looking - but to tempt them in, we need some good photographs first - the ones on the website promoting her capture her sadness. So, I'll be going everywhere with my trusty Fuji digital to get some decent stuff.

The lady running the centre (she really is a star) also asked me to evaluate, as best I can, Chloe's temperament and quirks - she's not showing any signs of being DA or HA but does seem to dislike pigeons a bit. Pretty sure that can be trained out of her but first she needs to start learning some commands - it's weird having a dog that doesn't know in, out, bed, dinner, etc.

Am also wondering how far along she is with her toileting - not very, I suspect.

I guess you will find many answers in a few days time when she has settled a little. Just start from the basics and take it from there.

If you can get some good photos of her out on a walk that would be great, maybe even some video if possible.

Try keeping a diary of how she gets on and note down any progress as you go along.

kathytake2 wrote:Ahhh Cloe is such a sweet looking girl, maybe a bit of Labrador about her but not certain. she seems very good natured.

I though lab-staff at first too, but her frame's too delicate, I suspect.
Can't ask her now either - she's fast asleep on the bed with one ear on the fridge door.

Good luc with your plans , think you will do a fantastic job and hope it goes some way to heal your loss , it will be a big reward for you )

It'll be fascinating to see how she emerges from a thin, frightened shell of a dog to....what? Hopefully a happy, friendly, confident dog who'll make someone a perfect companion!

Caryll wrote:It'll be fascinating to see how she emerges from a thin, frightened shell of a dog to....what? Hopefully a happy, friendly, confident dog who'll make someone a perfect companion!

The story goes that she was beaten early in her life.
How true that is, I've no idea.
She does leap, literally, at noises, and looks a little wary for the first few seconds if you approach.
But it's nothing that desensitization won't iron out - I hope.

She seems quite happy playing on the sofa; another video here: I can haz sofa, really?, and the waggy tail is going mad around the house.

Can someone gen me up on girl dogs - always had boys - what do I need to be aware of/periods and things? Probably sounds like a daft question but I really have no clue.
Are there certain times she's likely to get male dogs trying to mount, etc?
She's been speyed.

Working dog wrote:Can someone gen me up on girl dogs - always had boys - what do I need to be aware of/periods and things? Probably sounds like a daft question but I really have no clue.
Are there certain times she's likely to get male dogs trying to mount, etc?
She's been speyed.

She won't have any seasons cause she's been spayed, so you don't have to worry about that! The only mounting will be through play or dominance. Some bitches can be a little 'sharper' than dogs, but she looks quite submissive so that's probably not the case with her. Some bitches can be that little bit more sensitive to correction than dogs so a softly softly approach might be needed at first, but then you'd probably do that anyway seeing as she's a bit nervous.

Wow she has got big feet, or at least appears to have on the video.

She has been spayed so no worries about seasons, she won't have any now.

Hope all goes well for you both, sending some big hugs your way ><

Shes lovely, she has kind eyes I think you will be able to make a good dog out of her. I see what you mean about the hound, and you can see the staff in her skull and ears. Well done for fostering, you can give something amazing to these dogs and help them move on with their lives.

kathytake2 wrote:Wow she has got big feet, or at least appears to have on the video.

I was thinking that at 3am when one landed on my face - she worked out how to get from dog bed to human bed in complete stealth mode.

Nosipho wrote:Shes lovely, she has kind eyes I think you will be able to make a good dog out of her.

We've been clicker training for a few hours this morning - she's 100% got the noise associated with a reward now (and even sight of the clicker), and is just learning to play fetch off the back of it.

She's coming out of her shell quite well and is very gentle around the house - she'll make someone a good pet.
She's also alert to outside noises, letting out a low growl when neighbours started banging car doors around 1am, so that's a plus as well.

Day one of clicker training:

https://s1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii487/oumaths/?action=view&current=learningtoplay-1.mp4

brilliant well done

Chloe looks very lovely and sweet natural. Is it possible she may have some greyhound in her too? Shes very much more staffy. If she has been sprayed as you say, she wont have any periods so wont give off any scenes that will bring dogs running round wanthing to mount. Although having said this, you will still get normal dogs trying it. Its a dog thing And because she is a girl, she will be more softer, and will be wanting to wear pink collars and harnesses . I think, girls tend to wee in the same spot, Pixee does at least, be interesting to see what the others have to say too . Otherwise just treat her as you find, and I am so pleased for you both.


Edited to say also, I hadnt read the 2nd page again! so you already have the answers.

Greyhound would make sense, Lynn. Her skeleton is very thin.
Some kind of staff/greyhound/lab mix would be my (complete) guess.

You're also right about the weeing spot - four or five times in the same place so far. Same for the three poops.

Will be taking her out for a walk and some socialising in a few minutes - she's done her morning's worth of stick fetching training: https://s1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii487/oumaths/?action=view&current=moresticks.mp4

I think so too, staff, greyhound, lab.

Amazing about the wee spots and poops. Us girlies are tidy

Brillant re the stick training. They just love the sticks. The bigger the better too.

Really I am so pleased for you.

Bath time done.

Good grief, you'd think it was sulphuric acid the way she was having none of it - jumped out of the bath, legged it down the stairs, and out into the back garden, where it took another half an hour to get the job finished off with a bucket of water and a fresh towel - she ended up running round and round the garden like some clockwork idiot.

Then, a new one on me... knew how to open the sliding patio door, as per this https://s1256.photobucket.com/albums/ii487/oumaths/?action=view&current=Icancomein.mp4
Aside from the water incident, you wouldn't know she's here - seems to walk like a cat burglar, and always 1 metre behind me - one of those dogs that likes to keep you in their sights but doesn't need to be under your ankles.

Wow you are very brave for taking on the bathtime, well done.

Chloe is a little minx opening the patio door like that, hope she cannot escape from the garden though.

It sounds like you are enjoying yourself with her Keith, it's great to read some positive posts and gives us all a boost.

Thank you for sharing the videos.

Yes, well done, you never know, she may find her forever home with you;). I had Kenny not very long after losing Blitz. It helped me a great deal, but prior to getting him, i thought i could never have a dog again

Oh bathtimes, I too have a game with Pixee, she dances round the bathroom as if to say, catch me first but once in, shes fine now. That running round Chloe does is normal after a bath you will find . Well done on that. And what a minx for opening that patio door. They are very clever dogs. Seem like you both are enjoying one anothers company.

Love the patio door bit! She's a bright one!

Hmm, poor doggy.
She was shaking her head a lot at the rescue and has been doing it here, at home, so I took her to the rescue's approved vet today where she was yelping upon having her ears inspected.
The vet said she needs to be sedated for closer examination but, as she's not legally mine, I couldn't give the nod to that.
They're contacting the rescue today for permission.
In the meantime, Chloe has been given low dose prednisolone and, what do you know, the head shaking has stopped, albeit maybe temporarily.

She was weighed there and came in at 21kg - more than I expected considering how skinny she is.
She was only 19kg in March, apparently.

I got her a bag of prescription hypo-allergenic food in the meantime.

Fingers crossed whatever's bothering her ears is minor.

Could just be a minor infection picked up at the kennels. It often happens. The drops might clear it up without any need for anything else. When do you need to take her back?

P.S. Who pays for the vets? You or the rescue centre?

Caryll wrote:Love the patio door bit! She's a bright one!

She is, but she can also top that - I put a chair in the lounge/diner doorway (I removed the door ages ago) to keep her on the diner/kitchen side while I went to get the car keys and credit card from upstairs to go to the vets, and she ended up in the bedroom, doing some crazy dance/roll thing.

So, I put her back downstairs, then went to the first step of the stairs and stopped and looked back round the corner to see how she got out - little pest went into slink mode and squeezed herself between the chair seat and leg supports - I swear a poodle wouldn't get through there.

Caryll wrote:Could just be a minor infection picked up at the kennels. It often happens. The drops might clear it up without any need for anything else. When do you need to take her back?

P.S. Who pays for the vets? You or the rescue centre?

The rescue is prepared to pay but I said I would - the rescue has around 100 dogs as of this morning and I'd imagine their cumulative bills are somewhere between huge and crazy.

From the dog's history, ear drops haven't worked - might be a grass barb or something else causing fluid buildup.

She's gonna run you in circles!

Caryll wrote:She's gonna run you in circles!

She won't have a chance today - it's clicker training day today - she'll be zonked after.

Oh, cruel, cruel man! >

Good to see you are enjoying teaching Chloe, maybe she will teach you some new tricks, she seem to have plenty up her paws

Hope the ear infection clears up.

Caryll wrote:Oh, cruel, cruel man! >

I think she's enjoying it - link

Staffy lover wrote:Good to see you are enjoying teaching Chloe, maybe she will teach you some new tricks, she seem to have plenty up her paws

Hope the ear infection clears up.

I need to fatten her up so she can't squeeze into impossible gaps.

looks like she is coming along very well, she seems like a very calm dog. Hope her ear gets better soon, I'm sure she will be fine.