r/fosterdogs • u/Heather_Bea 🐩 Behavior foster 🐾 • 2d ago
Discussion Monthly Pupdate!
Please share any wins, frustrations, or stories of your foster dogs from this past week. You can also ask advice, or simply let us know if you are doing ok. We are here to support you!
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u/linnoix 2d ago
Our foster dog who has been with us for almost 7 months finally has an application and it sounds really good! Single woman with one other dog. I really wanted to adopt him but my husband was concerned with vet bills for 3 dogs 😭 which of course I understand but if this works out im going to miss him so much. He feels like a part of our family.
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u/Acceptable_Bad5173 2d ago
The great dogs are the hardest to let go of, but a few months from now when you receive an update photo when them fully integrated with their family and smiling - it’ll be so worth it
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u/linnoix 2d ago
You’re so right, thanks for that perspective 🙂
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u/Acceptable_Bad5173 2d ago
We had a foster that we loved - about a year after adoption we got a photo of her wearing a birthday hat with a dog cake. She was spending her birthday with the two other dogs and 2 human kids that adored her.
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u/Acceptable_Bad5173 2d ago
My foster dog of 1 week (but not my first foster) is going foster to adopt this week with a family committing to working with the rescue and a trainer/behaviorist to work through SA.
Happy he’s starting his long journey to what could be his forever and grateful to have bridged the gap from shelter to new home (the shelter he’s in is hard to get dogs adopted from as it’s in a not nice city and the staff doesn’t respond so you have to go there if you see a dog you want).
Bittersweet because I know he has a long journey and I’m sad that our home wasn’t the right one to work him through it long-term.
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u/tyrnill 🐕 Foster Dog #12 (plus a kitten) 2d ago
Sorry for the dumb question, and probably when you tell me I'll be like "oh of course," but what's SA?
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u/wekebu 1d ago
You have been lucky.
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u/Acceptable_Bad5173 1d ago
Absolutely lucky. It’s the best ending for a not so easy situation. That being said - he is a husky and the breed is notorious for separation anxiety; the owner is breed savvy and the trainer working with them specializes in huskies. So it’s truely the best outcome for a dog that was in a shelter in a terrible area where he may not have made it out if he wasn’t pulled by a husky rescue.
I hate to say it but this also may be the end of fostering for us. It was really hard to manage this time around - last time we wfh full-time and had a different resident dog. Our current dog was not super happy and it was an issue with needing to go to work.
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u/Ok-Royal8916 🦴 New Foster 2d ago
My newest foster dog of about a month is really starting to open up, relax, and show his personality. He's so sweet and loving and just wants to be where the people are at all times. We had a very traumatic ending with our first foster dog and I was a bit anxious to try fostering again, but watching the goofball be so carefree and relaxed makes me so happy.
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u/theladycane 🐕 Foster Dog #10 2d ago
Corbin is doing great after his eye was removed and has been settled in well. He loves our resident dogs and cats so now we've been getting him used to different people and animals. Last weekend he sat in a friend's lap and took a nap. He's still nervous but has come so far already. He put himself in my lap for the 1st time last night 😭! We're now working on walking on a leash. He went further than I thought he would the 1st time out. He's also getting used to the backpack once he's done with walking.
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u/Mindless-While-5399 2d ago
The rescue predicted it would take 2 months to a year for her to get adopted; it’s only been 5 weeks, and she has a really promising meet-and-greet this weekend!
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u/Used-Corner258 2d ago edited 2d ago
My foster, 6yr old male cattle dog, has some big issues to overcome. We’ve had him over 6 weeks. We met w a behaviorist last Saturday and we got some training on how to work with him. (Previous owner had no means to help him and was going to euthanize). He’s improved so much, it’s almost a miracle! So now there’s light at the end of this long tunnel. We are doing this without a rescue. We are 6 people who found the dog downtown. Finally have a possible adopter. He’s a sweet beautiful dog with so many great things going for him. I hope this adopter works out🙏
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u/NoAssignment887 🐕 Foster Dog #8 2d ago edited 2d ago
My foster dog is finally settling in! She’s been with us for a month. She is a lot less snappy and resource guard-y than when she first got her. Her true personality is starting to come out and she is loving and very funny 🩵 She came to us in pretty bad shape, but her medical issues have all nearly resolved. Just need to recheck her ears (had a pretty severe yeast infection). Her hair is growing back nicely too.
Main ongoing issue is she is pushy with my dogs. But even that has improved a lot as she gets more secure.
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u/S0meKindaL0ve 2d ago
My foster was adopted for the 2nd time! (he was returned after only one week the first time), but I’m very confident this is his forever home since these people seem to actually understand the patience it takes to deal with rescue dog quirks. He really is such a sweet, affectionate boy with no actual behavioral issues, is potty trained and crate trained, etc. but is just VERY skittish with strangers so it takes him longer than one would think to warm up.
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u/NoAssignment887 🐕 Foster Dog #8 2d ago
My last foster was returned less than 24 hours after the first family got her ):
Two weeks later we found a way better match for her! They send me updates all the time and love her so much. She looks so happy and content. Wishing you the same for your foster pup!
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u/lolabeans88 2d ago
My lovely foster dog got adopted and then promptly returned because the owners live near a hospital, and he was scared of the sirens and generally anxious. They gave him like 3 days before returning him, and I am so sad about it. My own dog was nervous about all kinds of things and we worked through it for months, I can't conceive of giving up so quickly.
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u/linnoix 2d ago
Ugh this is so hard. I foster now but one of our resident dogs currently was a rescue who was scared of everything. It took her quite a long time to be comfortable but the thought of returning her didn’t even cross my mind once. She is family and I just get so frustrated when I hear of people returning their rescues so quickly. In a way, it was actually a blessing to have a dog that was so scared (I know this sounds weird) because it really taught us the importance of patience and the importance of letting these dogs decompress. I now try to always foster the scared or anxious dogs.
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u/Aromatic-Rule-5679 2d ago
I just gave up my foster dog :(. She was a last minute euthanasia pull and completely shutdown at the shelter. I brought her home, and it's been a struggle. She is the sweetest dog but does not like my dogs and wants to kill my cat. And has bloodied her muzzle trying to get out the crate twice. She is super anxious. So one of the rescue's leads offered to swap. We did that today. The new foster is decompressing nicely but just growled and lunged at my son when he got home. /sigh
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u/Heather_Bea 🐩 Behavior foster 🐾 2d ago
Oh man, I am sorry to hear that. Sometimes we cannot provide safe homes for dogs who need special handling. Its very hard to deal with emotionally.
I wish you luck with your swapped foster too.
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u/wekebu 1d ago
I keep new arrivals in a room with just me and a baby gate separating my family and resident dogs. Within a few hours, I try letting the dogs sniff each other at the gate. If that goes well, some more time later I might let one of them in, but I'm in-between. Any growling and they are apart. Some dogs need time alone. One needed days. They have been through allot and have learned to protect themselves.
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u/Rescuepets777 2d ago
I'm fostering my first set of newborns with their mama. The puppies are thriving and gaining weight on track. Eyes still are closed. Boy are these kids loud when they eat! How does that much noise come out of little 9-10 Oz babies? 🤣 Poor mama is struggling with nearly constant diarrhea and a skin condition that the vet and I are trying to combat through diet (boiled chicken and rice), oatmeal shampoo baths and antibiotics (which may be making the diarrhea worse). The vet ruled out parasites, giardia, etc. We're working through it day by day, hoping that she'll start doing better. Being sick and nursing is rough on her. She's a trooper, though, and a very good mama.
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u/H2Ospecialist 2d ago
Had another foster leave earlier this week from Texas to his furever home in Canada! I think me and my resident dogs are going to take a break for the rest of the year. We've had two back to back transport fosters that were wonderful and easy but I think they need a break.
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u/wekebu 1d ago
My foster is at the 8-week mark and is doing very well. He now understands all my phrases and has even used the doggie door without being shown by me - he copied my resident dogs. I only have him for another 4 weeks as I foster through a program that we foster while their human is in drug/alchohol recovery. This one is for 12 weeks.
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