The term foster home is often thrown around, especially in relation to animal welfare. Many people don’t know more about it, except that foster homes usually take in a dog for an uncertain period of time and are a home for him until he finds his "Forever Home".
If you want to learn more about foster homes for dogs, you've come to the right place!
What is a foster home?
A foster home takes in a dog from a club for an indefinite period of time to give the dog a better chance of finding a suitable "Forever Home".
The foster home can often better assess the character of the dog than the association, since it does not have to care for an entire shelter / reception center. A foster home can also teach the dog its first commands, such as leash walking and housetraining, and get it used to life in Germany. The changeover is very difficult at the beginning, especially for dogs from foreign animal shelters.
Likewise, more beautiful pictures of the dog can be made, which are very important in terms of placement chances; there is usually not enough time for this abroad.
Many people who, for example, already have dogs or even children, do not want to adopt the dog "blindly", only through a photo and a brief description of the association and first see if the dog fits their needs. For example, whether the dog is really well tolerated with children, or whether this combination would be too stressful.
You yourself as a foster home also benefit: You learn new behavior with each dog, expand your knowledge with the handling of different dogs and much more. It is also a great feeling when the dog has found a nice new home.
In doubt, the dog can not do anything when he arrives at your house. So he will most likely not be housebroken and can not stay alone. These things need to be practiced, so time is necessary.
If there are already dogs, the foster dog may not get along with them. Sometimes it takes a few days until it works well. Here you need to be well managed and must be able to separate the dogs in this case also spatially.
The longer the dog stays, the harder it is to say goodbye. Especially when dogs stay a little longer sometimes, so the danger of foster failure occurs; the dog finds his "Forever Home" in the actual foster family. Whereby this is basically not a real danger, but something wonderful!
What are the duties of a foster home for a dog?
First of all, I have to pick up the dog from the airport or the transporter. Once I have picked up the dog, double securing is very important. For the dog everything is new and he could be insecure, so he should be the first weeks only double secured outside and also leashed in the garden at first.
When the dog is there, I should treat him like my own. That means he should learn things like housetraining and leash walking.
The foster dog should also get to know various outside stimuli and get used to life in Germany with the help and support of his foster home.
It is also important to assess the character of the dog after the acclimatization period and to take nice pictures so that the association can share the dog and place it in placement portals. In addition, you can support the club by placing the dog in the dog placement portals or by putting up a flyer of the dog in the local pet store.
As a foster home I should have time and motivation to take care of the dog. I should also bring patience and empathy, the dog will not understand everything immediately and may be initially still insecure and may first want his peace. Dog experience is an advantage, but even without this, the club usually finds a suitable dog.