How to Foster a Dog

Jodie Humphries - Dog Lover profile picture

Jodie Humphries - Dog Lover

Dog Lover

Jodie is an obsessed dog mum who loves to learn how to best care for her pup Wally and she loves to share the things she learns with others. She's always been a pet owner but loves dogs the most and loves being surrounded by like-minded dog lovers.

How to Foster a Dog

You may be considering becoming a foster parent for a pup. Before deciding to become a foster parent, there are multiple things you need to consider, like if you have the time to help a dog adjust.

What does it mean to be a foster parent to a dog?

Being a foster parent just means you’re looking after the pup for a short period rather than committing to a long term arrangement like adoption. You may be helping a rescue get ready for their forever home, supporting a service dog’s training or just helping an owner when they can’t care for their pup.

Why should you consider fostering a dog?

There are many reasons you might consider fostering a dog. Still, it’s always good to weigh up the pros and cons before making a decision.

Pros and cons of foster parenting

The benefits of becoming a dog foster parent:

  • Test out pet ownership - If you’re not sure if you and your family are ready to adopt a pup, then fostering is a nice way to test the waters
  • Help people and pups in need - Foster parenting a dog helps support the local shelter or rescue, which helps the broader community
  • Help a pup through training - You may choose to foster a dog going through service dog training
  • The pups! - The best part of fostering is getting to enjoy all the love that puppies have to give.



Some other things to consider

  • Emotional attachment - You and your family can become emotionally attached to the pup, making the goodbye hard
  • Dogs may have issues - Rescue dogs often come from troubled past, and you don’t always know what they’ve been through, which can make them difficult to handle
  • Training can be hard - There will likely be training involved once you have the dog. This training will vary depending on the dog but will be time-consuming.

 

What’s the criteria for fostering a dog?

Each shelter, rescue or other organisation that offers to find foster families for dogs will have specific criteria. Some basic criteria include:

  • Be over 18 years of age
  • Complete a foster application for your chosen organisation
  • Have a valid drivers licence
  • Live in the area the organisation is located
  • Be able to offer a safe and secure environment for the dog (mostly indoors)
  • Other animals in the home must be well socialised and friendly to other animals
  • Be able to isolate the foster animal from other animals in the home
  • Be able to commit to fostering a dog for the period set by the organisation
  • In some cases, there may be terms about the age of children in the home
Whatever reason you consider fostering a pup, the best part is you’re helping your local community by supporting your local shelter or rescue organisation.

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