Become An Expert Foster Home For Dog Rescue

As a (former) foster coordinator for a dog rescue organization, I spent significant time wondering where I’d place new rescue dogs. We always had a shortage o foster homes.

Our agency had a reputation for doing really good work with special needs dogs, and we’d get quite a few dogs who needed some extra TLC. It seemed I was always needing an expert foster home.

Once, I needed an expert foster home for a dog with severe idiopathic epilepsy.

I’ve needed foster homes for more Heartworm-positive dogs than I care to recall – those homes that would commit to a 4-6 month placement as well as the commitment to frequent veterinary visits and adherence to a strict protocol.

I needed people who knew how to raise puppies, homes comfortable helping a blind or deaf dog, fearful dogs, and homes that wanted to provide hospice care for terminally ill dogs.

The more I recruited, trained, and tried to retain my foster homes, the more I came to believe that having expertise and specialties in my foster home contacts was a necessity. If I could find foster homes that had a particular skill in a particular specialty in foster care – or find anyone interested in learning how to foster a special needs dog, I’d have experts in my pool of foster homes on the ready to foster dogs in their “niche.”

If you ask someone “what’s your favorite dog to foster” people will give you an answer! We should nurture that.
pooch on a couch

I believed – and still do believe that becoming an expert foster home is not only rewarding but smart.

Expert Foster Homes Strengthen A Foster Program

Leading a foster program was a bit of a challenge at first, because honestly, I was a newbie myself, only recently bringing in Lovey as my first official foster dog. Thank goodness I had a good mentor!

But, that didn’t ease the responsibility of finding good foster placements for the steady trickle of special-needs dogs that came into the rescue agency. For some of these dogs, I really needed experts or those experienced with the particular illness or condition, or behavior a dog presented.

Why did I care to have expert foster homes?

Why did I care? Foster homes are about saving lives, we are told. And that’s true to a degree. The first responsibility of a foster home is providing a safe place for a foster dog to live and receive care and love. Isn’t that all that’s needed?

In my opinion, NO.

I say that holding my breath. If you ask some of the big names in dog rescue, they amplify the “love” aspect of dog fostering, because, well, heartstrings are easy to pull. I get it. Dogs are in peril and we need foster homes to save as many lives as we can. And because we need foster homes so badly, any technique used to honestly and transparently encourage families to try fostering rescued dogs does some good. I can’t argue with that.

However, many of these big names in dog rescue also expect folks to learn how to foster dogs by fostering dogs. Trial by fire. School of hard knocks. That bothers me, and I’ve seen a lot of foster homes quit because of a lack of training and nurturance. If you are interested in fostering, I want you to have the best experience so you’ll foster again. And again.

So, when other rescue agencies are talking about love, I’d rather talk about knowledge and skill. I know you have love, and lots of it. You wouldn’t be interested in fostering dogs if you didn’t. But love isn’t going to make that dog better or more adoptable.

Love Is Not Enough. You Need Some Expertise

People who foster dogs need knowledge and skill. (and support.) Without it, people become overwhelmed, frustrated, and often feel alone. And when that happens, people stop fostering dogs.

Frustrated foster moms and dads rarely continue to foster dogs.

I set out to find or nuture foster people willing to be expert foster homes.

1. – I’d need to make training and support available to improve knowledge and skill to existing foster homes.

2. – I’d need to recruit individuals already skilled in caring for special needs.

Ultimately, my desire was to develop a mentorship program where current expert foster homes could train and mentor others who were interested in fostering special needs dogs.

What Kind Of Expert Foster Homes Are There?

Expert foster homes are those homes that are skilled or competent in one or more aspects of care. I had a need for foster homes experienced in:

Pregnancy and whelping
Puppy fosters – including the implementation of puppy rearing protocols
Senior dog and hospice care
Heartworm treatment protocols
Orthopedic surgery recovery and rehabilitation
Deaf dog safety and training
Neonatal and birth defects (tube feeding)
Chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, congestive heart failure
Malnourishment/re-feeding
Ophthalmologic care
Dogs with fear issues and phobias (separation anxiety, storm anxiety, reactivity issues)

My rescue organization is not unique: nearly every rescue organization I’m aware of has dogs with needs requiring specialized skills. I’m sure that your organization also has dogs that benefit from experienced foster parents.

Find Your Niche!

If you foster a wide variety of different dogs with different issues, you have a comfort zone with certain dogs and probably become a little more energized when your favorite “type” of dog arrives in your home.

I know I do.

I like dogs who are recovering from heartworm and from orthopedic surgeries. My personal dog, Indy (now passed on) required three joint surgeries, each with 8-12 week confinements/rehabilitation protocols. Needless to say, I’m pretty good at helping a dog deal with

pain management
boredom
careful return to activity.

It’s not to say I only foster dogs with these conditions, but they are my favorite to foster. I know what I’m doing, I’m not afraid or hesitant. The rescue organization is confident in me, too – they don’t have to train someone else to do heartworm or surgery recovery: I already know the protocols.

When I first became a foster home, I needed an easy dog. As I’ve fostered more and more animals, I know where my strengths lie, and I know what dogs I do not need to foster. (unless offering short-term care if the rescue is in a pinch)

Choose Your Expertise and Hone It!

Be a Breed Expert Foster Home

If you really know German Shepherd Dogs, foster GSDs and GSD mixes. If you really know brachiocephalic breeds, foster those breeds.

When you know about the full personality a Chihuahua can bring, you become an asset to a rescue agency that cares for all breeds, you are an asset as well to a breed-specific rescue organization.

If bully breeds are your niche, be a bully expert.

Being an expert foster home for a particular breed means that you are aware of the inherent behavior characteristics of most dogs in that breed. You know more about illnesses or disorders that tend to show up in a particular breed. For example, French Bulldogs often have issues with poorly developed nares which, along with their adorable smushed face, can affect their ability to breathe. It is important that a foster home knows how to manage their activity and social interactions.

Be A Deaf Dog Expert Foster Home

Do you like working with deaf dogs? There is a huge need for expert deaf dog foster homes!

A lot of articles out there talk about this truth: deaf dogs are not much different than hearing dogs.

However, it’s awesome to have on board a skilled foster home that already knows the safety needs a deaf dog requires, knows how to teach a deaf dog a few hand signals, or understands the play needs of deaf dogs. Having this skill makes the time a deaf dog spends in foster care more fruitful AND helps the transition from foster home to adoptive home go much smoother.

If you have the ability to keep a deaf dog safe in your home and a commitment to teaching them skills, I highly recommend fostering a deaf dog. Caring for a deaf dog will teach you a whole lot about observation, body language, communication, and adaptiveness in dogs.

Provide Expertise in Hospice Dogs/Senior Care

My love to you out there who provide hospice care and end-of-life care for senior dogs. It is a gift to be able to provide this service to older dogs and the rescues that care for seniors. Be prepared for the emotional workout your heart gets as you help a dog who has a terminal illness or who has reached end of life, love them until they pass, and do it again. I’ve been a hospice home twice; it’s one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve ever had as a foster parent.

This program relies on hospice foster homes to open their hearts to dogs who will not ever leave. They will not be able to find a wonderful adoptive family, they will not watch their foster dog transform into a healthy pet, they will never say “see you later,” but rather “goodbye.” As you can imagine, it takes a very selfless, compassionate, and strong foster to do this. Essentially, they are taking these dogs in as their own, and loving them fiercely until it is their time to pass —–secondhandhounds.org

Foster Dogs Need Medical Specialty Experts

If you are skilled in providing medical treatment to dogs? Administering various types of medications or managing chronic illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, congestive heart failure, or epilepsy? Do you have the free time to take a dog into the veterinary clinic for regular follow-up vet visits or specialty services?

Many dogs in rescue require veterinary care beyond annual vaccines and spay/neuter surgeries. Some conditions are acute and dogs recover. Some conditions are chronic and need the expertise of a foster home to help stabilize the illness so the dog can become adoptable.

You can even be an expert transporter.

Sometimes the barrier to providing medical needs to a foster dog is the ability to transport a dog to the vet for timely follow-up visits. Do you work from home or are retired? Have a flexible work schedule? You might be a perfect fit as a foster home for a dog undergoing treatment for an illness.

Expert Care in Malnourishment/Re-Feeding

I’m truly amazed at how many malnourished/starved dogs there are that make their way into rescue. It takes a skilled, disciplined, and knowledgeable approach to safely restore health in a starved dog.

If your heart hurts when you see skin and bones, and you are unable to resist the urge to wheel into the drive-through for a bag of Krystal burgers, taking on the responsibility for a dog that needs re-feeding may not be a good fit for you. If you can refrain from free-feeding or overfeeding and remained disciplined with a veterinary-guided re-feeding plan, a rescue group can certainly use your skill.

Foster Dogs Through Pregnancy and Raise Her Puppies!

If you love puppies and believe that puppies need the best start possible to have the best life as a well-adjusted adult dog, become a skilled puppy foster!!

If you think all that’s required is a quiet room, a plastic kiddie swimming pool, and a pile of leftover blankets, mama dog will do the rest – stop fostering puppies.

Yes. I said that.

We, the rescue community, are raising puppies that have a poor interpretation of the world. We are raising fearful, reactive, anxious puppies that become special needs adult dogs.

Puppies need humans to help their mama provide an experienced-based, enriched environment so that puppies get well-rounded rearing. When we put puppies and mama in a kiddie pool in the garage or spare bedroom, we are restricting their exposure to objects and sounds and textures and people.

Orphaned puppies REALLY need humans and possibly a surrogate canine parent to help teach puppies about the world around them.

It is not enough to SAVE A PUPPY’S LIFE. You must begin to RAISE THAT PUPPY while it is in foster care.

Puppy Rearing Curriculums – Puppy Culture

I am a huge advocate for puppy rearing programs like Puppy Culture.

I was once told I shouldn’t expect foster homes to take on the responsibility of a program such as Puppy Culture. “They don’t have the time or the resources.” I wholeheartedly disagree. I know more than a few foster homes that are successfully rearing litters of rescue puppies using puppy rearing protocols.

I’ve been around litters of puppies raised in rescue with this program and met puppies who have not been raised with this (or similar) program. I see a big difference in the puppies reared with Puppy Culture. If we are going to rescue or whelp puppies, we have a duty to raise them to be awesome pets. We owe puppies our very best.

Puppy Culture is a flexible program that even benefits older puppies. Even though the program gives you guidance for puppies (and mama dog) on day one of birth, you can implement the program on older puppies – such as that litter of 4-week old orphaned puppies just pulled from the shelter. It’s affordable and in my opinion, a necessary purchase for any rescue organization that rescues, raises, and re-homes puppies.

(Disclaimer* I am not an affiliate of Puppy Culture and I don’t receive any compensation for mentioning them in my blog posts. I promote this product because I’m impressed with it.)

Special Needs Puppies

It’s super valuable to have a specially trained dog foster home who can tube feed a puppy. Our rescue often gets cleft palate puppies: these puppies do not do well with bottle feeding. Having this skill on a foster team is invaluable. If you have this skill and can help or would like this skill and ability to help in the future, pop me a message; I can direct you to resources that can get you started.

Fearful Dogs Always Need the Expertise of a Skilled Foster Home

Some methods for helping fearful dogs have almost done an about-face in the last 5 or so years. Even some of the techniques I was taught by my trainer when working with Lovey might not be the same methods she’d teach me today – which is why I value my relationship with my training group – I know they are keeping up to date with the advances in animal training and rehabilitation.

Sometimes, fearful dogs require a long-term commitment and a lot of patience, acceptance, and perseverance. Some don’t get adopted quickly. I know this: the vast majority of foster dogs DO get better. If you enjoy the experience of skillfully helping a dog recover from fear-based behaviors, a rescue group can certainly use you!

Short-Term Fostering

I believe short-term fostering is a specialized type of fostering dogs. In short-term fostering, you have a specified amount of time – typically 2-4 weeks in which you may be asked to assess or train or treat conditions for the purpose of preparing a dog to hitch a ride to a partnering rescue in another part of the country.

You can become super skilled in house-training, crate training, leash training! Boy, aren’t adopters happy when their new pet isn’t having to start at square one with these basic skills! You’ve already done some of the work – at least laid down the foundation upon which the remainder of the training is completed! It’s an awesome gift and quite the feeling knowing you’ve made a homeless dog more adoptable.

Expert Or Not, Skilled Or Novice, Rescue Organizations Need Fosters!

If you are reading this, you’ve read my article and that means you are really interested in fostering. Get started today! You will gain skills, find your niche, and develop your expertise.

My whole reason for this blog, all these posts, is to inspire you to foster. Inspire you to grow as a foster. Inspire you to specialize as an expert foster home. I’d love to hear from you. What do you want to read? What topics do you want covered here? I’m here for you.

Are you an expert foster home for a particular population of dog? How did you get started? How did you choose your expertise? I’d love to hear your story!