Considering fostering..

[theparrisfive]

I am considering fostering. Tank will be 3 in October and as much as I want another bully but he hubby is just not ready for another permanent baby especially since we have a move coming up within this year. So I am considering fostering instead (he is actually 3/4 on board with this lol). I think this will be idea as it would socialize my dog (hes not socialized but he wants to be) and would allow me to love on another Bully without having the permanent responsibility of another dog.

What things do you suggest for someone to do to ready themselves for a foster?

I have seen several people attack fosterers due to failed fosters (ie: foster becomes dog aggressive/kid aggressive and has to get a different foster home). This makes me nervous cause the safety of my animals and kiddos obviously have to come first so how would you deal with the situation if this did arise (hopefully it wont)

I am at home all the time unless my son has drs appointments. Other than that during the school year and half the summer break It is just me at home the majority of the time so I definitely have the time to sink into a foster but want to make sure I am prepared before I jump head first into this.

 

[bullmama]

My advice is to be very honest with the rescue about each and every question they ask you. Express your concerns. This is the best way to find a bully that can suit your home.

Tagging [MENTION=4225]Twice[/MENTION] and [MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION] who can give you hands on advice!


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[2BullyMama]

Best of luck to you.... thank you for be willing to open your home and help a bully find a new life. I have no advice, but Lisa tagged the right people for you

 

[kazzy220]

I am considering fostering. Tank will be 3 in October and as much as I want another bully but he hubby is just not ready for another permanent baby especially since we have a move coming up within this year. So I am considering fostering instead (he is actually 3/4 on board with this lol). I think this will be idea as it would socialize my dog (hes not socialized but he wants to be) and would allow me to love on another Bully without having the permanent responsibility of another dog.

What things do you suggest for someone to do to ready themselves for a foster?

I have seen several people attack fosterers due to failed fosters (ie: foster becomes dog aggressive/kid aggressive and has to get a different foster home). This makes me nervous cause the safety of my animals and kiddos obviously have to come first so how would you deal with the situation if this did arise (hopefully it wont)

I am at home all the time unless my son has drs appointments. Other than that during the school year and half the summer break It is just me at home the majority of the time so I definitely have the time to sink into a foster but want to make sure I am prepared before I jump head first into this.

To start with you really do need to make sure that the hubby is 100% on board. A lot of bullies that come into rescue have been emotionally and/or physically neglected. They can take a lot of time, and love. Even the ones who have been treated well, but their owners for some reason are being forced to surrender them, will be stressed to begin with when they no longer find themselves in their own home. It can be hard work, but also incredibly rewarding!!

Once you've got your family fully on board then apply to be a foster. I can only speak from our application process .. (Rescue Ohio English Bulldogs) .. but we will send you out an application form. Once that has been received back, I do full vet checks - so it's a good idea to let your vet know that they can release information to the rescue! We also ask for two references and will call those people too. If all that passes then the next step is to arrange for somebody to do a home visit. We would expect the entire family to be present at the home visit so that we can see how you interact together and your own pets.

Personally, I haven't seen anybody attack other fosters for a dog becoming kid aggressive or dog aggressive. We never bring a bully into rescue until we have temperament tested him. We also try to test him with dogs and cats. If there is the slightest hint that the bully could be dog or cat aggressive then we make sure they go to fosters who do not have those pets in their house. As for kids, and I can only speak for ROEB, we do not adopt or foster out to families with kids under the age of 8 years old. This was put to the Board for a vote, and this was the result. We can never say for sure what these bulldogs have had to experience in the past and feel uncomfortable putting rescue bullies in homes with kids under the age of eight.

If a bully does get moved, and we have had to do that, it's because the bully has been fine with all the other dogs but for some reason does not get on with one of the dogs and they start to squabble. There has also been an incidence when a senior special needs bully has ended up requiring medication on a very regular basis and the current foster just wasn't home enough to give him the meds at the required times.

Hope that helps ... but if you have any questions then just let me know!!! We may do things slightly different to IBR but at least it may give you some insight into how it works.

If this is where your heart lies .. then GO FOR IT!!!

 

[theparrisfive]

To start with you really do need to make sure that the hubby is 100% on board. A lot of bullies that come into rescue have been emotionally and/or physically neglected. They can take a lot of time, and love. Even the ones who have been treated well, but their owners for some reason are being forced to surrender them, will be stressed to begin with when they no longer find themselves in their own home. It can be hard work, but also incredibly rewarding!!

Once you've got your family fully on board then apply to be a foster. I can only speak from our application process .. (Rescue Ohio English Bulldogs) .. but we will send you out an application form. Once that has been received back, I do full vet checks - so it's a good idea to let your vet know that they can release information to the rescue! We also ask for two references and will call those people too. If all that passes then the next step is to arrange for somebody to do a home visit. We would expect the entire family to be present at the home visit so that we can see how you interact together and your own pets.

Personally, I haven't seen anybody attack other fosters for a dog becoming kid aggressive or dog aggressive. We never bring a bully into rescue until we have temperament tested him. We also try to test him with dogs and cats. If there is the slightest hint that the bully could be dog or cat aggressive then we make sure they go to fosters who do not have those pets in their house. As for kids, and I can only speak for ROEB, we do not adopt or foster out to families with kids under the age of 8 years old. This was put to the Board for a vote, and this was the result. We can never say for sure what these bulldogs have had to experience in the past and feel uncomfortable putting rescue bullies in homes with kids under the age of eight.

If a bully does get moved, and we have had to do that, it's because the bully has been fine with all the other dogs but for some reason does not get on with one of the dogs and they start to squabble. There has also been an incidence when a senior special needs bully has ended up requiring medication on a very regular basis and the current foster just wasn't home enough to give him the meds at the required times.

Hope that helps ... but if you have any questions then just let me know!!! We may do things slightly different to IBR but at least it may give you some insight into how it works.

If this is where your heart lies .. then GO FOR IT!!!

I have not applied yet until i get more details and am for sure this is for us. Hubbys not 100% on board because he is afraid that the foster will become a permanent addition lol. Other than that fear he seems on board. I have talked to the rescue and my kids ages don't seem to be a issue. youngest will be 8 in October. With your rescue does the references have to be local? We honestly have no friends except for work related and no family in the area (that we claim at least) so that's the only issue I am seeing application wise right now.

We are also hesitant with Tank. Should we socialize him before attempting to foster? Hes only been around 3 dogs, 1 was another bully and he got really hyper around her but hesitant at the same time and 2 has attacked him. They were small dogs so he is severely afraid of smaller dogs so much that he will start shaking and pee on himself. Other dogs though that are his size or bigger he seems very curious wants to play but is hesitant. I took him to a pet expo last weekend and he gladly hid under the table with another bully that was there and they seemed to do fine together. I dont know if it was due to their mutual fear or what lol.

 

[Davidh]

That's great you want to foster, and seems like you are doing your research first which is good. I would try to socialize Tank some more before getting one, and maybe stick with a female, most of the time a male and female get along better than two males or two females.

 

[ChrisRN]

It's wonderful that you are thinking about this.

 

[BrianW]

It's wonderful that you are thinking about this.

Completely agree with this statement. We have thought about this in the past, but now we currently have 5 dogs and really no more room for a foster. I do not personally think that we could foster, because I can guarantee that we would be a foster failure. The last 3 dogs that we have adopted have been rescues and from the minute we saw them we were in love. We adopted a 12 year old that was blind, and deaf (which we knew only had only a short amount of time left) and from the minute we saw him I was emotionally attached.

I can tell you that with the 3 rescues I have had, we have only had minor problems with them getting along (We are currently working on helping our 2 females get along) and only have positives to say about rescues. I wish that there would be more people out there that would look first at adopting a rescue, rather than buying a puppy (I will never have anything but rescues). Both of my current females are breeder girls (backyard and puppy mill) that were treated so badly before we got them and in very rough shape when we got them (one was at her foster for an hour before we picked her up). Neither have showed any aggression towards us or our other 3 dogs (but have small issues with each other) and have only displayed love.

 

[Twice]

We temperament test all of our rescues. All of our foster parents are also given temperament training. If they show any type of aggression we are sure to place them in the best possible foster home. No kids, no other dogs, no cats... whatever the dog needs we will find it. I have only had one foster become aggressive and that was due to his thyroid. Elvis is now in a foster home with no other dogs.

Our process is the same as what [MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION] posted. You submit an application. We verify your references, check with your vet (if you have one), then the home check to make sure that your house is safe for animals.

As for becoming attached, I did once. With Otis. But he was also my first foster. Since then I've started looking at fostering like babysitting. I take the best care of them I can for as long as they are here, but I also keep in mind that they are going home soon.

Fostering is an amazing experience but it can also break your heart if you let it. I have a foster coming in here next week that has so many food allergies (we think) that he is completely bald. I've seen pictures, he has a patch of hair on his shoulders but is bald everywhere else. I expect he will be with me for a long time.

Some fosters come to you because their owners can't keep them anymore. Some are moving, some are getting divorced, some are at the end of their rope with behavior issues or allergies or illnesses. Some fosters come to you after being abused or found dumped on the streets. It's a lot of work but then you realize that it's the best thing you have ever done. When you introduce a new family member to someone who really, really wants to love them. Those are the pictures that I keep in my head. You don't remember the beaten, sick dog that walked in your house. You remember the look on new owners eyes when you hand them the leash, the smiles on the childrens faces when they meet their new best friend for the first time.

Any rescue worth it's salt will be behind you throughout the entire process so you will never be alone.