Chronicles of a Foster Mom: In the Beginning...

by Dana Brillante | February 15, 2012 11:36 AM | 9 comments

Chloe the Foster Puppy

Hi. My name is Dana, and I am a volunteer with the Leon County Humane Society. As a volunteer, one of the services I provide is fostering puppies. Other foster parents care for cats, kittens, mature dogs or even specific breeds, but I find that puppies work best for me, my other canine family members, and my flexible schedule.

Because I promote the foster program wherever I go and introduce my foster puppies to as many people as possible, I am often asked the same question over and over: "How can you foster a puppy and give it up?" I could spend a fair amount of time explaining to you the many benefits of fostering and its impact on the animal world. I could also dive into detail about the emotional joy of caring for a puppy and the mix of hope and angst when you relinquish it to its new family. But these would just be words on a page. Instead, I have decided to take you with me through the adventures and challenges of fostering. Of course, every foster family is different; just like every foster animal is different. Another foster parent’s story wouldn’t sound exactly like mine. But, I want you to see first-hand what it is like for me to be a volunteer foster parent and learn if this type of program might be right for you.

Before I introduce you to Chloe, my current foster puppy, let me emphasize that this is a household project. Everyone who lives in the house needs to agree to be part of the foster program, even those family members who will not be directly responsible for the foster animal. No matter how I try to accept all of the responsibility of caring for Chloe and other puppies I have fostered, there are simply times when I need my husband to help. I am grateful he supports my volunteer efforts and pitches in when he is needed. So, the first rule of successful fostering is to make sure everyone in your household is on-board with the plan. Having everyone’s cooperation is also important when it comes to training and preparing your foster pet for its new home. Consistency is key to developing a balanced and calm dog, and this is especially true with puppies.

Chloe the Foster Puppy

Now come and meet Chloe! ...Chloe, come and meet our new friends. Sit. Stay. Well, she has the "sit" down to a science; we are still working on "stay." Chloe is a precious black lab mix puppy. She is approximately 10-weeks-old and in excellent health. It’s a big change from when I brought her home. Then, she was a sad, under-weight little thing with a nasty cough and a runny nose.

The first thing I do when I bring a new foster puppy home is bathe him or her to remove the smell and memory of past life. Today Chloe's fur smells clean and slightly fruity, and it glistens jet black in the sunshine. After three weeks of living with me, Chloe is kenneled trained and house trained. She is very smart. When she first arrived at my house, I kept her separated from my adult dogs. One reason for separating Chloe from the other dogs was because she was so small that I was concerned about her being stepped on. Chloe weighed only six pounds. My family canines - Oscar, a Samoan/terrier mix; CJ, a lab/chow mix; and Jesse, a schnauzer/wire-haired terrier mix--weigh in at 67-, 72-, and 34-pounds, respectively. My second reason for separating Chloe was that she had not developed any of the social skills needed for appropriate behavior with adult dogs. Rather than approaching her elders respectfully, Chloe was excitedly jumping all around and on top of the larger dogs. This type of behavior can make the older dogs irritable and grouchy.

So Chloe was temporarily segregated using a baby gate through which she could see and smell the other dogs while she learned her canine manners. For the first couple of weeks, her interaction with my larger dogs was highly supervised for the puppy's sake; however, my older dogs have now taught Chloe proper etiquette in approaching and addressing other dogs.

When working with puppies or young dogs, well-trained older dogs are great teachers. When dogs are interacting with other dogs, there are acceptable rules of behavior, and appropriate behavior can make a dog a target for irritation. It is very important for puppies and young dogs who didn’t grow up with a mother and siblings to learn proper dog-to-dog behavior and social skills. For example, when Chloe first came into our family, she did not know that it is impolite to try to eat food offered to another dog. When she attempted to take part of a treat sticking out of Oscar's mouth, he gave her a gruff warning in dog language, and Chloe learned not to approach him or the other dogs when they are eating. Now Chloe keeps a respectable distance from food dishes until the older dogs are done and walk away. As the puppy in the pack, she is at the bottom of the list in seniority; she must accept her position in order to thrive. I could have attempted to push her away from the others while they were eating, but she would have kept coming back because her instinct to eat and limited ability to focus as a young puppy override my human gestures. However, a reprimand from an older dog commanded her immediate attention since her instinct to fit into the pack ultimately outweighs her instinct to eat.

Likewise, Chloe is trained to walk on a leash because I take her on neighborhood walks with the rest of my pack. The first time I fitted her in a harness with a leash, she began to struggle until she looked around and saw the other dogs wearing leashes and moving in a forward direction. Then she began to walk with them, glancing side to side to ensure she was in proper step with other pack members. We take daily walks now, which serve to give Chloe the exercise she needs so she can focus on lessons yet to be learned.

Now that we have gone over a few of the basics and introduction to fostering, I plan to share with you my and Chloe's daily experiences; you know, the way friends talk over lunch. I look forward to our time together, and I hope that you are able to see, feel, and know all the wonders of fostering before we reach the end of our journey!

Tags: Dogs, Fostering