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What do I need to foster dogs?

I’m looking into fostering shelter dogs. I own a Shih Tzu (male). I’m going to get a cat so the foster will be trained to be calm with other animals. I have a 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom house. Im renting. What do I need to start up the fostering? What supplies? What should I teach the dog? How does the dog find a home when he is in my care? All info will NOT be turned down!! Thanks

first off, you need to seriously ask yourself if you are ready for this. it is really difficult to foster sometimes. after that, make sure with your landlord that this will be ok. most of the dogs you will get will not be house trained. do you have carpet in the house, or a surface a bit easier to clean if the dog has accidents. do you have a fenced in yard, an open yard, or live in the country? also, what kind of lifestyle do you have? do you work full time or are you at home most of the day? are there kids that run around all day or are you single? are you active or someone that likes to stay in the house without having to go out very often? also, is your dog neutered (you wouldn’t want a female that isn’t spayed). that will really determine what kind of dog you should foster.

if you really feel that you are up to the challenge, you should decide what types of dogs you want to foster. depending on the shelter, you could foster mom & pups, orphaned puppies, dogs with behavior problems, dogs with medical problems that are being resolved, seniors that need more attention than they can get in the shelter, overly hyper dogs that need a lot of exercise that they can’t get in the shelter, a long-term foster for a dog that isn’t getting adopted well at the facility, etc. each of these types of fosters has its own pros & cons. if you have hardwood throughout your house, you could foster puppies without too much cleaning (compared to having to clean the carpet for every accident. fostering a mom & pups lets you see the puppies grow up to an adoptable age but it can also be a lot harder to give up a puppy to its new family. orphaned puppies will likely need to be fed by hand, and depending on the age this could mean waking up in the middle of the night to do it. i wouldn’t suggest at this point you should probably foster a dog with behavior problems unless you have a lot of experience with dogs that have the problems. it can give a lot of satisfaction to help dogs that have medical problems that are being treated but it can also mean dealing with special diets, meds, changing bandaging, monitoring wounds, and frequent trips to the shelter/vet for check ups. also, senior dogs may be an option if you want a calmer dog but they can also have medical issues & are generally set in their ways so manipulating behavioral problems may be more difficult. unless you are a very active person with a fenced in yard, i wouldn’t suggest fostering a hyper dog.

from what you have mentioned, i would suggest a small/medium sized dog or puppies (only if you resident dog is ok with the excess energy). also, it will be necessary that the shelter do a cat check with any dog you want to bring into the house as a foster. that being said, you should look for nearby shelters & ask them for information on fostering. they all set different rules & all cover different costs. most will pay for the vet visits & food. some will provide a leash & collar but they may not. they will likely not give you toys (chew doys, squeakies, kongs, etc) and they may or may not give you a crate to use. if they don’t give you a crate, i would suggest buying a durable one (i prefer the metal ones that have the plastic slide-out bottom b/c they can observe you for a while from in there if they are nervous). i included a link for crate training in case you don’t know how. it really is great & most new owners will appreciate having the option to crate the dogs when they are gone. also, the shelter may or may not provide grooming supplies (brush, comb, ear cleaner, shampoo, etc.) but these are also really important so that they get used to it.

as for what to teach the dog, start with potty training and basic obedience: sit, down, stay, off, & a kennel command (’kennel’ and the dog walks to the crate & lays down). if you have the dog for long enough you can go into some tricks (shake paw, roll over, speak, pick up objects, etc.). also, you can ask the shelter if they have any type of requests of commands to teach (sometimes in a particular area some commands can get a dog adopted quicker).

each shelter will have its own regulations for how the dog will get adopted. some breed rescues don’t have a shelter & work exclusively through foster homes. in this case it is likely the prospective family will come to your house to see the dog. in other cases, you may need to transport the dog to the shelter if they call & have a prospective adopter. this is all up to the shelter & you need to think about what is reasonable for your lifestyle. don’t forget to let people you know that you have an dog up for adoption. i get it a lot when i foster, ‘oh, what a great dog! i would love to have a dog like that!’ & you can tell them that they may be able to have this dog b/c it is up for adoption.

i would like to thank you for being willing to foster dogs b/c there are so many being put down b/c of lack of space. i wish you the best of luck & that you love every dog that you

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