Tools of the Trade when Fostering or Adopting a Dog.
1.Shampooing a dog with Ivory dish detergent kills fleas 2.When transporting a dog in you car load the dog up then close the leash in the door. It secures the dog so they can't jump all over the car creating a safer trip for everyone 3.To make life easier always take a new dog on a very long walk before you bring them into your house for the first time 4.A tired dog is a good dog. Lots of daily exercise can cure a lot of behavior issues quickly. A large bred dog needs at least an hour of exercise daily. It is supposed to be over and above the potty walks. It can be time consuming even frusterating but is worth the work. Hope you find some of these helpful. Tag, now it is your turn! Alison |
|
|
| OK Alison,
I use a crate most of the time when I transport,but have done the leash thing. I put a tarp down and then a blanket,sometimes nervous rescues pee or worse. AND travel with spray bottle with H2O and lysol,paper towels and plastic bags. I carry a waterless shampoo and towel in case I have to clean the dog up in route. Sometimes dogs in the pound can be very stinky!! I make sure I have a martingale collar and leash with me in case one is not provided. This way if the dog is frightened he/she won't slip out of the collar. I introduce my dogs with a fence in between so there can be some sniffs (my dogs are very dog friendly but I never know with new dogs) Many times unless I really know the medical history I keep the new dog isolated for a week from my dogs. I hand feed the new dog in another room for a few days in case of any food aggression . I also give the new dog his/her own toys to play with in another area untill I know them. My dogs love to play tug and steal each others toys. This way if any toy aggression I don't have a problem. These hints are in addition to your very good ones!! TAG who is next? Cindy |
| I always make sure that there is a sheet or old blanket on the van seat to prevent fleas or other nasties getting onto it. I belong to plenty of Freecyle lists, so those kinds of things are plentiful. If necessary the sheet/towel is tossed to avoid contamination.
Very little eye contact with a strange dog in transport, and I try not to coddle a frightened dog. These times are very stressful and the dogs are usually flooded with stimuli so I try to keep things matter-of-fact and moving quickly. Best to get the trauma all over with as soon as possible. A new dog is kept separate from other dogs at first. The dog needs to gain respect and trust in ME and feel that I am the protector. I also try to have it have an area or crate to call its own, where he can get used to the sounds and smells of the new hosue. Other areas of the house are introduced one at a time, as required, over the cource of a few days. Potty area is kept separate where I can keep an eye on what comes out. Things are kept pretty low-key for the first few days....Not a lot of company and no really big outings. I try to set a simple and predictable routine as soon as possible, to assist the dog in learning the rules. I use hand-feeding and specific gentle massages to help with the bonding. These can then be done by the new owner and the dog will recognize these excercises as good things. |
| Any other suggestions? |
| I guess I'm Mrs. Scrooge. Originally I did the long walk, meet my dogs outside of the yard, etc. It was OK until someone brought in kennel cough. It didn't show up for a few days and by then everyone came down with it. So I switched to where the newbie did not come in contact with my dogs for at least two weeks.
Newbies got their own outdoor space and indoor crate away from other dogs. I spent time working in the room where the newbie is, but....as mentioned above, avoiding direct as much as possible until the dog felt confident to come up to me. Some are instant, "HI, I'm here, pet me" others are very meek. First nights I keep a radio with the dog, talk station or soothing music....and often a night light. Transport tools, don't forget the bucket and trash bags.....in addition to the other stuff. While I don't rescue or foster at the moment, I am available for transport. Long rides I bring bottled water and maybe a few cookies. Tiny ones to judge how well they are feeling. A high stressed dog won't take food. Excess food ends up in the car out some port. |
| wow... I can't believe I missed this before. As a rescue/foster newbie I can't tell you how much these suggestions help (even the simple ones). I must say that most times I transfer/foster dogs things are so insane and crazy that I forget the very simple things (like bringing my own collar so I don't have to use the terrible ones the shelter provides) and it makes everyone's life crazy!
Please keep the suggestions coming, I am going to compile them and forward them to my rescue friends. |
Lil Walty wrote: wow... I can't believe I missed this before. As a rescue/foster newbie I can't tell you how much these suggestions help (even the simple ones). I must say that most times I transfer/foster dogs things are so insane and crazy that I forget the very simple things (like bringing my own collar so I don't have to use the terrible ones the shelter provides) and it makes everyone's life crazy!
Please keep the suggestions coming, I am going to compile them and forward them to my rescue friends. I just rec'd a foster about 10 days ago and I'd like to add the suggestion to be careful with the dog food - mine came to me matted to the bone, urine soaked to the skin, urine burn on her paws, and a broken leg that healed wrong -she was filled with anxiety so i was careful to feed her very little building slowly. She never became ill from the food, but I was cautious because i did not know what kind of food she was used to. She is doing great and is a wonderful dog - I was shocked at her poor condition - thank god she was turned in by this neglectful family. |
| I would like to add one more hint to those who transport. I always pull my cloths off in my garage and change into a pair of scrubs I shower right away. I have a seperate pair of transport sneakers that my dogs never sniff!! There is a nasty strain of parvo out there and I really try to be careful. There are always risks to your own pets when you do rescue work. I have brought kennel cough in and a couple of viruses but try to lower the risk by eliminating exposure to my gang . |
| Thanks for the great suggestions. I've only been fostering a year now, and I have been worried about infecting my pets. Thanks for suggesting all the tips! |
| If I am going to be picking a dog up I always bring with me the following:
1. plastic liner down on the floor of my SUV 2. old blanket covering the plastic liner that can be thrown away (Goodwill is an excellent place to get them) 3. crate 4. several collars - in different sizes 5. long leash 6. empty plastic bowl 7. empty plastic water bottle (I get water from wherever I am picking the dog up as to not upset the stomach more) 8. disinfectant spray 9. paper towels 10. empty walmart bags (for poop pickup if needed and for trash) 11. antibacterial hand waterless stuff 12. owner surrender form - if picking up from the current owner Once home they do not go near my dogs or poop in our yard until a vet has thoroughly checked them out. |
| If the rescues are separated from our dogs for health reasons, how do we know if they get along well with other dogs. How do you assess dog aggression? how do you assess food aggression? How do you asses if they are correctly house trained? I don't know how to do theses things if they don't interact with my dogs. Also, I don't have the room to keep them separate so what do I do now? I have always been worried about the health of my dogs being effected. But what do I do from here?
Any suggestions?? Thanks! |
| We allow our foster parents to let the foster socialize with their dogs right away. Our fosters are always vaccinated for everything so the only concern we have is worms or kennel cough. Worms are easy to catch and treat, and most dogs don't catch the kennel cough. We don't put foster dogs in homes with puppies or seniors though as they are more likely to catch it.
In other news- I should have listend to Wynette's suggestion on the plastic liner. I had a little cattle dog in the front seat of my car last weekend (back was full of crates) and she puked THREE TIMES. Gross... |
| Thanks for all the wonderful advice! I am currently looking to rescue an OES to add to my family. I currently only have one OES. All this advice is wonderful! One question, I don't exactly have a spare room that I would feel ok leaving the new dog in to keep them apart in, so what would you suggest? |
| * For transporting rescue dogs, I use many of the same tools y'all already mentioned, but also some new ones: My most important one is a generic dog tag that I put immediately on the collar of the dog. I have the tags made up online and got a bunch of them. They say: "Rescue Transport Dog. Contact ..... Phone...... " In case the dog bolts or otherwise escapes en route. I also bring a collar and leash. Plastic drop cloth for the area the dog will occupy, covered with some washable blankies/throws I spray the car interior with a flea/tick bedding spray before and after I transport a new rescue (At least 3/4 of the dogs I transported have fleas. If I know for sure the dog has fleas, I will give them a Capstar tablet since it begins killing fleas in 30 min. I bring a gallon of distilled water I bring a roll of paper towels, baby wipes and a spray bottle of water (for those travel accidents) I bring plastic shopping bags for poop pickup AND my special secret weapon for settling doggie tummies -- GingerSnaps. I have my IPod hooked up to my car sound system and I play soothing new wavey music while driving. I bring a couple of toys (stuffie and chewy) but they never seem to be interested. If it is a long drive and there is the likelihood of a sick dog, I bring a wonderful organic spray product called Zero Odor which neutralizes odors without having an odor itself. * For managing a foster in my home: I try to have my own dog(s) and the foster initially meet in a neutral zone that neither dog "owns". I especially like to try to introduce them off leash. I always have another person help me with this, both in transporting the dogs separately and managing their introduction. Good/gentle behavior gets rewarded with a tiny treat. I load the pockets of all my clothes with treats, usually just the regular kibble I feed for meals. Whenever the foster or my own dog does some praiseworthy behavior, I give them a treat. I start with the foster acknowledging their name -- if I say their name and they look at me, even if it is only a brief glance, I reward them. Often my own dogs have a good training influence on the fosters. If the foster is not crate trained, I will try to initiate that training. If that gets to be out of the question, I have a small bathroom that I clear and put a baby gate in the doorway. I always feed the foster dog in either the crate or the separate room. In the beginning, I feed them their entire meal(s) by hand. (I also eat something myself first, so they know that I get first choice for food). I train them to pee in one specific spot and poop in another specific spot, with different trigger words for each (lacking imagination, I use "go pee" or "go poop"). This is a big help when trying to achieve specific potty activities (i.e. before a long car ride etc.) I could go on and on some more, but I'll restrain myself -- GOOOOD Girl Fritzi |
| That's an excellent list, Fritzi. Thanks for sharing it.  |
| Thank you so much for the wealth of information that you all have put together here. (Although, I will admit that for this newbie to OES it is a bit overwhelming.) I am going to pick up my first OES (a rescue) tomorrow and can't wait! I have been reading and re-reading all of your posts to be sure that I have everything and am ready for the challenge/blessing of this new companion. Again, thank you for sharing your wisdom.... Beth (Soon to be mama of Samson) |
| oh boy oh boy, betcha can't sleep tonite.   ya know how to post pictures, right??? |
| I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to thank you all for your help. I have been lurking on this forum for quite awhile, hoping that my time to rescue an OES would come. If all goes well, I'll be picking up my dog from his foster home this Friday. I am so excited I don't know how I'll sleep between now and then. |
cardrey wrote: I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to thank you all for your help. I have been lurking on this forum for quite awhile, hoping that my time to rescue an OES would come. If all goes well, I'll be picking up my dog from his foster home this Friday. I am so excited I don't know how I'll sleep between now and then. Welcome Cardrey!! So excited for you and for your lucky new pal!!  Welcome to the forum, most of us started as lurkers  Thanks for resurrecting that thread, I'd never read it, its full of awesome tips. Let us know how it goes on Friday, we will expect pictures and stories  (The introduction section of the board index might be the better place to show off your new guy!). |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|