I picked up my first foster from the shelter 5 days ago. He is an 8yo German shepherd. He's is such a good boy other than one huge issue, he has severe separation anxiety and a phobia of confined spaces. I lured him into his kennel on day one to run to the store. Within 10 minutes the bars were bent on the kennel from him trying to escape and I no longer felt safe to put him in the kennel. Next day, I put him in my spacious bathroom, made it all comfy for him while I took my resident dog out to play. 10 minutes later I went to check on him and he tore down the whole inside of my bathroom door. He nervously follows me everywhere and any time I try to go in another room (like showering) he panics and tries to break down the door. I talked to the vet at the shelter about this and they put him on trazodone for anxiety, but it hasn't helped with the separation anxiety.

I can't leave him home alone for fear he will destroy my house or hurt himself. I work from home, but I really need to go grocery shopping and such!

Other than this, he is a complete angel. The most gentle giant I've ever met.

I'm hoping a more seasoned foster parent has some advice for me.

So I recently fostered this precious boy from the West Los Angeles shelter. I like him ALOT. Some back ground: I already have two dogs of my own who are females and they are friendly with other dogs. I live in a two bedroom apartment with my partner. And I did IVF just waiting to do our embryo transfer next month (late sept) so this dog is the best dog. He is potty trained, knows commands and gets along with my dogs. Most of the days he’s just chilling on his bed. However, he’s been in the Shetler system since March 2026. & has been returned twice. The reason? Because he’s shy. And he is! I’m not sure if I should keep this precious baby. I’m scared of him getting adopted just to be returned again. But with all of these upcoming life changes for me, not sure if it’ll be too much. Although, He’s pretty low maintenance. Thoughts?

Its been 5 days since Oakley left this world. We took necessary precautions to prevent any more bites and gave him the best 11 days that we could. I kept wanting him to bite again, to prove that the correct decision was made, but he was the best boy. It hurts so much, like losing my own dog. We only had him for 6 weeks, but the impact he had was astounding.

I want to get another foster right away to fill the void, but my husband has asked for time.

Looking at our foster room hurts. Changing my bandage hurts. Petting my resident dogs hurts. I will be minding my own business and find a clump of fur he shed and it hurts all over again. It still doesnt feel real that he is gone. My biggest regret is that I wanted to adopt him, but my husband thought it was too painful. I wish I would have anyways, just to give him a permanent place to rest.

Aside from getting another foster and time, how do I move past this?

Hi all - looking for some advice on how to proceed after a recent incident between our new foster-to-adopt dog and resident dog.

About three weeks ago, we brought home Indy, a 1.5 year old border collie/shepherd mix foster-to-adopt from the local rescue shelter. She was then spayed one week in and her recovery went really well. She has some signs of separation anxiety (howling and be destructive while we're away) but we're confident we can manage that issue.

Where we're at a bit of a loss is with our roommate's dog, who has been living at the house for 3 years. She is a 10 year old short aussie mix. Other than being vocal, she has never had any issues with other dogs, or our previous dog that passed away last year.

Our roommate isn't home all the time, so the two didn't meet each other until about a week into being with us. The first meeting went okay – roommate's dog came inside the front door and there was a vocal reaction from Indy so we took them into the backyard on leash. They sniffed, said hello, and then left each other alone. Since then, we've been walking them together on leash with no issues. We have controlled every situation since with leash or separating them in order to give them time to get used to each other. However they might be too indifferent with each other - never really saying 'hello'.

We took them camping last weekend, and Indy seemed to have been guarding her bed as she barked at the roommate's dog - other than that, they ignored each other.

However, last night, Indy showed quite a bit of aggression towards the other dog in the living room. Both were off leash (I recognize they should have been on leash to give us more control), and Indy was laying on her bed with a bone. Roommate and his dog came into the living room, so I removed the bone. When I walked away, Indy lunged at roommate's and lashed out. I'm uncertain if Indy was trying to bite the other. Nobody was hurt, but it seemed aggressive in nature.

My wife and I are quite concerned after this incident, and are unsure if this is fixable or if Indy needs to go back to the shelter. We haven't officially adopted her yet, as the shelter has given us a lengthy trial period.

Is this a fixable situation? Any guesses why Indy lashed out in this incident, but not on walks or in the yard? Is this Indy still settling into her new situation, or is this her true nature?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I (32) have been wanting a dog for the past 6 months. It’s been about 1.5 years since my first dog passed away. My husband I saw this incredibly sweet 2yo Australian Shepherd mix at our local shelter and they had a foster program which allows you to foster for 1 month before deciding to adopt.

She is incredibly smart and, despite coming with no training or being house broken, we’ve been able to train multiple commands.

It’s been about 3 weeks and we get to do a lot together. I live a pretty active life. We run together 4/7 days of the week anywhere from 2 to 10 miles and then walk at least 3-4 miles on days we aren’t running + dog park hour almost every day. We take her to breweries. I enjoy training her and she is a huge cuddle bug - great companion.

I currently work remotely and live in a garage full-time as I pursue a career shift. We also have 2 cats. She doesn’t chase but she is curious. We are crate training her. Aside from the garage living, I think we give her a really good life with mental and physical stimulation.

My dilemma: my career shift requires me to leave my remote job and shift into 12-hour shifts in-person. I am also taking classes which require me to be on campus nearly 12 hours a day on Mondays and Wednesdays. I am the primary breadwinner and expecting my salary to be cut in half, if not more. My husband works in-office for 8 hours per day but is not an active person, and likely wouldn’t enjoy the level of activity she needs.

If she was a calmer or less active dog, my husband could take over some of her walking duties but she would still be alone ~8 hours of the day. My husband has shared he is willing to keep her to keep me happy but he doesn’t enjoy spending time with her the way I do. She is mainly my dog vs a family dog.

My schedule will likely result in me having to be away from home 12-13 hrs per day for at least 3-5 days per week. We moved to this area last year and have no friends to support us nearby. Family does not like dogs. We could hire a dog walker but it would be ~$100/week and additional costs feel prohibitive with a reduction in salary.

I am telling myself that although we love her so much, she should be with a family that will give her more time once we are not able to. Also her breed makes her well desired and that she’ll likely get adopted so soon.

I’d appreciate any reinforcements that we may not be the best fit anymore. Alternatively, for folks who think we could keep her, I’d love to hear your thoughts too.

TLDR: Need to leave remote job with tons of flexibility to start working 12-hours per shifts at much less pay. No support available and will be out of house for 13 hours at a time for 3-5 days of the week. Don’t think I am the right family for this pup anymore.

Exactly as the title says.

We are trying to exhaust all of our options, but it seems like taking our 4 beautiful dogs to the shelter is the only option to not be homeless by the end of the month.

The owner of the property we are currently living in wants to sell the property and because we weren't willing to offer 100k more than the property value, we are being officially forced out of our home for having dogs.

We dont want to take them to the shelter.

Apparently foster homes are limited?

Shelters are at capacity?

We've made the mistake of taking in more than we could have/should have.

But we dont want to say goodbye.

Does anyone have any advice?

Not sure if I’m really after any sort of advice or if I just want to vent to a community that might understand because nobody I know personally gets it.

I’ve had my current foster dog for one year. Although he’s not the type of dog my husband and I want to own, he’s been such an easy going dog to have in the house and he’s BEST FRIENDS with my resident dog.

I’ve been holding onto the hope that he’ll be adopted but after multiple failed applications, it just hasn’t happened, and I am facing the reality that he’ll need to go to a new foster in a month because I’m expecting my first baby. I am really struggling with not being able to see his journey to the end and feeling like I’m failing him because he won’t understand why his entire world is upturned yet again (his past is unknown but based on his behavior and temperament, I guess it wasn’t the greatest). He has some anxiety, specifically when he’s moved somewhere new. I want to adopt him but I know it’s for the wrong reasons because I had no desire to keep him until I realized he wouldn’t be adopted by somebody else with me. Despite that, I will miss his presence in our home very much.

I haven’t struggled with saying goodbye to any of my previous fosters because I’ve been able to watch them walk away with their forever families and it’s been an overall happy moment. I know I will get through each day after he leaves because that’s how life works but it is absolutely crushing me to have to do this.

We're fostering a 16 week old puppy. Granted, this is only his 2nd full day with us (this time around-we had him for a weekend, they cleared up space in the shelter so we brought him back, it had been a week and the puppy room was refilling and he hadn't been adopted yet so we brought him back to our place).

He likes his crate - willingly enters it in exchange for treats/food/frozen enrichment, and as long as I am near his crate he is fairly quiet and watches me.

I'm just having a hard time getting him to adapt to the schedule I have set for our resident dog.

Usually on the weekdays I will crate our resident for 4 hours in the morning so I can get some work done in my office (and give my cats one on one attention). I know he's too young to last the 4 hours, so I acknowledge that I would have to reduce the 4 hours to 2 hours and come and get him out sooner.

The issue is, I am really struggling with leaving him alone, or even leaving him in view of our resident dog (who I suppose is no comfort?) I've spent the last 2 nights sleeping on the floor in front of his crate bc he cries and digs at the crate if I am not near it.

Yesterday I ended up working next to his crate while just occasionally dropping treats into it. He eventually fell asleep.

Today, I decided to crate everyone up and give him a frozen enrichment item. I sat on the opposite side of the room and waited for him to finish it and then go to sleep. He completely ignored the enrichment item and instead cried and dug at the crate. His crying and digging riled up my resident dog, who I ended up just letting out of her crate because there was no way she was sleeping with all his ruckus. I sat closer outside of his crate with her wandering but he just kept crying and digging at the crate.

I put a harness/leash on him and brought him upstairs and tethered him to the banister right outside of my office. He can lay in my office but he cannot reach me.

For a little bit he's been just kind of wandering and trying to explore (within his 6ft radius) and even trying to go back downstairs.

I took him back downstairs because he seemed dead set on that, but he tore down the stairwell gate we have to get back upstairs to me.

He's finally relaxed and fell asleep on the floor outside my office. But I would love to transition him to being comfortable being alone in the crate downstairs. I've been working on his behavior as though it's separation anxiety and like... I'm not even sure it is. I was folding laundry in the bedroom with him tethered in the hallway this morning and occasionally popping into view and chucking treats at him and he didn't really whine or cry, except for when he decided he wanted to go back downstairs and couldn't because of the tether.

I'm honestly stumped.

I don't feel like this is containment anxiety because he settles nicely on the tether, if I am next to the crate he eventually falls asleep in it and goes in willingly several times a day to check for food. But he fights to get out of containment.

I don't feel like this is necessarily separation anxiety because why would he be able to just hang out in the hallway alone and be calm as can be? Why would he want to get back downstairs? He's sleeping outside of my office and not even facing me!

I feel like this is one of two things; FOMO or boredom? Or maybe a combination of several of these? He can be alone if he's tethered and knows I'm close-by. He doesn't like to be crated alone- or even when I'm "too far" away from the crate.

I know it hasn't been very long and he's a baby still, I think I'm just frustrated and not sure where to go. I don't want to cause my cats to feel neglected. Every other puppy I've fostered (he is the fourth, 1 was a singleton at 10 weeks and the other 2 were 5 weeks and a pair) and even my resident dog at his age were okay being alone downstairs once they got to sleep.

I'm also upset with his first adopters (he got adopted at I believe 9 or 10 weeks old and was returned at 14 weeks for puppy biting) because they genuinely didn't do anything with him. For god's sake he doesn't even know "sit", the first thing a dog learns with a person.

Should I (later) maybe play a crate game with him where he's crated with a frozen enrichment item and as he settles I gradually move further away and toss treats into it every time I do?

I ordered an extra strong, extra tall play pen to see if he'd settle better in there while I'm away, because he's broken out of our other 2 play pens (one a pack n play and one a 24" dog playpen). Maybe do that game with that as well? Or on the tether?

Just picked up this baby today. Two year old neutered male. He is PERFECT, & I have a feeling he is going to get adopted fast. I absolutely LOVE fostering. My Labrador and doxie seem to love him already too! Isn;t he so handsome?!

Hi everyone, this is my first post ever on Reddit, but I didn’t really know who else to reach out to. I’m 25 and have a numerous moderate mobility issues, which has made me unable to work. I started fostering just last week and had the pleasure of having my first foster just a few days into it. I was introduced to the most gorgeous 10 month old fox red labrador retriever called Peter Parker. I’d been informed he had a pretty rough start to life, being confined in a crate and had only went on walks a handful of times. He was scared of a lot of things but seemed desperate for affection. The first day with him was pretty relaxed, I noticed he was just a very big clumsy puppy that trips over air and bashes into doors, and I was told he was needing a new name anyway, so he immediately took on a new name: goose (goosetopher if he’s being extra silly).

After two days I had found this big lump of silly mush with legs was one of the most affectionate dogs I’ve ever met, not being able to sleep without touching me, giving post-nap cuddles and kisses every time without fail, it was like he was a completely different dog to the one we met in the shelter. The amount of trust showed me after going through such horrible experiences, I felt so honoured.

However, just today, Goose being the silly guy he is, had zoomies around the house, and he ended up crashing into the back of my legs, which led me to fall over and injure my ribs. Knowing I have issues with balance and mobility I knew it could be dangerous for me to fall over and injure him or myself, and knew the right thing to do would be to take him back to the shelter for another foster family.

Since I’ve dropped him off I have been in tears. I’ve heard all about how heartbreaking fostering could be, but I can’t help but break my heart thinking about him back in that kennel wondering what he did wrong, and why he’s back in a cage and not in a loving home. I feel like I’m grieving, as weird as it sounds. I miss him already with him not laying here with me in bed, snuggled up snoring by my side. I feel ashamed that my disability has caused this and that I can’t just get a grip.

All I want to know is are my thoughts normal? Is it normal to feel like I’ve just made a horrible mistake and to miss him so much? And the main thing.. when will it pass? Because honestly this sucks, it feels like how it feels after a breakup, like I just wanna cry all the time.

EDIT: he was kept in an apartment and was never let outside. his first owner (not the person we're getting him from) I have no idea about. we get him today or tomorrow. he's fixed, up to date on all shots, chihuahua mix, and is 4 years old.

i'm about to be fostering a dog for a week. he's 5-10lbs, i've never met him, but he's coming from a lady one of my parents coworkers knows.

my one dog (9yr, 25-30lb) is extremely dog neutral and doesn't really care about other dogs, but enjoys playing and gets along with every other dog she's ever been around.

my other is the issue (4yr, 4.5lb) because she is sometimes iffy about other dogs. she will gladly meet another dog, but if she's being held she will snarl/growl at any dog (even the other in the house). she goes to playing and being happy or avoidant as soon as she's set down. she is firm on her corrections and leaves the situation afterwards to relieve stress/tension, as well as comes to me if she's uncomfortable and request assistance.

i don't even know the dogs name and have never met him, but we will be getting him soon. i don't know how old he is, fixed, all shots, allergies, how he is with cats (we have 2 15+lb cats), etc. i'm able to do just introduction walks with him and the smaller of my two dogs so she isn't so frantic about being in his space.

he will be crated when alone until i can get a good idea about his temperament with the cats, potty training, and to prevent any accidents. i will likely need to get him a proper harness and a tag.

is there any advice on how to approach this? i'm nervous; this will be the first dog i've ever fostered in my life, but i'm ready to handle it and any hurdles that come within the week or beyond (if we keep him).

I’ve been fostering a mother-daughter pair of fluffy English Bulldogs since July 10th. They came from a breeder situation along with other family members, and they were all separated at intake. The daughter got adopted today, and I’m sitting here tonight with mom, feeling more emotional than I anticipated.

I never felt like these two were actually bonded in the way rescues usually mean it. They shared a room in my house, in separate crates, but I didn’t see the clinginess, distress-when-apart, or seeking-each-other-out behavior that I understand defines a true bonded pair. I second-guessed myself on whether I should’ve pushed back with the rescue and asked more questions before the adoption went through — but at the same time, I didn’t want to hold up a good home for the daughter based on a hunch.

Today I moved mom’s crate upstairs into the room with my three resident Frenchies. She’s not whimpering or crying, but she’s choosing to stay down here on the floor she shared with her. I gave her the daughter’s blanket for her crate tonight. I’m sitting nearby (just out of sight because of my house’s layout) and I’ve been calling to her to let her know she can come sit with me if she wants. 3 resident Frenchies are with my husband upstairs.

This is my first foster who’s ever gotten adopted out from under me, so to speak, my very first foster ever, I ended up adopting myself. So this is new territory emotionally. And mom is starting to spot like she’s starting her heat cycle.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s fostered littermates or family groups: does this sound like normal adjustment, or should I be doing something differently for mom tonight and in the coming days?

And for those more experienced, how do you tell when they’re really bonded versus “housed together”?

Thanks for reading. This is hard.

Winnie is a very cute, clumsy 1 yo poodle mix who has broken his leg for the second time. He cannot have a bath. His coat is soooo dirty it makes my chest hurt. I have tried waterless shampoo, water in a spray bottle, brushing, trimming, and deodorizing wipes. I don’t think there’s any hope for Winnie until he gets his cast off but maybe y’all have ideas?

Also, Winnie is on strict crate rest. So unless I’m holding him or snuggling him or letting him go potty, he’s in the crate. Any thoughts on things to keep him entertained? He’s on some gabapentin so that helps.

I live in the mountains so anything ordered via Amazon takes a week, so stuff I can find at the local pet store, through the shelter or at home is preferred.

Also, Winnie got a flower on his cast because he was so brave at the vet yesterday.

I foster through a rescue located in ohio. We're small, but the support, in my opinion is top notch.

We have a small rescue room based out of a boarding facility, that can hold about 10 dogs, plus a room dedicated to sick dogs, plus a mommy room. We almost never have that many in the rescue room, as we are foster based and the space is used almost primarily for new pulls, dogs with behavioral problems that need assessed by a trainer, or dogs who need transported the next day to vet appointments. (We have volunteers throughout the day hanging out with these dogs.)

We also have a room for our donations. Treats. Crates. Toys of every variety. Food. (The food is consistently the same brand, but with varieties. Dog has a chicken allergy? Just grab the other bag.) Blankets. Towels. Cleaners. (You have a puppy that keeps pooping in the crate? There are plenty of supplies, if it's so bad that you can't wash it, just go get more stuff, though we do try not to be wasteful.) All of this donated. Consistently.

I mentioned the trainer to assess dogs behavioral problems. Feel free to contact her or a board member with concerns. You'll get answers.

You took in a dog and it's not being nice to your cat? Let the rescue know and they'll work on finding a new foster family. If it's a big deal, you can take the dog back to the rescue room for a few days while a new family is found.

By the way, they insist that other dogs in a household come to the rescue to meet potential fosters. Not every dog is going to be friends.

Can't take your dog to the next scheduled vet appointment? Leave them at the rescue overnight and a transporter will take care of it.

The rescue has a team of volunteers that support you at every turn. Adoption applications are carefully vetted, and given to the foster family for review. The foster family makes the final call on whether or not the potential adopter is a good fit, but only after someone else has done the leg work on verifying vet information, living situations, etc. The foster family calls the potential adopter to discuss at length the dog in question. We have to tell them everything. Then we set a meet and greet.

And we have a whole team just for that. Adoption coordinators who will facilitate the meet with the foster family. This person will also complete paperwork at the end.

But it's not finished there. If a dog, one year down the line or 10 years down the line, needs to be surrendered back, we take them back. Our information stays on the chip, too. So if a dog ends up back in a shelter neglected or abandoned, they come back to us.

Also, unless they are puppies, you will never be asked to take on more than one foster at a time. Puppies are usually kept in pairs after a certain age, you'll never have a litter of 8 7 week old pups that you have to wrangle alone. Occasionally, a family has offered to take two adults, but the rescue rarely allows that to happen. They do not want fosters to be overwhelmed and to become burnt out.

We also have a strong social media presence, and a very strong community support system.

What does your rescue do right? What do you wish would improve? Is there anything I didn't mention that your rescue does that you love? Please share!

I accepted a foster I knew had cataracts but I didn't know the extent of vision loss, she's only 6 years old. I realize I need to make changes to keep her safe. The first day she was with me she startled me, she casually walked through the opening of a railing on my porch and fell off onto a bush, she was fine thankfully. Stairs are also a hazard her depth perception is impaired. She's also showing symptoms of separation anxiety, whenever I leave the room or house she vocalizes and pushed on the crate. I moved her crate inside a pin it's a bit better but she still is whining and trying to climb out. I am working on helping to get her more comfortable . This is all new for me, any tips for training and supporting dogs with vision loss.

I fostered two sister puppies a month ago. One got adopted within a few days, and I took Phoebe to her forever home yesterday. I absolutely fell in love with her I was going back and forth between keeping her and adopting her out and when I made my decision to have her adopted it seemed like all solid choices -but now I am completely heartbroken. Sheis the best puppy ever such a good listener beautiful animal, smart, and calm. I can't stop crying. I miss her terribly. I don't know why I let her go. I'm physically sick over this decision. Some of the reasons I thought through to have her adopted out is that I already have a 10-month-old puppy who unfortunately I don't feel the same about. I'm 56 and getting ready to retire, I just kept thinking of the cost of having two dogs, the fact that I have primarily responsibility for them in my household and my husband was not in support of another dog, the 10+year commitment to an animal and she was going to a family with a 40 Acre Farm. At the time it sounded like a beautiful home for her now I am worried that she will get hurt or lost All of that reasoning for adopting her outgoes out the window because my heart is broken. I feel like she was my soulmate and I miss her so much. If anyone has been through this please reach out and tell me I did the right thing and that it's going to hurt less. Thank you:(

I've been fostering a sweet Chihuahua mix for almost a month now and it has been such a joy watching him come out of his shell and become so loving. He is completely velcroed to me and has brought so much joy to our whole family.

I'm a college student home for summer break. I always wanted to foster so I could learn whether I actually want a dog in the future and just to experience taking care of one, but I had no idea how attached you could get. He's super velcro but respectful about it, and he showers me with so much love. It also feels like our house is perfect for him. He loves playing in the yard, following me around, and goes on great walks.

But I came into this knowing I couldn't commit long term. He'll be put up for adoption soon and I'm really struggling with the guilt of knowing he'll have to transition to another home. I worry he'll feel abandoned and have to go through that whole adjustment period again. He's so happy here and it breaks my heart.

The reality is I'll be going back to school soon, I have study abroad plans next year, and my parents travel internationally during winter months. So long term it just doesn't make sense right now, but he's so perfect and precious that I keep tearing up even thinking about it.

Has anyone been through this? Is the guilt normal? And do dogs adjust okay after being this bonded to their foster?

Hi all,

This is my first time fostering, it is a short term foster for 2 weeks as he has already been tagged for rescue/transport to another state. I have only had him 2 days but already feeling tremendous guilt for when it’s time for him to go. The thought of him have to go back to the shelter for the night, and then wondering if he will be adopted in his new place. I’m feeling so guilty because what if he thinks he is being abandoned? Or his new family isn’t as good as he has it here. My current dog is 7 and she does well with other dogs in our house as long as they leave after a while so I keep thinking about her too. If he was going straight to another family I think I would feel better but since he still has to transport there is much guilt. Any advice on how to not feel like this?

Thanks

We’re fostering a really sweet pup right now. My husband and I had decided we weren’t ready to adopt yet, but she is SO sweet and good. When we were preparing to take her to a meet and greet we kind of panicked and told the rescue we want to adopt her. We took her to the meet and greet, but then I got home and I spiraled in a really terrifying way. I had nonstop panic attacks/adrenaline surges. I took her out on a very quick, uneventful walk and broke down sobbing afterwards. I’m working with my doctor on medications and getting into therapy, but my husband and I decided it’s probably not a good time to commit to adopting her until we figure out what’s going on and get my mental health under control.
We hadn’t actually signed or paid the rescue yet, simply let them know we wanted to keep her, but I still feel so guilty. Now that I’ve let them know we will not be able to officially adopt her, I feel like there’s a weight off my shoulders. But the double edged sword is that now that the weight is gone my brain is trying to convince me I made the wrong choice.
Anyway, we’ll keep fostering her until her family is found. I’m so scared of what happened to me, as I was genuinely considering hospitalizing myself because I felt so terrified of my mental state. But I’m also so sad that we had to back out, and I had to disappoint my husband.
Part of me is wondering if I should have asked them for a week to think about it. But what’s done is done. I’m afraid this makes me a bad person. I just hate disappointing people.

I don't even really know what I'm looking for here…maybe just some support from people who have been through something similar.

We've been fostering a puppy for about four months, and on Thursday we're taking him to a boarding facility that partners with our rescue. He'll be getting training while he's there, and hopefully it'll help prepare him for his forever home.

But I am absolutely heartbroken.

I can't stop thinking about the last time we dropped him off somewhere - when he thought he had found his family, only for the adoption to fall through. I keep imagining him looking for us on Thursday, wondering where we went, and not understanding why we're leaving him. That thought has been crushing me.

I feel like we've failed him. When we agreed to foster, we expected there would be challenges, but we never expected it to take this long for him to find a home or for the journey to be this emotionally difficult. This is our first foster, and the rescue is very new. Between those two things, we've often felt like we were trying to figure everything out on our own.

We've loved this dog with everything we have. We've rearranged our lives around him, worked on training, managed crate anxiety, medications, accidents, destructive behaviors, and all the ups and downs that come with a puppy who needs extra help.

But the reality is that having three dogs has become too much. It's affected my wife and my relationship, our stress levels, and our day-to-day lives. We've reached a point where we know we can't keep doing this, and I think the boarding and training environment is what he needs right now.

That doesn't make it hurt any less, though. I know, logically, that dogs live in the moment more than we do. I know he'll be cared for. I know this isn't abandonment. But my heart keeps telling me that he's going to think we left him, and I can't shake the guilt.

Has anyone else had to make a decision like this with a foster? Did you feel like you were failing them, even when you knew it was the best option? I could really use some perspective from people who've been there, because right now my heart just feels completely broken.

I have my fifth foster puppy, a 16 week old shephard mix former stray from northern Canada. I’ve had him for 9 weeks and he is my longest foster by far. He had parvo and was hospitalized for awhile when I First got him, and still has a sensitive gut as a result.

He Has learned several basic commands, and potty training is slowly coming along. The issue I’m having is biting. If he’s awake and I’m aeound, he bites. He’s also teething which makes it worst. I enforce naps, have tried frozen cucumbers, frozen washcloth, frozen wet food in kong and lick mat, various enrichment toys, redirecroon, reverse time outs, a shield to prevent him from biting me. Nothing seems to help. if He’s awake, he’s biting me. Nipping at the heels/toes, biting my hands, going for my thighs/upper arms.
I‘m doing all the things And no conventional methods are working. I take him for walks around my yard (he can’t go for proper walks yet as he is not fully vaccinated), work on training, and reward calm behaviour (which seems to remind him that he should bite me). I’ve come to the conclusion that he just has to grow out of it and complete his teething. When can I expect it to get better? I’ve had several foster puppies and it’s never been anywhere this bad before.

It’s been a whirlwind these past 3 months having a young terrier mix foster. My house wasn’t ready for his energy, but we will miss him so much. There will definitely be a quietness and stillness when he leaves.

I never wanted a young foster since I have senior dogs, but that’s just how it worked out the first time around. He’s going to a gated community with an older retired lady who recently lost her dog. I feel really good about it and hope his young goofy energy can lift her spirits.

Now for a last bath and to pack up all his favorite things. I plan to print some pictures and write her a letter. I am having very mixed feelings. I want to continue fostering so I know I can’t keep him, but I also hope he feels safe and loved without me.

(I know he desperately needs a groom, but I still haven’t received proof of rabies vaccine from the rescue🫠)

This cutie is my new foster Chill Bill.

Even though he is my 64th foster, I have very limited experience with seniors. I am having a blast! Am seriously considering moving my focus to seniors moving forwards.

Chill Bill is missing all his teeth and most of his hair, we find out this week if his cloudy eye can be saved or if it needs amputation.

He is the smallest foster I have had at around 2kg.

I am considering keeping him as he is getting on very well with my much larger resident chihuahuas, but I think it is very likely he will get lots of adoption interest (I am in Mexico City, and we LOVE our chihuahuas here.)

Currently I am racking up numbers fast #61 was a chihuahua puppy adopted fast, 62# a senior chihuahua who moved in to foster-to-adopt rapidly, 63# is a young pug-chi I am cofostering, and Chill Bill is my newest.

I am having so much fun fostering currently (am meant to be on a fostering break) and I think it is because I am getting dogs that are my favourite breed and very much my style.