First time fostering - any tips?

[jeanarrett]

I inquired about fostering a dog several months ago from a local rescue group and never heard back from the group (our 14 year old Lab had died and we were looking for a rescue). Yesterday morning in my inbox was a request to foster a dog from an animal shelter. The dog was going to be put down at 1:00 that day. It was now 10:00 a.m. and I had no preparation whatsoever, but I agreed because I would not have been able to sleep that night (or any other).

Well, "Ray" is now part of our household and he is a delight. If it works out, we will end up adopting him. We tried many different names and he responded to "Ray," so "Ray" it is. I was told he was a "black lab" (animal control) but he is very obviously German shepherd and probably rottweiler mix. He is very sweet, highly intelligent, 1-2 years old, and friendly. Really fairly calm for a big dog, although he loves my 12 year old son already and gets all excited whenever he comes into the room -- like "puppy buddy, let's play!" But I have not trained a dog in a long while. We have no history on Ray at all, but he's not housebroken. He has already picked a spot to mark in the house, the same one each time. I have a large/kennel crate for him that the rescue people provided and we are using that. As long as someone is around, he's pretty good, but he will steal food off the counter if he gets a chance (my dinner last night).

Anyway, my five kids and I are going to give this guy a fighting chance and any tips, ideas or good training books or guides you can recommend, I will appreciate. I cannot really afford private training at this time.

Thanks!

[livetohike]

1. First start with the house breaking

Whenever he wakes up from a nap, or finishes eating, take him out into the yard and tell him to "Go pee" or "Go poop" or whatever is comfortable for you all to say. When he does so, give him lots of praise. Also, take him out first thing in the morning and at night before you all go to bed. The key to housebreaking is consistency. It will all come back to you. :-) If you see him starting to go in the house, yell "No!" and shoo him outside. When he finishes his business, praise him. Don't let him see you clean up after him, he will think you are his maid.

I really like the book "How to be your dog's best friend" by the Monks of New Skete. I understand there is a newer book out specifically about puppy training, but I haven't read it.

I was in a similar situation. Our 16 year old lab/shepherd mix passed away in Feb. 2003. We lost his littermate in 2000. Anyway, we ended up with two eight week old puppies (not from the same litter). It had been so long since we had puppies, I really had to refresh my memory about the training.

Good luck and have fun!

[IndyOp]

3. I read the puppy housetraining manual when I got my first dog -

and it told me to take the pup outside every 1-2 hours and take him outside after he played and after he ate. I adopted an 8-month-old dog and did what the book said religiously - he never once had a problem in the house. I was probably taking him out too often, but better too often than not enough. Once he had marked his way all around the yard and neighborhood he didn't want to 'waste' any of the precious 'marking fluid' inside the house.

:lol:

[auburngrad82]

6. I agree. Take him out more than necessary so he gets the idea

He just doesn't know what's acceptable and what's not. Taking him out gives him the message that this is where you potty.

Book...here are a few titles that I really liked. The Rosetta Bone by, I think, Cheryl Smith. Great book on how to communicate with dogs. A decent simple book is Dog Training for Dummies. It's by the same people who wrote Canine Good Citizen and both books tell you how to teach your dog to be a good citizen and a good companion. Basically how to behave. Another great training book is the one by the Monks of New Skete. There are a ton of books out there. Go to the bookstore and look them over and see which ones appeal to you.

[Lorien]

2. Clicker training

if I can train my cat to come when called, sit up on command, and give a "high-five", then Ray shouldn't have any problems with it:

www.clickertraining.com

Rescue groups ALWAYS need fosters. It's great that you may be adopting Ray, but you may also want to consider fostering that results in adopting the pets out to other families. It's a bit tough at first, but becomes very rewarding when you discover just how much those adopting your fosters enjoy their new family members.

[ajacobson]

4. The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller

I've instructed basic manners classes with techniques very similar to what is in this book and I think if you can't get the dog in to a class at this time, this book would be helpful to you.

[radfringe]

5. we're on our 4th foster greyhound

we ended up adopting our 1st foster....

ennywhooo - the current foster greyhound is a 16month old brindle female named Linda. We're going through a period of housebreaking - just when we think she's gotten the idea about signalling us to go out -- peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee on the floor

we crate her during the day when we are at work. rest of the time - the minute she wakes up (even from a nap), eats, or does any playing - we take her outside to do her business. I bring a treat and she gets it with lots of praise when she does her business outside.

Our airedale will jiggle the door handle when she has to go out - and Linda has picked that up a bit IF WE ARE IN THE KITCHEN. Otherwise her signals are real subtle - we get a slightly "ducked" head with wiggly eyebrows.

she is getting better in general - goes almost 4 days without an "accident" now as opposed to just going whenever..

[jeanarrett]

7. Wow. Thanks for all your great ideas and tips.

I went to the vet last night and got some immodium and other diarrhea medicine and it's supposed to work in 24 hours. Probably from changing foods from animal shelter to our house, but we're just using dry dog food and no treats yet or table scraps. My carpet has taken a beating in the last couple of days because of course, he can't help it. He's crated at night, but I've been getting up at 2:00 a.m. to take him out because we all know when we've got tummy problems, we don't want to go all night without going. I take him out again at 6:00 a.m. before work. He's getting much better on the leash and likes me more cuz I'm the go-outside girl, however, 12 year old son is still the absolute bestest ever. He even got up on son's lap the other night watching tv and of course, dwarfed my son. So funny. He's a great dog, but lots of work. Especially since I have the mother of all head colds right now and getting up in the night is a pain, but as my kids say, it was YOUR idea, Mom.

We live in a small town outside of Ann Arbor and our library is small, but I did get a couple of training books and am enlightened already. My biggest problem is getting my kids to all be consistent. When I try to explain to them why you use the commands you do to train dogs, not sit-down, or lay-down, two commands in one, confusing, etc., they think I'm preaching at them and being a know-it-all, but I think that's just the early teen female hormone thingy going on. They have been great helping walk and cleaning up poop, for kids.

Thanks to all for your help.

[radfringe]

8. we ran into diarrhea with our first greyhound

turns out it was the food - more specifically the red-dye in the little red bits in the food.

we switched brands to one that did not have red-bits and within a day the diarrhea cleared up

one of our fosters also had a "sensitive" stomach when we first got her - the poop was bad enough, but man oh man -the gas was something else (stunk bad enough to gag a maggot)

immodium helped with the diarrhea, but not the gas. We started mixing 1-2 cups of cooked rice in with her food. Really helped, within a couple of days - no more gas, and we were able to wean her off the rice by the end of a week

[BrklynLiberal]

9. Acidophilus is always a good thing to add to the diet of a pet who is

having diestive problems. It is available at drugstores and healthfood stores. It will do no harm to your pet, and will help to normalize their digestive system.
It is available as capsules, which you can open and sprinkle over their food.