Foster Rollercoaster

[wildo]

Truth of the matter- I'm at a low. I just want to focus on my own dog! I suppose this is normal?

[Stevenzachsmom]

Never fostered, but I imagine it is normal. You have done such a great job with your foster - really above and beyond. No wonder you are tired. Maybe you could get a friend to spend a little time with your foster, so you could spend more time with your own dog.

I don't know what it is Willy. I'm feeling low too, even without a foster. My girl is 14 and I'm really seeing the decline. Don't get me wrong....I love her to death and will be here for her 'til the end. There just isn't much enjoyment any more. All work and no fun. And the worst part is knowing that it isn't going to get any better. OK. Now I feel like a really bad person. Going to give her some loves and go to bed.

Get some rest. We're going to feel better in the morning. LOL!

[wildo]

Originally Posted by Stevenzachsmom

All work and no fun.

I tried to do some playing/training with Pimg tonight, enjoying our new training room. But Gretchen was going crazy in the crate barking and crying to try to get out and join. (She wasn't physically trying to get out- still a good thing, but she was crying for me to let her out.) Pimg wouldn't focus on me. She wouldn't focus on the training. She'd tug, but that's about it. It sucks... I guess I'll just have to be sure to keep Gretchen in the other room when we want to train.

I'm also having difficulty getting a response from the foster coordinator. Gretchen's fluoxetine runs out in five days so I'll need a refill and haven't heard back; I realized I've had her six weeks and have no idea about if she's on a HW preventative and haven't heard back; and I really REALLY want to move her to a large wire crate and haven't heard back...

I dunno- I hate constant ranting/venting on this forum. But I guess I needed to a little.

[sit,stay]

Yes, it is very normal. I have always looked at this phase as similar to living with a teenaged child. If we loved them in the same way as we did when they were 3 years old, we would never be able to let them go out into the world. So the teen years are there to allow us to let them grow up and leave.

Same with a foster.
Sheilah

[msvette2u]

Here, the fosters are crated and I snuggle with my own dogs on my bed at night.
Sometimes I'm amazed, when I think of it, I will tell them, "I didn't see you all day!" I mean I saw them but didn't interact that much. So I cherish our time together and our dogs know they are valued that way as well...a bit more "special" you know?

[Rerun]

It's normal. I'm take a long break from fostering to focus on my own dogs and family.

Regarding HW, I personally have never done it in the winter but then again, I use straight oral liquid ivermectin so I'm already bucking the trend. The day someone can explain to me how a mosquito transmitted disease can infect a dog long after mosquitos are gone is the day I'll do HW preventative in the winter. Someone actually once said, "What if a HW infected mosquito got in your house, and lived for a month and then infected your dogs."

I mean, really??

[Rerun]

And this is just my person experience, but having fostered tons of animals (mostly dogs) through a variety of different types of organizations over the years....I find that the longer you have the dog, the more the organization moves on to finding current dogs a foster home, an adoptive home, a rescue, etc. They tend to forget about the ones currently in a foster home, and I believe it's because they hear the dog is doing well, you haven't returned it, and they assume you'll continue to keep it.

In almost ALL my foster cases, I ended up finding the dog a home, and then sending them to the organization for final approval. But I'd already done the screening, the meeting with the dog, etc. I can't think of any foster actually that the shelter/rescue found a home for. How exactly are they trying to find her a home? Is she even on petfinder? If she is, are there good current pictures and a writeup with good things about her to catch peoples attention?

[gsdraven]

Originally Posted by wildo

I tried to do some playing/training with Pimg tonight, enjoying our new training room. But Gretchen was going crazy in the crate barking and crying to try to get out and join.

I make it a point when I foster to be enrolled in a class with my personal dog(s) so that we have at least 1 night away togther. I also try and make sure that each dog gets 1 special outing with me, just me and them, a week. It's a lot now with 3 dogs but it helps to me to keep connected with my dogs.

I know Gretchen has been a lot of work but not all fosters disrupt your life that way. In fact, unless there are some real issues to be worked on, you should keep your routine as normal as possible for your resident dog(s) and the foster works around that schedule.

[Remo]

A whole lot depends on the foster. One of mine right now is a dream - Marley is such a good girl. She demands very little and could not be a nicer pooch.

Sometimes I cry when they leave and other times I do the happy dance and seriously consider changing my phone number so they can't find me if they decide to return the dog. (just kidding!)

Some fosters are very needy, some need a lot of work, others don't need much at all to be ready to be adopted.

Set special time aside for your own dogs. Perhaps the rescue could help you out by having another volunteer work with your foster dog during an evening or on the weekend.

We have adoption days almost every weekend, so when I have a foster that is ready to be adopted, quite often another volunteer will take them to the adoption day for me. Volunteers who can't foster are usually willing to help with things like this.

All the best and a huge THANK YOU for fostering. Hang in there! Your kindness will be rewarded.

[Emoore]

Absolutely normal. With every foster that's not adopted fairly quickly, I get to this place where I'm like "OK, I'm ready for this dog to be gone."

It helps to place clear boundaries between the dogs that are yours and the dog that is the foster. My dogs sleep with me in the bedroom. Fosters sleep in a crate in the kitchen. My dogs go with me on long off-leash hikes, out on the boat when the weather is good, and to classes. Fosters do not.

Ditto what everybody else said. Update her bio on your rescue's website, get some new pictures posted, and get her to some adoption events if you have them. Time for her to find her forever home.