DogPaddle Posted January 2, 2003 Posted January 2, 2003 Ok so we have had Tir our Malamut/GSD cross foster dog for 6 weeks. It took him 5 weeks to start approaching us for snuggles and to realize he was allowed to play in the house :cry: . So now I'm worried about what will happen when he is adopted. Anyone have any experience with this? We did have one couple who wanted to adopt him. They have another Mal/GSD cross and they thought they would look cute together. Their dog was an unfixed 4mo female. They said they would fix her :-? I wonder if they would still want Tir if I took him to be fixed first? They leave her outside for 7 hours every day the while the guy (works nights) sleeps, she has excellent shelter, food, water, toys and a kiddie pool in the summer in case she wants to cool off. The yard is secure enough that the dogs cannot get out but its not the best area of town and what if someone just took the doggy? I'm not sending Tir with them. Quote
wildbunch Posted January 2, 2003 Posted January 2, 2003 Tir will now know that love is a part of everyday life. It is possible to be loved and not punished. It sounds like you are doing wonderfully with him. I definately wouldn't give him to anyone unless it is clearly stated that he must be fixed. I am personal believer that no dog should remain outside without supervision. But that is just me. My dogs are inside while we sleep or are at work. Malamutes are a unique breed (never had a GSD) you must earn their respect and love. They will not just give their love to anyone. Whoever gets Tir after you have given him up will have to work just as hard as you did to show him that they deserve his love and attention. A note on Malamutes: Every mal I've known including my own :-? only want cuddles when they ask for it, they are very independent thinkers. They get very attached to their pack but are not an overly affectionate breed of dog. Willow shows me affection by howling with me or at me. It sounds to me like you are being careful with selection and I commend you for that Dogpaddle, it's not always easy to tell who a person will turn out to be once you close the door. :evilbat: Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted January 2, 2003 Posted January 2, 2003 So.....a few questions for you...not about this situation, but kinda. How many have you fostered? How can you give them up? Do you ever keep the fosters as your own? I want to foster some day...that's why I'm asking. Quote
DogPaddle Posted January 2, 2003 Author Posted January 2, 2003 This is our first foster dog. I think giving Tir up to a good home will be :cry: but ok (as long as it isn't much longer - everyone here is falling in love with him), the one home he was possibly going to go to (it fell through) was very encouraging. It was a couple, stay at home mom who used to work in a shelter, they were going to take him to obedience (I think this would be excellent for Tir as he needs to develop a little more confidence). I could feel good about sending him to a home like that. We have fostered 3 cats before, 2 at once. We found homes for them all, the single cat within a month. The 2 cats took 5 months because we were trying to place them together. With the single cat I was very sad when she went but it was an excellent home. With the 2 cats it was a relief, they were very difficult. One was ill and cost a fair amount of money but was quite cute, the other was the most aggresive antisocial cat I have ever met. He was only happy with his buddy. We placed them with freinds of ours in Alberta who are experienced cat owners. (We had to fly them out to them) If its too much longer to place Tir we are going to re-evaluate and keep him. We need to look at what a permanent addition of a large dog will cost and if we can provide the activities he deserves. We take Kavik to obedience and will be doing agility in the spring. I'm not sure agility would be for Tir, maybe some pulling or carting. Does anyone know if therapy dogs have to be a certain size? Quote
DogPaddle Posted January 2, 2003 Author Posted January 2, 2003 Our current vet recommends waiting till a dog is 6 months (for males) before having them fixed. We have an appointment for him to be fixed around then, if he is adopted before the appointment we will either move the appointment up so we can take him or have the new family take him to the appointment. As for cost - its not to bad to fix a male, around $50 Canadian and there are a few people at work who have already offered to chip in for vet bills. When we first got Tir we thought he might be diabetic due too the amount of water he drank. His consumption slowed down after 3 weeks or so. (We now think it was because he was afraid there wouldn't be water later.) Anyway there are some very good people where I work who would be willing to help if it was necassary. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted January 3, 2003 Posted January 3, 2003 [quote name='DogPaddle']This is our first foster dog. I think giving Tir up to a good home will be :cry: but ok (as long as it isn't much longer - everyone here is falling in love with him), the one home he was possibly going to go to (it fell through) was very encouraging. It was a couple, stay at home mom who used to work in a shelter, they were going to take him to obedience (I think this would be excellent for Tir as he needs to develop a little more confidence). I could feel good about sending him to a home like that. We have fostered 3 cats before, 2 at once. We found homes for them all, the single cat within a month. The 2 cats took 5 months because we were trying to place them together. With the single cat I was very sad when she went but it was an excellent home. With the 2 cats it was a relief, they were very difficult. One was ill and cost a fair amount of money but was quite cute, the other was the most aggresive antisocial cat I have ever met. He was only happy with his buddy. We placed them with freinds of ours in Alberta who are experienced cat owners. (We had to fly them out to them) If its too much longer to place Tir we are going to re-evaluate and keep him. We need to look at what a permanent addition of a large dog will cost and if we can provide the activities he deserves. We take Kavik to obedience and will be doing agility in the spring. I'm not sure agility would be for Tir, maybe some pulling or carting. Does anyone know if therapy dogs have to be a certain size? I have watched a lot of shows about therapy dogs (Animal Planet or Dogs with Jobs) and I've seen a lot of different sizes. One 'home' for the elderly has a resident dog that's the size of a Westie...I don't think it was a Westie though. K has also posted about a Saint that is a therapy dog (I think K did...or did I see that on TV too?). I've also seen a LAMA do therapy work at a home for the elderly. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted January 3, 2003 Posted January 3, 2003 How wonderful that you are fostering...in my experience, once a dog learns that some people are okay, they usually beleive most people are okay. There are exceptions, though. Buddy was scared of men, until he got used to one man, now I have to make him leave strangers alone! Honey never learned to trust anyone but me, really, and then she loved me with all her heart. Quote
Daisysmom Posted January 3, 2003 Posted January 3, 2003 We just adopted a puppy that was in a foster home. She seems to be afraid of her own shadow, and I don't know if that is a puppy thing, a foster thing or just her???? As for bonding, we had no problem. I think you had yours far longer than our Chelsea was in foster care though. She has bonded well to the entire family, dogs and all. I think if you have a great family that adopts her and gives all the love they can, there shouldn't be a problem. Time heals all! Quote
mouseatthebusstop Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 I COULD NOT FOSTER I WOULD END UP GETTING TOO ATTATCHED AND KEEPING THE DOG MYSELF Quote
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