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Hi guys I need some advice on fostering.

I am gonna be fostering dogs and cats. I am going to fill out the thingy tomorrow.

Well I need advice about how to handle these kittens and puppies. There not my pets to keep forever.

So I need advice about how I should handle them.

Please help!

well i work at the O.H.S and we do that there too we send them to homes kind of like a re-rehabilitation. And the pets you are going to be taking care of won't just be kittens and puppies but also sick dog or cats or dog that needs some working on a bit (lets say house training or training generally).

On how to take care of them is simply well.. taking care of a pet.. feed it, walk it, let it out to pee ( for dogs of course ), play with it, and the list kind of goes on. Just have to make sure that you don't get too attached to the fosters then trust me you'll want to own them all .. anyways but ye it's like caring for a normal pet but you will have tasks or a to do list or something for the specific pet and everything will be dandy.. hope this helped.

Since you're asking here about how to handle them, I'm assuming you don't have much~any experience with these things.

First thing you should consider is time and money. It costs money for the food, it takes time to feed, exercise, train, socialize and you can't leave them on their own for hours on end. Do you have the money to buy food, bowls and toys?

You should also consider what kind of foster animal you SHOULD take. Since you are not a professional trainer or have much experience with animal behaviour, you should chose an animal that does NOT need special care or training. Basically, you should select an animal that is not afraid of people, does not have bad habits (or at least very little) and that is already for the most part socialized. I'll tell you why I'm telling you this...It's not because I want to crush you're dreams or hurt your feelings (It's actually quite kind of you to want to take in animals =]). It's because if you don't have experience with animal behaviour (especially with abused animals) their are high chances you could worsen the behaviour, hurt the dog or youself.

That's why I recommend starting with ONE shelter animal with minimal or no issues. Get used to their behaviour and learn to train them. The shelter would appreciate having a "polite animal". =)

Also, if you already HAVE animals you should consider the fact that the animals might not get along and might fight...You might think "Oh my dog is so nice !"...But in reality, dogs who are nice to people aren't always nice to dogs...And just because your dog is nice to another dog won't necessarily mean he'll be nice to the next one.

Thanks so much! But I have 3 pets and I KNOW that the kittens i foster wont get along well with my cats. So I plan on not playing or doing something with the foster near my pets.

I plan on fostering 1 animal at a time.



Anyway and thanks Black. I really appreciate it.

But I have a question, What if the animal gets sick while I am fostering it? I know take it to the vet and all but what else other then the vet,special care and medicine should I do?

well hehe no need to panic if it gets sick maybe call where you are fostering and maybe they have a specific vet for their animals at the shelter (like ours) and you might have to take them there or explain the center what's going on with the kitten or puppy dog/cat.. and they'll probably give you advice and well and if that doesn't work go to the vet hehe thats about it that i know ..

and Emily has a point there too.. about the minimal issues or none at all and one that won't need special medical attention.. start with small simple things and gradually go a little further every months or so.. don't kill or challenge yourself too hard.. but also the center might not let you take in specific cats/dogs/kittens/puppies the fact you already have animals of your own but the center will more likely chose the pet for you , lets say for your lifestyle or something.. if you have anymore foster animal questions you can come right away to me and ask or pm me i have everything or almost everything you'll need to know..

Thanks.

Most of the kittens there only need sociable training and they do pick the animal for you.
They pick an animal and call you and ask if you would like to foster it.

I also found out that some of the cats there are sick.

Anyway thanks SOOO much for the information. When I get one and if I have any problems I will PM you.

If the pet gets sick while you are fostering you must first take it to the vet. Once things are taken care of and he has had medication prescribed, you should notify the shelter that the animal is sick\was sick. Tell them exactly what was wrong with them, if you can say why. So pay attention when you go to the vet, take notes even so that the shelter will see you are trying your best to keep the animal in good care.

Thank you.

about punishing harshly?.. it's like you're implying Celebi1 is a bad animal person? .. i think by all means we know she won't punish them harshly ?? .. don't even know why you brought that up in the first place? and why tap the muzzle thats not any better ??.. you'll just scare the animal once you go pet it (i've seen dogs and cats scared when people go to pet them).. you simply put it in it's crate (for a dog) and for cats well cats aren't really animals that you train more like you socialize with them and litter train.. and clearly it seems you don't know how to punish young puppies.. no offense Lowin .. and i'm sure Celebi will do her job just fine..

actually i have 3 dogs of my own thank you and i train puppies at my shelter too.. and i do know it would scare an animal the fact we get animals here who get taps on their noses and their scared when we raise our hands to pet them.. and well i don't tap my dogs to train them.. and i've read books too and you put them in their crate as a time out.. and my dogs turn out fine without even touching them in such a way and i did read your post "thoroughly" thank you very much .. and well if it was advice i don't think you would post

i think Celebi would know how to punish her own animals since she's owned some before and owns some now.. i'm sure she knows how to care for animals....


Sorry about this to your topic Celebi.. had to correct and say again some stuff.. sorry again

Black-Wolf-Soul its perfectly fine!

I am an animal lover and I have read lots of books about cats and dogs so I will be perfectly fine with understanding what the animal needs, is trying to tell me, and when it needs to go to the bathroom.

What I do with punishing them is yell in a stern tone 'Stop!' or 'No!' and if they keep doing it I tap there nose and yell again. My dog, Dash, almost always knows when hes in trouble. He lowly wags his tail and his ears go back. He tries to lick your hand and cuddle up with you until you give him 'love-ins' as we call it.

And I think I heard somewhere that animals can sense that you love animals and then they know they love them so they think they can trust and love them back.

So I think I know those things and what to do there you were talking about.

Lowin please this is not a flaming topic! I bet Black Wolf Soul wants to stop this so you should to! I don't want this locked because of a flame war! Now stop it please, we all have ways we train our dogs now stop fighting over a silly matter!