r/fosterdogs

My foster French bulldog Gizmo was adopted 2 weeks ago. He was with me for 3 months. He came from South Carolina, where his people tried to put him down at age 5; thankfully the vet refused, and they dumped him at a shelter. He was driven to Philadelphia with other dogs by volunteers, spent 1 month with another foster mom, and then came to me. On arrival, he was extremely anxious and unhappy. I showered him with love and reassurance and it was so moving how he came to trust me completely. He’s very smart, and he learned things quickly.

I’ve read many threads here and many articles elsewhere, and logic says I did not betray him. But I cannot shake that feeling. He followed me to the door when I left the adopter‘s house. It was his fourth place in 4 months. I’ve already told the Rescue org that if there’s any issue, he comes back to me. The adopters are older and apparently uninterested in taking photos and sharing them. Which makes it harder.

I do know they love him. And they are dog people. Also, at the meet Gizmo liked them (and he’s particular). But they ignored all advice about decompression and didn’t want to hear a single thing about Gizmo the individual. Also because of the threat of degenerative disc disease in French bulldogs, I had discussed gating the stairs and using a ramp to the sofa, both of which they have. Both of which they are not using. I’d also offered to purchase as a gift for Gizmo a second ramp. They ignored that offer. So I worry about him.

Will this feeling that I betrayed him eventually abate? Or will I always feel this. Also, do you think 3 1/2 weeks is too soon to visit him? I know it’s critical that he not think I’m there to take him home.

Without discussing any specifics let’s say someone has been fostering-to-adopt a dog for over two years, and let’s also imagine that the defendants keep being granted continuances for the case involving the custody of the seized animals. If you have any experience in this area, my question is: Will a point ever come where after a certain amount of time the animals become property of the county and can be adopted out to their fosters? Think, common law marriage kind of situation.

Thanks in advance for entertaining my curiosity.

Hi all, has anyone fostered a dog with kennel cough while they had another dog in the home? I initially declined to foster a dog with active kennel cough until he is no longer symptomatic, as I have another dog in the home. My dog is healthy and vaccinated, but I know there are multiple causes of kennel cough and they can still get it with the bordatella vaccine. Anyway, I’m worried about the potential of my dog getting sick from the foster.

Now, a couple days later, shelter said the potential foster’s cough isn’t bad and he’s on his last day of meds. I live in a small two bedroom house so could keep them separate, but there would be a little shared air..

Any experience with this?

I will be nursery fostering next summer! Does anyone have any tips? I have done so much research already, but any other tips will always be helpful for me. The thing I'm most nervous about is complications during birth.

This is a complicated situation. I am fostering this dog for a rescue. He is a 20 mo old apbt mix who was rescued from local animal shelter. He had defensive aggression and when I first got him in November 2025 was sensitive to touch and sudden sounds. We’ve come a long way in the almost 10 months he’s been with me. He has had some interest due to my networking him, but was returned twice and had about 8 meet and greets where his anxiety in outside environments was a concern. He has significant anxiety when in new places and cannot be controlled or refocused even with treats.

He’s always been mouthy and will use his mouth and teeth to move my arm if he doesn’t like something. I normally step back when this happens. He also air snaps a lot to signify discomfort.

He gets along reasonably well with people but he has triggers that I do not understand well that can make him over threshold. I live with my elderly mother (75 yo) and he jumped and snapped and tried to bite her on the stairs while she was walking up. He had already gone up the stairs and was on higher ground. She somehow made it up the stairs and into the bathroom and closed the door on him. He kept trying to reach her. I lead him away and then he stopped. Recently he has been showing some weird behavior when we go outside to the backyard. My friend who was helping me with installing a camera in the backyard, who also plays with him and is well known to him got jumped at and he ripped his shirt. He turned around and crossed his arms but he came up and kept biting at him. He a few months ago also tried to nip me in the back when I was picking up his poop. He then kept coming at me until I dropped the poop bag and went inside.

He had ingested a mango pit and I had to take him to the emergency vet and he basically bit one of the tech, didn’t break skin, but the vet said they were going to file a bite report. They gave me some strong advice that he can cause damage and needs to be professionally evaluated/ trained and needs behavior modification and medication. I saw an online vet through Dutch and have got him on Gabapentin since Aug 7th.

The rescue has basically not paid for anything since I got him and have been very unhelpful overall. I have lobbied for getting training for him for months now and even signed him up for the SPCAs group training classes a few months ago. We went to the class but his anxiety was so overwhelming, they recommended I get individual training instead as he was disrupting the class. I did this all with my own money. I have talked to the rescue repeatedly about getting training and they keep saying they have no money and have to do a gofundme. I wrote them a blurb for the gofundme but they haven’t started anything. Meanwhile he is becoming increasingly difficult to manage at home.

On Saturday he basically just flipped while I was in the backyard collecting his poop again and just kept running and body slamming me and biting my arm and hands. I dropped the bags but it didn’t help this time. He kept following me and doing this until I got back inside. Thankfully he didn’t break skin. I gave him a time out but it has really scared me. I’m under 100 lbs and about 5ft female. He is 57 lbs and quite athletic. If he goes over threshold there is no way that I could control him. When I reached out to the rescue, they keep saying to find another rescue to help because they are out of funds. I have covered all costs for this dog since I got him. I am recently laid off and cannot afford board and train programs. I also don’t feel comfortable adopting him out anymore because I feel it is unethical to pawn him off to an adopter in his condition.

98% of the time this dog is normal and fine. But there are some triggers that I don’t understand - retractable leashes, umbrellas, hoses, pens, luggage, power tools. He went after my mom for using a pen and jumped on the bed and started biting her hand. This unpredictability really scares me.

I just want to do right by this dog and I care about him very much. But I’m at my wits end about what to do. I would like any help or resources you could provide on how to move forward. Thank you!

I guess I'm just looking for a reality check or tips or even just "yeah thats normal" I don't know, but I am stressed out.

I am fostering for the first time and I have had this dog for 4 days now. The foster who had him last said he was just so sweet and loves walks and curls up next to you on the couch. And all of that is true but he also humps me any time he's slightly emotional, has separation anxiety so bad he peed himself when I shut him out of my bedroom for 5 minutes, tore the cover off his crate and ate parts of it when I stepped out for 15 minutes to get groceries.

I'm having a real hard time relaxing in my own home because every time I sit on the couch he tries to hump me before he settles. And I feel like I'm trapped here now because I can't leave him alone. He also seems to wake up at 5am on the dot no matter what, which is way too early so I'm sleep deprived too.

I dont know, am I missing something obvious, or am I just not cut out for this?

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I'm in recovery from a severe affective disorder and two addictions. Two hospitalizations in the last few years. This is my raw, unfiltered situation. I need to lay it out in points, because my head is a mess.

1. The rescue.

I rescued a pitbull who was either going to end up on the street or be euthanized. She had no chance. I grabbed her because I couldn't stand the thought of her dying. At that time, I was also on the verge of collapsing myself. We were both hopeless.

2. The bond and the doubts.

During this year, I created a real bond with her. I love her. But I've always had, and I still have, doubts because of the statistics surrounding pitbulls. I've already played with fire in my life—with my addictions, with my mental health—and I got burned badly. I don't want to get burned again, and I don't want her to get burned because of me. The truth is, I couldn't take care of her in the best way. My illness made me absent. I have two addictions wrapped around my affective disorder. Some days I could barely take care of myself.

3. The ticking clock.

At any moment, I could have a relapse or a mental health attack. It's a reality I have to accept. And if that happens, she would suffer for it. I know, deep down, that she probably has better options than me. She could live in a more stable home, with people who don't disappear into their own heads for days. She deserves that stability.

4. The gray area (and my dilemma).

This is where I'm stuck. It's not black and white. Some days I wake up and I'm absolutely sure: I need to find her a new family, for her sake. Other days, I hold her and I can't breathe at the thought of letting her go. I want to keep her forever. The decision swings back and forth, and it's exhausting.

I need support. I need words. I need advice from people who have been through this—people who have rehomed a dog (especially a pitbull) even though they loved them. How did you do it? How did you deal with the back-and-forth in your head? How did you finally make peace with letting go?

I don't want a quick "keep her" or "give her away." I know life isn't that simple. I just need to hear from others who have walked this gray path. Because right now, I feel like I'm failing her no matter what I choose.

I'll try and keep this short. 16 days ago I picked up my first foster from the county shelter. I also have a 1.5 year old pittie. I soon learned after bringing my foster home he has severe separation anxiety. He has and will destroy doors/crate to get to me. The shelter vet gave me trazodone, but it doesn't help.

This has been a nightmare, but I've held on for my foster dog.

1. I can't leave the house or even take more than a quick 5 minute shower due to his separation anxiety. I'm literally out of groceries (I have no outside support to help with the dogs).

2. 16 days and every second of every day my dog acts like my foster just showed up. I spend all my time getting my pup to leave my foster dog alone other than designated play times. My dog wants to play 24/7 and even if I put my foster behind a gate, my foster panics and tries to destroy. I give my dog alone time in my room, but I'm not going to keep my dog cooped up in my room all day.

3. The shelter has not only sucked at communication, they have danm near HINDERED the process of ME getting my foster adopted. I made him social media and people expressed interest. Then I find out the link isn't working to apply to adopt him. It took them 2 days to get back to me and tell me they only accept one application at a time, thats why the link wouldn't work. The person that applied decided they didn't want him 😞

Also, I asked them 3 days after he arrived at my house to find a new foster, they sent out one email and haven't heard anything about it since. When I ask, they say they are looking and I can return him to the shelter if I'd like. He gets very sick from stress in the shelter and won't eat.

The dogs are taken care of and happy, but I am beyond spent and drowning. I work from home and I am unable to get any work done but a few hours a day. It's affecting my income.

I feel horrible if I take him back to the shelter, I fear he will just die there.

I guess that's my vent. I don't know what to do otherwise at this point. I can't carry on like this.

My apartment has breed and weight restrictions as well as a 2 pet maximum. They require the use of PetScreening to acquire health records, breed information, etc. I have already discussed the prospect of fostering with the leasing office, and was given a “yes, but it would be a first for us” so I’m just wondering if anyone else has experience with this!

Any experience with fostering a black dog? I've been fostering a black short haired german shepherd mix for almost 2 months now. The shelter I foster has a pretty good foster program and tries to move dogs pretty quickly as they have a dedicated social media team ran by volunteers. Normally I do puppies and they go within a week to a few weeks. My foster is about 1 year old, 60lbs, a big puppy basically. He is SOOOO friendly so I have no idea why he is still around other than the black dog sydnrome. He was in the shelter since early spring and I was surprised why he hasn't been adopted and they said it's probably because of that.

He's young so obviously needs some obedience training and so far he has really mellowed out at home. He is a energetic pup so sometimes his excitement turns off people but I sometimes think if he was blond fluffy dog or even a brown dog, he'd be gone by now. We've had interest but not great matches, I feel like they applied for him to want him as a guard dog. We email them and never hear back after we give them his info.

I think we're going to start dressing him up with bandanas so he looks more approachable too. He is also jumpy when meeting new people so that is also a bit of a turn off. He is so friendly and so deserving of a family.

Hi! I'm currently fostering an 11 month old shepherd / husky mix. He's a cutie and also a handful as he's high energy and it's not clear he's ever had any sort of training.

Somehow between all his chaos and a few other things (e.g. I sustained a completely unrelated injury that's slowed me down) my partner and I both missed that he liquid vomited on a couch. It dried and also perhaps fermented? Anyway, it's super stinky, and while we've moved the main pillow outside for now (which helped) there's still invisible vomit that has clearly leaked into the non-detachable pieces of the couch.

We have a portable pet wet vac we will use on it today, but I was wondering - anyone have any great tricks for getting this sort of stink out of a couch? I'm not convinced our wet vac is going to be enough for the job.

Please share any wins, frustrations, or stories of your foster dogs from this past week. You can also ask advice, or simply let us know if you are doing ok. We are here to support you!