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Weekend Fostering


EGAR

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I have been on a website the other day. A rescue website which stated that if you can't foster full time you'd be welcome to have a dog for the weekend for some TLC.

 

Maybe I am weird or just old but that sounds very cruel to me.

 

Come Monday: There you go, back into your kennels and forget what you have experienced over the weekend it was but a taste of what might have been?

 

What do you all think?

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I agree with you totally.

 

When I took on Shadow we were given the services of a behaviouralist. Her reasoning was that most of his problems were down to bouncing from so many homes and was of the opinion that each time he was returned to kennels and then rehomed, it became routine which made it harder for him to settle.

 

I know sod all about behaviour theories but would imagine that unsettling a dog by it going to and fro would reduce its chances of settling back into a forever home if and when it came up. Especially if the dog had issues with seperation or whatever.

 

As I said I know sod all about dog behaviour theory but it just doesn't sit right with me at all

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I think it would depend on the dog. There's a thread running in doggie chat about fostering over the Christmas period, and I believe there is at least one reply in there from someone who *has* fostered dogs at weekends and who felt it was a positive experience for the dogs - worth a read: http://www.rykat.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33761 :flowers:

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Initially, my first reaction to the Christmas period fostering was somewhat negative. I also wondered what the effect would be on the dogs - confusion / unsettling to be brought back and fore the foster home and the kennels etc.

 

However, it seems there are positves to be gained from it. The same could be true of weekend fostering then ? It could lead to the weekend fosterer becoming smitten and offering a lifetime home their former foster ?

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If they haven't got the time to full time foster then how could they keep a dog they have no time for during the week?

 

It might not necessarily be that the weekend fosterer doesnt have time to be a full time fosterer (or potential adopter).

 

It may be that they had not thought of offering full time before now. (By 'now' I mean, once a fosterer has decided to foster for these weekends)

 

They may think that initially they would like would offer for short term periods, such as weekends as in this thread or over Christmas period as in the other thread.

 

How often do we read of kind people who have simply offered an 'overnight stay' for a dog on a transport run for example and the dog has ended up staying forever. "Failed" fosterers are often posting their "failure" threads.

 

People's circumstances change. People can MAKE their circumstances change in order to accomodate a dog that they perhaps once thought they could not.

 

Once a dog has found his/her place in the affections of a fosterer's heart - who's to say that it couldn't work out in the long term for some dogs ?

 

There, just my thoughts on it. Hope that explains it better :)

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