Fostering Questions

I am looking into fostering at some point (hopefully within the next six months or so) and I have a couple questions.

First, I know that many rescues have a minimum height for fences for adopters. Does this apply if you have a dog kennel? Our backyard is fenced on three sides with 6 foot privacy fence but the back edge is only chain link. It is on a uphill slant and would be really difficult to jump but I'm sure that a determined enough dog could get over it. We are going to put up a dog kennel soon, would that be enough as long as they aren't unsupervised in the main yard?

Will they work with you if you have a dog that wouldn't get along with just any other dog? Murphy is fantastic with female dogs but he is not so great with males. Would they be willing/able to work with me on a dog that he'd get along with?

I'm sorry if these are super basic questions but I'm trying to figure out if a rescue would let us foster before I really get my hopes up about it. It's something that I've always really wanted to do but never had the time or space to do it.

It's really going to depend on the rescue group. Mine let me foster in an apartment, so obviously I didn't have a fenced yard. When I do home visits for new fosters/adopters who have low fences, I warn them about the risks of dogs jumping the fence, and suggest that they not allow the dog loose in the backyard (and DEFINITELY not unsupervised) for quite a while, until they know the dog better.

And yeah, any good rescue will work with you and Murphy's issues. My rescue sends out an email list each week with the dogs that need a foster home, and you can volunteer for any dog you want (they'll never force you to take one). If you only want small, low energy females or large, adult hounds, you just wait until the right dog shows up on the list and take it. They need foster homes, however limited their requirements/abilities, so they should be willing to work with you.

I foster, too. I don't have a fence, so I can't foster for the HS, but I do foster "lap" dogs. When you apply, they will probably give you a survey where you check what you will or will not work with (dog to dog aggression, not housebroken, puppy, medical issues, male, female,...).

I would not foster for a group that requires a fence. I think its a ridiculous requirement.

You need to find a rescue group you are comfortable with. If they are iffy about your other dogs then move on to another group. I wold just say that you are only interested in fostering females. They should be able to recognize its a good move vs saying you are picky. And again,if they make an issue of it move on and find another group.

I also like to know that I can have final say if a potential adopter is the right one. We have had adopters pre approved come look at pups that should never have a dog.

I've never heard of a rescue requiring a fence to foster, though I can see where it would be nice. I foster in a tiny apartment with no yard, and I seem to get by just fine.
My own boy is DR, and my rescue just works with me around it. Just be honest about what you will and will not take in a foster, and what your dog can tolerate. For example, I will not foster a hobby barker or severe SA, because of my living arrangement. I also will not foster small puppies, because of Argon's dog issues. A good rescue will find a dog you will be happy with, and who will be happy with you.

The shelter group I am fostering for did not require me to have a fence. I was also able to specify what I was willing to foster. In my case only puppies since Gunnar is dog aggressive.

Thanks for all the replies!! It's good to hear that about the fence. A lot of the rescues I've looked at for adopting required some crazy huge fence so I'm glad to hear that the same isn't always true for fosters. I'm going to start looking into some different ones soon so that I can get a feel for which one I want to go with.

Kudos!!

The rescue I foster through also doesn't require a fence It really depends on the rescue & their requirements. I think that as long as your honest from the get-go most don't mind as long as the dog is being properly cared for

I would say yes. When we first started fostering through this group, at first we could only foster (submissive) females as we had a problem with males. They worked with us, and when the time came there was a male that would be good, and we tried it. It went very well! There's also been dogs that didn't "fit" very well (tried to tear the house down to eat the ferrets lol) and we just swapped, to be honest

One of our hidden mottos in the rescue is "It never hurts to ask!" and I apply it to many, many situations!!