Rhodesian Ridgebacks And Friends: Fostering a Greenie.....

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Fostering a Greenie.....

Posted by Jeff on September 1, 2009, 3:28 pm
71.222.130.225

My wife & I volunteer at Animal Humane. Great organization except for the lack of a no-kill policy.

Anyways, they had too many intakes, and the next thing I know is that we are fostering a greenie who would have been euthanized yesterday wo our intervention.

We did a meet & greet prior to taking him. He is a pit mix who is a little smaller than my two. He is a sweet boy who definitely deserves a chance and a family. So far, all interactions have gone well. He is calmer than I was actually expecting, though since he is only 1 1/2 he has more energy than my two have. He appears to have no food aggression, and he also appears to be respectful of his place in the pack. He is a curious boy who is trying to adjust to new surroundings.

We just had a family emergency, so now my wife will be away for a week or so. We were planning on her being around when I had to work. We have done other fosters, but only little dogs & puppies. So he is our first big dog foster & our first greenie foster.

I have a couple of questions:

1. So far the only issue is a couple of potty accidents. In terms of house-training, would you treat a foster any different than say a puppy ?

2. Assuming all goes well, how long would you suggest the foster be with us before giving him run of the house when I have to be gone for work ?

3. Would you allow him sooner or later to sleep in the bedroom with us ?

4. What lines would you suggest be drawn so that on one hand he feels part of the family/pack, but on the other hand he doesn't become too much a part of the family/pack so he isn't traumatized when he has to go back ?

Any suggestions on these or any other related issues would be appreciated.

Thx in advance !!