Jeri Wagner, Dog Behavioral Therapist & Master Trainer with Bark Busters Home Dog Training chronicles her dog foster experience in the hopes of inspiring and helping others on their dog foster journey. Read along and meet Jamie!
Today was a memorable one: not only did our foster dog, Jamie, come to live with us, and it was the first day of Pennsylvania’s Stay at Home mandate due to COVID-19. As a non-life-sustaining essential business, I will only be able to conduct virtual dog trainings for the foreseeable future, which means I have more time to devote to Jamie. My family – my husband, Craig; my 19-year-old son, Jason; and our 11.5-year-old Labrador/Pitbull mix, Zoey – will be around as well! I figure now is a great time to help a dog that had a tough first 11 months of her life while working on my skills as a canine behavioral therapist (and staying busy!)
Jamie is our first foster, and she joins our family at a good time. We lost our other Pitbull mix, Lilly, to cancer at the end of January, and it was a hard experience for everyone. I knew, however, that after we had a chance to heal, we were going to foster for To Love a Canine Rescue. Knowing Jamie’s history through her other foster parents at TLC, I thought she would be a good initiation into the foster world for me and my family.
Jamie was dropped off at our house around 6:00 pm. Craig, Jason, and Zoey were gated in the family room while Jamie explored her new surroundings. I wanted to give her time to figure out she was in a new, safe place – plus, knowing her history of fearful behavior, I knew she needed time to decompress with her new surroundings. The plan was to take it slow with introductions to the rest of the family.
Jamie ate dinner in her crate, separate from the rest of us. After dinner, I hung out with Jamie in the living room, where her and Zoey’s crates are located, while the rest of the family spent time elsewhere. Jamie retreated into her crate on her own. After about 30 minutes, I coaxed her out with some treats; she took them, then retreated back to her crate. I did this a few times before she stayed out with me. Eventually, she curled up and snuggled right next to me.
Jamie growled at Jason the one time he walked past us, about 10 feet away. But other than that, there were no introductions with the other household members. After taking Jamie out for potty time, it was midnight, and time for bed. So, into her crate she went.