There are so many things to teach your foster dog in order to help them have the most successful adoption that will happily keep them in their furever home.
I rounded up the Top 5 things I think every dog should know, but especially foster dogs who are waiting to get adopted. You see, everyone wants the “perfect” dog, and we all know that perfect doesn’t exist for dogs or people. However, I think there are some basic manners and boundaries that should be set. Then, if the new family decides to break all the rules, at least they chose to do so!
Keep in mind as you read through the list, I’m only going to briefly cover basic obedience, but it is absolutely imperative to teach.
- Basic Obedience
- Wait Command
- Crate Training
- No jumping
- Leave It
For those of who are interested in a more in-depth overview of each of these tools, keep reading!
Basic Obedience
Basic obedience in our house can be summarized into the following: sit, stay, come, down, and ideally heel; or at least how to walk nicely on the leash.
Wait Command
Many common problems that so many dogs have could be fixed with a little bit of impulse control. Enter, the ‘wait’ command. I start teaching this the minute a foster dog walks into our house. It is a simple command that slows the mind down and causes dogs to think before they act. Some commands that are more advanced should be saved for later, after the dog has decompressed, but like house training, this is one that can be taught from Day 1. Entering and exiting the crate, waiting for food, waiting to be let out the door, and waiting to come inside are all examples of how to use this command to teach impulse control.
Crate Training
This is another I start teaching from the beginning. Unless there is a very significant adversity to the crate, I can’t express enough the importance of using this tool to keep your existing pack, and new dog safe. It allows for safe mealtime, controlled introductions, and a safe, space for each dog to have. You might have to deal with initial whining, but stay strong. If it makes you feel better, offer a frozen kong with peanut butter, or another favorite long lasting toy that your dog only gets when kenneled. Before you know it, they’ll be going in all on their own. When not used as a form of punishment, the crate is a fantastic and natural tool for dogs to feel safe.
No Jumping
I haaaaaate being jumped on. And Rooster is THEE worst. Something about little dogs who feel the need to jump up to get your attention. This is all fine and dandy and maybe even a little cute until you’re wearing your brand new white jeans, or tights. Then it’s not so cute when little Rooster jumps up and gets mud, or worse {horse poop} on said white jeans, or tears the damn tights that probably already have a run in them already.
This is also not ideal for families with young children. This is how kids get knocked down; dog starts jumping, play biting, or humping, kid starts crying and dad starts yelling. So, let’s just teach them not to jump on you, or the furniture, and let their forever family break all the rules. Remember; we’re here to get dogs adopted and to set the best foundation we can, not feel bad and let them run rampant.
Leave It
This is another good impulse control behavior to practice and teach. It can also be a good safety measure if something that shouldn’t be consumed or touched is dropped. For example, tonight, while cooking dinner, Rooster; who was sitting on his rug, not standing in the kitchen, watched Tyler drop a piece of onion on the floor. Dogs are not supposed to eat onion and I watched the piece drop and Rooster look. I immediately said leave it, and while he was waiting for the ‘okay’ Tyler was able to pick it up and instead he was rewarded with praise.
Well, there you have it. If you’ve been following since the inception of this blog you know that we’ve yet to have a dog longer 10 days- yay! (Update: we’ve had Roo for about 14 now). I say this because in those 10 days we have worked on teaching all of these things, while working 10+ hour days (don’t worry my amazing neighbor comes over twice a day to check on everyone!). All of the dogs learned these things very quickly through repetition and daily life integration. I think the number one thing that holds people back from fostering, other than being afraid that they are going to keep every dog, is that they don’t have the time. But not everything takes undivided, long spans of your attention. Simple daily patterns are how dogs learn. Remember, they are so much smarter than we ever realize and will pick up on these tools before you know it!
