What do they look for in home visits..

Hello, after filling out an app to foster I got the call that they want to schedule a home visit within this week or beginning of next. Can anyone tell me what I may be looking forward to when they come? Thank you!

When I do home visits, it's as much to educate the adopter as to "judge" them. We WANT you to pass these checks, because we want all our dogs in homes! I look for the following:

• Do all animals you have currently look healthy and happy? (Not super fat/skinny/matted/etc)
• Are there any obvious dangers a dog could get into? (Paper shredders on the ground, food left around the house, etc). If there are, I'll point them out to the adopter and let them know why they should change something
• I want to see where the dog is going to be kept when the people are out of the house. Is it safe? Secure? A good size? Nothing toxic? (One woman wanted to keep the dog in the laundry room, but there are too many poisonous things in there, so a dog with separation anxiety could be in big trouble)
• If there's a yard, is the fence secure? If there isn't a fence, are they aware that they can't let the dog off leash for a LONG time until a recall is solid?
• If I'm familiar with the neighborhood, I'll give suggestions for good places for walks, for dog parks, vets, training, etc.

At the end of the day, it's more a vibe than anything else. We're just making sure you aren't crazy I've never turned anyone down because of a home check, but I usually have a couple suggestions of things they should fix before they bring the dog home.

Thank you for your input! I have been pondering on where I am going to keep the foster when I am not home and absolutely cannot take them and at night. My puppies are crate trained but the longest they stay in them is overnight, during the day they are rarely ever put in them. I am weary of crate training a foster because I don't want to stress them out but on the other hand being left in a big room while I am gone or unable to watch them at night is going to be stressful too. Since dogs are den animals I think a crate is more suitable when I can't be with them, not to mention physically safer for them. I am very unsure, what is your outlook on the situation? On the foster app I said about crate training and they have no problem with it since its for short periods. But I am questioning it in my mind..oh and I should add that this is a Pekingese/Small breed rescue.

We mandate that our fosters crate, for the safety of the dog. We don't know anything about their personality when they're pulled and they're never house trained. Many have separation anxiety, are big chewers, or have never been in a house before. Our goal is to adopt out dogs that are house trained and know how to behave indoors, and a crate helps with that.

There have been a couple people who didn't want to crate, or for whom the crate wasn't going to work, and we came up with alternative solutions. One stayed on the enclosed glass patio/sunroom with nothing else there, and another was fostering a dog we already knew didn't have separation anxiety and wasn't going to chew through a wall or something.

Pretty much exaclty what Cali says!! I tell the people I do home visits for that I really just want to get to know them a little bit better I've never been to a home where something was "wrong", or it wasn't approved (bad references, on the other hand... LOL) Many times they ask me where I think the dog should be kept when they are not home (at least at first). Once I spotted a place in the fence that was dug under a bit. Easy to fix!

Some rooms are a good setup for a baby gate, I use that sometimes, but mostly I crate. Some dogs are MUCH more comfortable in a crate, others have to learn, some hate it. But it's for their own safety, at least at the very begining.

Good luck! You'll have to keep us updated

All but one of the dogs I've fostered have been crate trained before I got them. When my home was inspected, by two different organizations, they did not wear white gloves or go through drawers. They want to know you will give a dog a good home, not a baby. They want to know you are not a puppy mill (yes, this does happen). Pick up things from the floor, vacuum, you'll be fine.