Fostering with an intact dog

[AdrianneIsabel]

Originally Posted by Teal

There's no harm in applying to foster, and letting them know your dog is intact for medical reasons. The worst they can do is say no, right?

Yup, plus making friends first they'll look at your situation with a lot more ease.

[Bahamutt99]

I am curious about this logic. What are the reasons generally given for rejecting a foster home with intact animals? From a rescue standpoint, do they think you're unable to handle keeping dogs separated (like when a female is in heat)? Or do they think you must be looking for free breeding stock? Or... Is it like, wanting you to be on board with a particular mentality? (Alter everything.) Do many fosters go to their foster homes before being altered?

[AdrianneIsabel]

Originally Posted by Bahamutt99

I am curious about this logic. What are the reasons generally given for rejecting a foster home with intact animals? From a rescue standpoint, do they think you're unable to handle keeping dogs separated (like when a female is in heat)? Or do they think you must be looking for free breeding stock? Or... Is it like, wanting you to be on board with a particular mentality? (Alter everything.) Do many fosters go to their foster homes before being altered?

Well.. by the sheer number of people on FB, who should be upstanding sports people, lately who're having "Oh, oops, silly me!" litters I am not shocked at all rescue people are a bit hesitant.

That said if the rescue dog is neutered what does that matter? Unless they just don't want to associate with those having intact dogs.

[SpringerLover]

The private rescue group I fostered Ruca through had no issues with intact/not, but the second foster she went to wanted her spayed as she had an intact male mastiff and didn't want to end up responsible for puppies.

So we had Ruca spayed earlier than I'd have liked but... it's what worked and I don't have any regrets. Everything worked out just fine in the end and she's in an absolutely wonderful home.

[CaliTerp07]

Edit: I just realized I responded from the adoption standpoint. I didn't address fosters. I guess for fosters it's that the foster parent was the one who ultimately made the decision about where the dog should go, so if they were pro-unaltered dogs, they'd probably be willing to adopt the dog to an unaltered home, which was a no-no for reasons listed below.

Originally Posted by Bahamutt99

I am curious about this logic. What are the reasons generally given for rejecting a foster home with intact animals? From a rescue standpoint, do they think you're unable to handle keeping dogs separated (like when a female is in heat)? Or do they think you must be looking for free breeding stock? Or... Is it like, wanting you to be on board with a particular mentality? (Alter everything.) Do many fosters go to their foster homes before being altered?

The rescue I used to foster for didn't allow dogs to go to homes with unaltered animals. I *think* (major assumptions here, I didn't make policies or really talk to the higher ups) it was two fold. One, we often did have unaltered foster dogs. They came straight from rural shelters, and were generally here for a while before they were fixed (especially puppies). Second, the rescue had a "reputation" to uphold, for lack of a better term. People LOVE to talk/gossip about rescues here. If word got out that the group was condoning backyard breeders by allowing them to adopt animals, the rescue would have been blacklisted and fallen apart in seconds (it happened to one locally a few years ago).

That rescue had no shortage of adopters. They adopted over 1000 dogs in their first 18 months, with full vet checks and home checks and behavioral analysis on every dog that came through. It was easier to make a blanket policy that said no unaltered animals (save for medical reasons that could be confirmed by calling the vet) than to dig through and figure out how responsible this responsible person really was, and risk the reputation of the rescue.

For better or worse, it worked for this group. They weren't one who held onto dogs for 9 months waiting for the "perfect" home that never materialized. There were plenty of homes, and the average dog only stayed with the group for 3-4 weeks.

[Freehold]

I have also fostered successfully with intact dogs. My rescue pets are all spay/neutered, but the Wolfhounds of course are not (well the breeding bitches of course). All the cats are spay/neutered (unless we get fresh strays in), though other critters such as the rabbit, chinchilla, lizards, snakes, and bird are not... And well, you can't spay a horse Though the boys get gelded (except for my stallion, but he lives away). If a rescue will not listen when you give a good reason for the choice to not spay/neuter, try another one. Many do have some brains in addition to hearts

[Freehold]

I do understand the issue though. Even the most responsible breeders can have an oops litter. A friend of ours who breeds smooth collies (and is a very responsible breeder) had a situation where two of her males broke out (or was it the female - I don't remember the details) and ended up with a bitch in heat. The entire litter was unregistrable because there were two males involved. Purebred, and great bloodlines, but no papers possible. She still took care of the puppies and found them excellent homes (and made sure the situation couldn't possibly be repeated). But it can happen.

Personally I think the foster home and the rescue need to be smart and not place an unaltered foster in a home where there is an opposite gender unaltered dog already there. It just causes more hassle than it is worth. But to totally deny them the ability to foster is unfortunate.

[Emily]

Originally Posted by Freehold

The entire litter was unregistrable because there were two males involved. Purebred, and great bloodlines, but no papers possible.

Huh, maybe it's different in Canada, but here you could treat it like a dual sired litter and DNA test the pups to find out which sire they were from. Definitely registrable with AKC if done as such. I'm kinda surprised CKC wouldn't allow that as well.