© India Lawson

This article was written as a companion piece to Becoming a Foster Parent: Are You Ready? and is intended for distribution to new volunteers and other members of the public who are interested in fostering dogs. Author Melissa Bahleda is a certified canine trainer and behavior counselor.

Fostering dogs can be a rewarding experience or a disastrous one. It all depends on how well you prepare. Carefully introducing your own animals to your new temporary residents is key to retaining a harmonious household, and housetraining your foster dogs will keep that household smelling sweet and improve the dogs’ chances for successful adoption. What follows is some advice on both. For more information on crate training and other behavior issues, visit www.petsforlife.org. 

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