New to dog foster

[Tkb12]

We are friends!! she even gives me a wiggy tail when I go up and open the gate!! We have walks in the garden and quiet time in the bedroom, I'm slowly making my way into her room towards the puppy's, I think she trusts me now but better to take it slow I think, I'm keeping an eye on them when she is out in the garden with my husband and they all look good. Now trying to sort out her runny tummy, chicken and rice and a little pumpkin, just a little amount of puppy food, which I didn't plan on but she lifted the bowl from a shelf and ate it! Boy is she a smart girl! Contacting the rescue later to see about when and if they will worm her or how this works. On that note, the way we broke the spell was the lady who looked after her in animal control came over, and bam, she was like a new dog, the rescue however?? Not heard much at all? I don't expect them to call every day but given the initial circumstance I thought they might have wanted to know how it was going? Oh well! I will do it on my own then!!

[subject2change]

Great to hear that she's doing so much better with you! It stinks you're not getting more support. It sounds like those dogs got really lucky when they found their way into your home!

[Dashdog]

Glad things are going better. I think Momma was just nervous and frightened being in a new place with new people. Instead of hot dogs go to a pet store and buy a natural balance log ( I use the beef one) Keep it in the refrigerator so it stays cold then cut a few thin slices and dice them into bite size bits and keep in a baggy in the refrigerator an use them for training or tossing to momma. It has a strong smell, dogs tend to love it and it is alot cheaper then buying " Training treats" and much healthier then hot dogs. My dogs will do anything for these treats.

You and your husband deserve Kudos for taking in this group as a first foster. Years ago I got involved with the transport of 5 special needs homozygous aussie pups and talked my 80 yr old parents into fostering them for awhile ( I was at their house for part of the time but not all of it, could not do it at my house as I work 12 hrs shifts 3X/week and did not want 5 puppies making lots of noise while I was at work) They were 7 weeks when we got them and they were a wild group and loved to cry at night, one at a time they would howl and cry and my poor mom got up just like you do with a baby and soothed them, would get back to bed and the next one would start up. The nights I spent at the house I just slept in the room with them so I could quiet them faster they were all deaf so you pretty much had to reassure them with touch. It was a lot of work and I thought my parents would be so happy to see me drive away with them when the day came to take them to the rescue in Arizona ( we were in CA) But that was not the case My parents were so sad to see them leave! My mom said she would love to foster more puppies. ( and yes at the time my parents owned 2 dogs and 2 cats) However shortly after that my mom was diagnosed with cancer and spent the last 2.5 yrs trying to survive so never got to foster agian.But fostering does have some huge rewards!

[shroom]

First, many, many thanks to you for taking in Mama Dog and her large litter. In most jurisdictions, the odds are they all would have been put down. You have given them a solid chance at life.

Regarding "... trying to sort out her runny tummy, chicken and rice and a little pumpkin, just a little amount of puppy food, which I didn't plan on ..." - She NEEDS to be on high quality puppy food while she's nursing the litter, and typically twice as much food as a non-lactating female. Puppy food has significantly higher nutrient levels than adult food and she needs to take in nutrients for herself and the puppies. Her GI issues are probably due to stress and food change, but also keep a close eye on the puppies. If they start having GI problems too, get everyone to a vet ASAP to make sure they don't have parvo.

Hoping all do well and thrive, even though we will all be jealous when you get to smell PUPPY BREATH!