Jack in his Foster Home

Here is the story of Jack during his time in a wonderful foster home.

(from time to time we receive a hound into our care that doesn't settle into the kennel routine very well and would benefit from some time in a foster home to help with their development into the wonderful pet that greyhounds are. If you feel you have the time and dedication to assist us in this task by joining our team of foster carers then please call us on 01922 412212, thanks)

Jacks Story:

I had the pleasure of seeing Jack in his foster home last weekend (26 June 2010).  What a transformation!!  At that stage he’d been with his foster carers for two weeks.  Unfortunately Jack was having problems with kennel life and so the decision was made to put him in a foster home to see how he got on, in the hope that he could be rehomed from there to a new permanent home. 

Jack (who now knows his name) is currently living with another greyhound called Splash, a Jack Russell called Deefer, a Cockatiel, and of course his foster mum and dad and their two girls.  He’s getting on fantastically well with all of them.  Initially he did show some interest in the Cockatiel, but having been corrected he now takes no notice of it.  Jack is a young dog and so he needed to be guided as to the rules of living in a home environment.  He still doesn’t like the hoover, but he is being exposed to various different things and situations and is adapting really well.  He’s also mastered laminate flooring now!!  With regard to going outside to relieve himself, Jack lets his foster family know when he wants to go by scratching at the door, and he knows the word “wee wees”.

Jack’s first night in his foster home wasn’t the quietest.  He loves to be with his ‘pack’ and when left at bedtime he started crying.  This continued for quite some time (!), but his fosterers have persevered and although he does still cry for about an hour after his foster family have gone to bed, he then settles down and sleeps through to the next morning. 

As regards introducing Jack to the other dogs, particularly the Jack Russell, he wasn’t happy about being muzzled and constantly rubbed the muzzle up everything, even knocking things over in an attempt to remove it.  Deefer, the Jack Russell, is incredibly laid back and his foster family, having removed Jack’s muzzle, were happy to see that they got on really well.  However, Jack does NOT like cats!!  He is walking well on the lead with his playmates and has met numerous children on the school run, from children aged 4 upwards, and there’s been no problem at all.  The two children in the foster family, aged 7 and 9, were both frightened of dogs for some time when they were younger but you wouldn’t believe this looking at the photos I took when I met them.

Jack is a very loving dog and if his foster mum is sitting down, he stands facing her and buries his head in her lap.  When she then starts stroking him, his legs “buckle” and he puts his weight onto her lap.  Is that contentment or what?!

Surprisingly Jack makes a great watchdog.  As those of you with greyhounds know, this is generally a rare thing!! 

Jack loves to play in the garden, as you can see from the photographs I took.  He did try and dig the garden on a couple of occasions, but each time he was told “no” and he walked away.  Being in a home is a new experience for him and he has to learn the rules.  If he has done something wrong, he’s been told “no” and he’s walked away.  However, with those eyes of his, his foster mum can’t ignore him for too long!!  With the hot spell we’ve been having Jack has also discovered ice cubes, but does wonder where they disappear to eventually!  He also loves playing with empty pop bottles, but gets fed up when he’s got the tops off.

Jack has done really well in his new foster home and if circumstances were different, his foster family would have him themselves.  What he now needs is to go to a family, ideally with children and another dog(s) as he loves to play, but whose owners either work from home or are at home a good part of the day as he doesn’t like being on his own for very long.  Crying at bedtime is ongoing but this can be worked on and I’ve no doubt that if he could go upstairs with his pack (he has mastered stairs!), even on the landing, this would have an effect on this.

Having seen Jack in the kennel setting and now in a home setting, you’d think we were dealing with two different dogs.  Can you offer Jack the permanent home he needs???

(PLEASE NOTE: the tin in the photo is used to store doggy treats and contains no chocolate)

Here is a photo update on Jacks time with his foster carers:

Hi all,
It's fantastic news to hear Jack has found a new home after being our care for just over 4 weeks, fostering this lovely hound has been such a rewarding experience for both of us and the children.
We have taken some pics of Jack while he was in our care and thought you'd like to see them.
From the day he came to us, to the day he left for his new home he was very loving and his trust, love and personality grew with him so we hope you like the pics.
We look forward to having our next foster greyhound.

regards
Craig and Chrissie