Canine Solutions offers an inexpensive value packed way to build confidence in dogs and rescue volunteers!
Where Fostering Confidence was conceived…
We waited with eager anticipation in the lobby of a doggy daycare facility. We’d applied to foster for a local pit bull rescue and that day we were getting our first dog! A car door closed, toenails scraped on sidewalk, the lobby door squeaked open. In walked the biggest head on a knee high dog dragging his handler behind him! His name was Lucius. The scars on his head reflected his troubled past. He had been rescued from a dog fighting ring and it showed.
In that moment everything I’d ever heard about the vicious nature of pit bulls flashed into my mind. Lucius was nervous and so were we. What had we gotten ourselves into? We lacked fostering confidence!
That day in 2009 was our first foray into the world of dog rescue. As a bleeding heart, I wanted to help dogs. As a fledgling dog trainer, I wanted to teach dogs what they needed to know to find them great homes. Lucius was a mess! While we didn’t know it that day, he had just found his forever home.
After a few months of getting to know Lucius we knew that he couldn’t go to just any family. His willingness to eat through doors and kennels, his obsessive consumption of soft toys and clothing, and his hair trigger around certain dogs presented daily challenges. Because of those challenges, Lucius stayed with us until he passed 6 years later. During that time, Lucius presented some costly learning experiences. He also paved the way to help other foster families avoid some of the costly mistakes we made early on simply due to lack of knowledge.
New Educational Opportunities!
One of Canine Solutions’ passions is supporting the rescue community. Since Lucius, a variety of dogs have taken up temporary residence in our home. Some stays have been shorter than others. Now, all those lessons learned over the years are compiled in one place. This resource is offered to our pet loving community through our low cost Fostering Confidence monthly workshops.
Fostering Confidence is a double entendre. On one hand it refers to the social needs that every dog has. The other hand represents the knowledge that rescue volunteers need to successfully home dogs. This information helps foster homes to raise mentally sound dogs that are safe to rehome. Confident dogs are less likely to be returned by families ill-equipped to deal with common canine conundrums.
The monthly seminars that form Fostering Confidence are designed to empower novice and amateur dog handlers. The knowledge gained from these workshops helps families make great decisions for the dogs in their care. Rescue programs are only as strong as their volunteers. Budget friendly and low stress solutions give foster dogs an advantage in a competitive rehoming market. We know from first hand experience what it takes to foster dogs successfully.
What Fostering Confidence entails…
Each month Fostering Confidence features a different theme. For example, May is National Photography Month and attendees learn how to get their dogs to pose for great pictures! Each month our trainers also present management and integration strategies set their home and foster dogs up for success. Question & Answer and trouble shooting opportunities help attendees address specific struggles in their home. Leash handling and basic obedience tutorials prepares foster homes to teach their guests the rules of the home from day one. Preventing bad habits is far easier than correcting them once they’ve taken root.
Fostering Confidence provides insight on other common and frustrating behavior challenges. Identifying and addressing separation anxiety, resource guarding, and dog and human reactivity improves adoptability. Knowledge, or lack thereof, makes or breaks a rescue dog’s opportunity for integrating successfully into a new home. Often the first point of contact, foster homes have an opportunity to help adopters address issues quickly. The right advice at the right time can help keep a dog in it’s home instead of being returned for an otherwise fixable or preventable issue.
Fostering Confidence is open to all rescue volunteers in the KC Metro Area. Register to attend our next workshop on May 8th @ 2:30 PM!