Foster Diary: Day 4

A diary all about my experiences with my little senior foster dog Oscar. 
by Site Editor Sarah

Oscar's not up for adoption (his owner would like to keep him if her health allows), but it's been fun parading him around town and sharing my foster tale. Spreading the word about fostering is what Foster Dogs NYC is all about! 

My "foster diary" is written to show others what a foster situation can be like, and that it's not so scary! I also want to remind adopters and foster owners that there will be some hiccups along the way, but dogs learn to adjust in time (as do their humans!). I've learned a lot already about this dog, and I've only had him a few days!

Please feel welcome to share YOUR foster/adopter tale with us!

See Day 1 here & Day 2 here.

My tiny foster dog has been adjusting well. Despite two minor peeing accidents and one incident of vomiting, Oscar was been totally perfect indoors. And to his credit, the two accidents happened when he had been "holding it in" overnight for a longer period than he's accustomed to. I've learned my lesson - walk him first thing in the AM and then get dressed for the day! ... And the spit-up occurred when he ate a new type of treat that didn't agree with him. I've since removed those treats from his diet.

He eats well during mealtime, and has even learned how to let me know that he wants more food (a midnight snack, of sorts); he will paw at his bowl, and even tip it over if he's feeling frisky. No dummy, this dog! I've decided to increase his meal portion size, as he could stand to gain an lb or two anyway (don't be fooled by his fluff - he's all ribs under there!). Ozzie has respected the food bowl separation, not touching Oscar's food during mealtime (for the most part...). Luckily, neither dog aggressively guards their food, so it's low-stress on my part as Protector of the Peace.

This little fuzzy dude is working out great.

I've loved experiencing dog fostering when it revolves around a more fragile little dog (versus a sizable pittie like last time), since it's been pleasurable to teach my giant oaf of a Lab mix Ozzie how to "be gentle" with his canine housemate. Ozzie doesn't know this yet, but there will be a permanent doggie housemate or two in his future, so I love teaching him how to act with smaller cat-like pooches. After all, he is wonderfully sweet with kids and small animals, his main issue with little dogs is his obliviousness to their tiny size. Ozzie didn't get the memo that you can't sit on a pocketbook-sized dog without him/her getting somewhat peeved. Ozzie is learning, and thankfully Oscar is very patient with him.

Oscar's hair is more high-maintenance than I remember Bichons to be (I had a Bichon as a kid). Perhaps Oscar's level of maintenance is due to his not having had a proper hair trim (or nail trim) in a long time. I find myself brushing/trimming his hair quite frequently to keep it looking bright and healthy. Non-shedding dogs (Poodles, Bichons, Doodles, etc) definitely require primping more so than my Lab mix, who has never been brushed a day in his life (in my defense, Ozzie will freak out if I bring a hair brush close to his skin; major idiosyncrasies in this boy, I tell ya!). 

The cold weather has been tough when combined with Oscar's possible oncoming arthritis. Yesterday, Oscar was shivering from the cold winds (he's a 12-lb Bichon with a thin coat, definitely a candidate for deserving a coat!). To keep him warm, I held him in my arms to keep him warm for the remainder of the walk once he relieved himself. 

Today I experimented with warming him up - without spending extra $. I folded Ozzie's big-dog fleece in half length-wise, wrapped the velcro straps around a couple times, and it worked! Oscar even seemed relaxed and comfortable on our walk in the chilly weather with his fancy red fleece.

Oscar is the sweetest of the sweet. Never hurts a fly, always happy to snuggle and sleep, and lets me know when he's hungry or needs to go outside. 

Definitely a catch of a senior dog! 


Stay tuned for more stories from my foster experience.