Ferdi was our first foster dog with ARF. We had fostered dogs and puppies in the past and were currently looking for a foster that we could bring into our house that would get along well with our other dogs.
Our mentors contacted us and asked if we would be willing to take on Ferdi, we were warned that he had not had the best start and had made his way to the pound a few times in his short life. We had a look at his profile and were immediately willing to take him on. He looked so sweet, with the biggest brown soulful eyes that just said, ‘love me’.
Our first meet and greet started off great, he was excited and happy to just go for a stroll and sniff. What we quickly learnt about Ferdi is that he was quite insecure when he couldn’t control his environment or the dogs around him. He wanted to mediate everything and make sure that everyone was quiet, calm, and not having too much fun… how things have changed.
Once he was dropped off, we took things slow, we gave him the space he needed to sniff and start to feel comfortable in our house. The first few weeks were a challenge, not only for us but for Ferdi as well. We are no strangers to managing dogs with separation anxiety, but boy did he have it bad. There were weeks of sleepless nights and him crying every time you tried to leave the house or put him in his crate. There was the ‘great escape’ from his crate the first time he was left for more than 30 minutes. He chewed a hole in the crate and then jumped the baby gate to go in search for us and our dogs. There was vomit, excessive panting, and drool from being so stressed that he couldn’t calm himself down. He just wanted to be with you all the time and wanted to make sure that you were going to come back for him.
After the first few weeks being unsuccessful and running on broken sleep, we slowly hatched a new plan where Ferdi could have access to the house and yard when we weren’t home, minimised the separation from us when we were all home and ditched the crate. He immediately changed. He stopped crying and barking constantly, he started to instigate play with the other dogs and would quite happily wander off on his own for hours knowing that we would still be there when he came looking for us.
We started obedience training at All Round Good Hounds, where he got exposure to new environments, new dogs and people and really allow us to bond with him and really understand what makes him tick, so we knew what to work on. Goodness he loves to learn! He looked forward to the car ride each weekend to training and learning new things that really challenged him. He LOVES people and anyone that offers him pats and treats quickly becomes his new best friend. He is a lap dog and has no idea how big he is or how much room he needs on the couch.
Over the 6 months that Ferdi was our foster dog, we learnt so much about him and about ourselves in managing a dog with his needs. In return, we got the cuddliest goof ball that loves to play chase and destroy soft toys. After the 6 month mark we just couldn’t picture what our house and lives would look like without Ferdi in it. We realised that he had made himself quite at home on our couch, bed and anywhere else he decided to take a nap, and who were we to mess that up for him. In return we are showered with love, cuddles and laughter that he happily dishes out.
Ferdi is officially (and proudly) our foster fail!