Foster Program

Our foster program involves selecting community members to house, feed, socialize and train a service dog prospect. Foster families, hereafter referred to as “Fosters”, allow Providing Pawsable to serve more clients as we do not have to house all of the dogs simultaneously. Participation in the foster program is free of cost to the foster families; all necessary equipment is provided through Providing Pawsable via the client’s overall program fee. Items provided include the crate, bed, food/treat funds, veterinarian costs, gear and a few toys.

Fosters are required to provide the dog with at least four socialization experiences per month. Socialization experiences involve exposing the puppies to various environments such as loud noises, lots of people, other dogs and more. Examples of socialization experiences include, but are not limited to, dog park, sports games, car rides, and trips to the pet store or vet. These experiences are essential to prepare the puppies for the many situations they will be in as a service dog. Additionally, the head trainer will meet with the family once a month to discuss any problems and illustrate the proper way to train the puppy the next set of tasks. During these monthly meetings, the trainer will also analyze the training logs Fosters have kept. If at any point the trainer feels the Fosters are not meeting the requirements of the program the dog can be removed from Fosters.

How it works

Potential Fosters will apply for the position via the link below after looking through the requirements, listed below, involved in fostering a dog through Providing Pawsable.  Once a fostering opportunity arises the board of directors will vote on the best Foster candidate. At this time, Fosters must meet with our head trainer and discuss the timeline of fostering, sign the contract and discuss any concerns or questions. Next, the entire family must attend orientation that will go over what is expected of them as Fosters. Topics that will be included are: how to use the training logs, proper socialization, consequences of failing to meet requirements, grooming and more. It is after orientation that the family actually takes the dog home with them. Fosters are required to document every training session via the “Training Log” in order to keep track of progress and struggles. Meeting with the trainer of Providing Pawsable is required in order for Providing Pawsable to evaluate the dog and Foster’s progress. At the end of the foster period the trainer will meet with the family and do a final test on the dog before it graduates and moves into our board and train program. In our board and train program the dog stays permanently at the Providing Pawsable facility to learn all the essential task training required for service dog work.

Requirements

  •  Minimum of 2 training sessions daily

  • Minimum of 1 socialization experience weekly

  • Minimum of 2 hours of outside time daily

  • Attend orientation

  • Attend monthly meetings with head trainer

  • Complete training logs

  • Reliable transportation

  • Safe home environment

  • Provide regular grooming/bathing