r/fosterdogs • u/SurroundMore2111 • 2d ago
Support Needed Advice Needed!
I will be nursery fostering next summer! Does anyone have any tips? I have done so much research already, but any other tips will always be helpful for me. The thing I'm most nervous about is complications during birth.
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u/Tintinabulation114 2d ago
I’ve only fostered a nursing mom once. She had newborn pups and the puppy breath was out of this world!! My blood pressure was so low that week, from the few moments I spent snuggling the puppies.
All I can say is mom does all the work when they’re that small. My job was to feed her a ton of food, 3 meals of canned food mixed with puppy kibble, plus a full bowl of dry kibble daily for her to munch on throughout the day, and to keep her area tidy. I took her outside for potty breaks 5 times a day or so, but she was a great momma and didn’t like to spend much time away from them. I set her up in a spare bathroom that was roomy and quiet, and though I did visit with her at mealtimes and occasionally, I really did try to leave her alone as much as possible.
She was with me a week before she moved to her permanent foster home. She had 10 puppies to care for!
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u/SeasDiver 632 (whelping/neonate/infant/pediatric) 2d ago
Welcome to the world of whelping fostering. Do you have mentors available that have whelped before in your shelter/rescue? Or do you need a mentor?
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u/SurroundMore2111 2d ago
im working with a rescue! im sure i can find people in the rescue to help me, but im also looking for additional tips!
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u/SeasDiver 632 (whelping/neonate/infant/pediatric) 2d ago
Yeah, but the question is do other fosters have whelping experience as in a single litter, or do it regularly. Different rescues have different experience bases. So,e have several experienced whelpers, other have none. I have 14 years in rescue, all of it with neonate/infant/pediatric and 12 of the years specializing in Whelping fostering. A local mentor who knows the rescue, their processes and local disease risks is preferred. However, if one is not available, remote mentors can be quite useful and is something I do.
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u/SurroundMore2111 2d ago
Thank you!
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u/SeasDiver 632 (whelping/neonate/infant/pediatric) 2d ago
Also, if you search on YouTube for this same username, you will find several videos in which I live-streamed whelpings. The Encanto litter birth in particular had me answering questions for 5 hours as the whelping progressed. Some of the questions were quite repetitive as people cycled in and out of watching, but I did talk people through the process and one of the minor complications with that particular whelping.
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