My non-social dog is actually a good foster sibling

Off and on we’ve gotten some questions and confusion about fostering with a non-social (fear reactive) dog. I get it! Fostering wasn’t a decision we took lightly (you can read more about our thought process in this article). It’s paramount to me that we do right by every creature in our care.

But as we’ve successfully had multiple new animals in our home—and Scout only continues to get more comfortable—I’d argue that the way we set up our multi-dog household to meet our resident heeler’s needs actually helps our foster dogs develop some really valuable life skills, too. This is especially true for the puppies!

Can dog-dog interaction be great? Absolutely. In an ideal world is it something every puppy gets to experience with balanced adult dogs? Of course. But our home is still far better than growing up in a shelter. By coexisting with Scout, our foster puppies learn about neutrality, self regulation, and advocacy—while Sean and I are pushed to think more critically about fulfillment fo…