Fostering . . . . 

If you have a genuine desire to provide a loving temporary home for a rescued Dane, and have the time to commit to assessing their needs and working through any behavioural issues. Then why not help us by fostering a Dane?    

The Great Dane Adoption Society is always in need of experienced and knowledgeable Dane owners to be new foster homes.

After you apply online, one of our home checkers will visit your home to ensure that you know exactly what to expect and that your home is a safe place for a Great Dane to stay, much the same as a visit for prospective adoption. The visit is not an inspection; a teenagers bedroom is a teenager's bedroom!

Once the visit is successfully completed, then stand by! a Dane may be on it's way to you shortly. 

Be assured that we do endeavour to ascertain the characteristics/behaviour of any foster dog placed in your care, from their previous owner. However this cannot be guaranteed and therefore whilst most are simply untrained, it is not unknown for a dog to chew, be aggressive to other dogs, have separation anxiety or other behavioural problems. In fact that is the role of the foster home - to establish the characteristics and behaviour of the Dane so that it's needs can be married with those of an adoptive home, thus ensuring a long and happy relationship. 

This means that you will need to have the  facilities (e.g. a separate area away from your own dogs, if necessary) and the time to care for a Dane that will certainly be scared and may even have other difficulties. Naturally we will give you advice with any behavioural problems and even involve our Canine Behaviourist, if necessary. Having said all that, we will not ask you to take care of a Dane which either you or we believe will cause you serious problems and we will never ask you to take care of a Dane unless you agree to do so. You have no obligation at all.

The society will supply you with dog food or pay you a daily rate to cover the expense of feeding the Dane at your home and veterinary bills are also covered.

Should a close bond develop between you and the Dane, we always endeavour to give our foster home owners 'first refusal' for adopting the Dane.

As a guide, most of our Danes are placed in permanent new homes within 4 - 8 weeks.

As you would expect, we have learnt through experience the minimum requirements that ensure the safety and happiness of a rescue Great Dane. Whilst all our homecheckers are unpaid volunteers, we do reimburse their travelling expenses from our very scare finances. Therefore we should be grateful if you would read the minimum requirements below and only apply if you are able to meet them. 

• Fully enclosed garden with fencing at least 5ft high
• Main living rooms of house do not have laminate flooring, unless they have extensive non-slip rugs
• Never leaving the dog without human companionship for longer that 4 hours a day (This is 4 hours a day - not 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon)
• A local area for daily off lead exercise
• Not placing the dog in kennels or other outside buildings
• The knowledge/ability to train a dog without resorting to force
• Being prepared to work to resolve behavioural problems with our support (where necessary)
• Having an area to keep the Dane separate from your own dogs (if necessary)
• Understanding that foster dogs are scared when they first arrive and may initially display behaviours that are not usual to them (e.g. chewing or aggression)
• Having the time to devote to assessing the Dane's characteristics and behaviours
• A genuine desire to provide a loving temporary home for a rescued Dane  

Note: It is unadvisable to foster a Dane to ascertain whether you want to adopt, since we cannot guarantee the behavioural traits of the foster dogs. It is only once they have been assessed in foster care that we are able to marry the Dane's needs with that of your family. 

Feel free to contact us for more information.