Brother duo, Armstrong and Joe, were born at Battersea after their mother arrived as a stray when heavily pregnant. In order to grow into confident adult dogs, it’s important for young pups to be well socialised. To get them off to the best start, Battersea decided that these pups would benefit from living with an experienced foster carer, where they could get used to the sights, sounds and smells of a real home environment. 

Meeting their foster carer

Armstrong and Joe were fostered by Dena, who has been fostering dogs and puppies for Battersea for two years.

“I applied to be a foster carer as not only do I absolutely love dogs, but I was in the flexible position to be able to foster them. Battersea’s fostering process is really supportive. They explain everything to you and support you fully along the way which I found really helpful. When I found out I could foster Arnie & Joe, I was so excited!” 

Puppy training

As young puppies away from mum for the first time, these boys needed a patient and dedicated foster carer like Dena to help them learn the basics from scratch, including some of the challenges of looking after pups, like toilet accidents, teething and bedtime routines.

“One of the most challenging parts was training them both. Having two pups at once can be tricky, and it’s particularly tricky to do puppy pad training. The boys were hit and miss with toilet training, and it was difficult to praise one of them for going on the pads when the other one wasn’t. We eventually got the hang of this by sticking to a routine and persevering, and by the time they went home they were much better at this.”