It may be better when you get a rescue dog to adopt a dog that has been in a foster home for multiple reasons.

1) First you can find out how the dog behaves in a home. You have no way of knowing otherwise if that cute beagle your looking to adopt loves to counter surf and will take every opportunity available to steal your food.

2) You will also have a better idea if the dog is potty trained or not. When I rescued my dog they didn’t think she was potty trained likely because she would use the bathroom in her kennel. It turns out she actually was potty trained. Either the stress of the shelter, previous training, or the length of time between the shelter letting her out meant that she would use the bathroom in her kennel.

3) A foster home may have other dogs so you can get a report from them of how your potential new family member interacts with other dogs in a home environment. You would also get an accurate description of how rough the dog plays so you can figure out if they would be a good match for any current dog you may have.

4) The foster family will likely have a good idea of the true personality of your potential rescue dog. Dogs can get really stressed out in shelters and likely will not be showing their true personality however if your dog has been in a foster home they will likely know the pros and cons of the dogs personality.

5) The rescue dog may have received some training from the foster family whereas in a shelter they may not have received training. Also, the training provided in a foster home will likely be more consistent than in a rescue facility since the same people will be interacting with the dog instead of different people all of the time.