To not understand why people adopt feral dogs from Eastern Europe?

[Elmore]

I don’t get it, there’s thousands of dogs in the U.K. that need homes, so why go to the effort (and expense) of importing these wild street dogs?

I have a former street dog who is the sweetest thing alive. She literally wouldn't hurt a fly, and all she wants from life is a soft bed to nap in and lots of jerky treats, Her initial paperwork from the vet has a note that says "really sweet dog", and that's from someone who was seeing her while she was stressed and confused. My kids sometimes sleep with their head on her like she's a pillow.

These dogs are not really suitable pets for families. They need specific care from experienced animal handlers.

See this makes sense. And answers the question why an average family won't and should not adopt those dogs - because an average family is not an experienced handler with no other commitments, therefore not appropriate for a dog that needs one. Not the case that you just want a fashionable foreign rescue.

because it is, genuinely, almost impossible to adopt a dog from a UK rescue if you have kids/work

Look at the state of these feral, disease ridden ‘forrins’. Maybe I just got exceptionally lucky, three times. 🙄

1 - DISEASES: all dogs that enter the UK must pass DEFRA requirements. That means they must be chipped and vaccinated for all the obvious nasties (including rabies) and their blood is tested a month later to confirm the presence of antibodies. On arrival in the UK dogs must pass a vet check and a 48 hour quarantine in DEFRA approved kennels. Dogs coming into the UK are safer from a disease perspective than any already in the UK.

The trouble is with this is that there are some diseases they’re not tested for and if they do come over here our dogs would be much less immune to them.

There is also a massive issue with people getting dogs abroad but not from reputable rescues like yours.

It started off that a few non-profit charities were doing this and now it seems that other places have jumped on the bandwagon and now it’s really common and easier to get a dog from abroad.

I am a dog lover and rescuing any dog is a good thing IMO regardless of what country they come from.
The conditions in other countries are often absolutely awful especially compared to the kennels over here where they’re treated well and have a decent standard of living.

I have now been put off by rescuing from abroad because I have dogs and the story about the women and her dogs who contracted a foreign disease means I won’t be willing to take that risk.
However if I didn’t have dogs already, then I would be happy to rescue from abroad.

But @MarshaMelrose by that logic, no dog should ever be rehomed in case it doesn't work out.

The ideal person on paper could drop dead in three months and the dog will end up back in rescue.

You can't just say "well it might not work out" and use that as an excuse to never give those dogs a chance.

How is a homechecker to know which one you are.

Well exactly. So the rescue refuses adopters, just in case, better to keep the dog in the kennel waiting for this magical dog expert with no other commitments.

it's more instagrammable, you can boast about it more, virtue signalling etc etc

No one except a vet should be putting any animal to sleep.

I strongly disagree. There are plenty of places in the UK where non vets euthanise afte training. I would think it's even easier to sort out in a country that clearly doesn't care about animals.

I'm not saying life is great for dogs in different countries. It must be heart breaking to see. Of course people see the videos online and want to rescue them. In kennels if you have a dog with one eye and a dog with two eyes, which do you think would be chosen first? People love a story that they saved something. It's rewarding.

But what you're saying is that the dogs abroad deserve to live over the dogs in the uk because the dogs in the uk are well cared for and can be pts humanely. What I'm saying is that you have the means to euthanize, it's something you already do, so if dogs are ill-treated in the pound go pay and euthanize them. Because somewhere along the line, there, here, France, Estonia, wherever you're sending the dogs, some dog is being euthanized because there's a finite number of homes.

My awful experiences were with a staffie (severely bitten on my legs and arm) and Rottweiler (thanks to a pig ignorant owner who admitted he couldn’t control it - I was knocked me to the ground, hit my head and unconscious and bitten on the back of my neck)
Sufficiently good reason I think?!
🙄🤬

I don't have an issue with people adopting dogs from anywhere, however many of these dogs are rescued from dreadful conditions and have been through trauma. They need careful handling and positive training.

Two of my neighbours have Romanian rescues. One is extremely reactive to other dogs ( fear based). They won't take advice on how to train a reactive dog, and let it walk on on a flexible lead. 🙄. It attacked a small dog and the Council have already advised that it is muzzled and gave a list of dog trainers. Still haven't listened.

The other neighbour ( who I don't know very well) , also has a reactive dog, and she spends all her time yelling at the poor thing.

Am not sure what home checks are done for these dogs, however as they aren't being actively mistreated on eyes of law, I don't think much can be done.

A lot of dogs in UK rescue centres are bull terrier types which you aren't allowed to have unless you fit a lot of criteria (basically you need a garden, no children, to have plenty of time for the dog)

My Romanian rescue is asleep on the floor with his teddy because he’s let the cats steal his bed. Super aggressive. He’s not a small, fluffy and cuddly-looking dog; he’s tall and muscular with pointy ears so some people probably make their own judgements on him based on how he looks, but he’s a little sweetie. I didn’t know anything about him until they asked if I could foster him, I agreed and went to meet him, fell head over heels in love and adopted him permanently.

I lost sight of him briefly at the beach the other day as he blends in completely with rocks and sand due to his colouring, found him 10 seconds later peering into a rockpool with a toddler and her dad 😂

He does a popular dog sport, he swims, climbs trees, runs miles. He’s a smashing little guy and I adore him. I don’t tend to tell people where he’s from unless they ask if he’s from abroad. He gets a lot of attention when we’re out as he’s unusual-looking and people like to ask about him but I don’t mind telling them, but that is certainly not why I got him. I’ll tell him he’s a status symbol though, I expect he’ll be pleased.

He sounds ace @WhackingPhoenix We’re going on o need a pic, just to make sure 😉

Not at all. No one wants a dog to stay in longer than it has to. It's bad for the dogs health.

Dogs are rehomed to families with children all the time. But not small children. Because of the number of times it doesn't work out, for a variety of reasons. And if the dog makes one snap at a child, even without touching it, it gets returned. Might not even have been the dogs fault. And then what. The shelter can't just rehome it in case it does actually have a temperament issue. So maybe they try and find it just a home with adults if they'll risk a dog that snapped. And how many people actually don't come in contact with children. It's not like it's impossible but it's very difficult. And while it's waiting, it's blocking a kennel for another dog. And on top of all that, the family go around saying the shelter are dreadful because they rehomed a dangerous dog.

And say your neighbours work all day. You don't see them come home and the dog barks. What would your thoughts be on that? Irresponsible owner? Irresponsible animal shelter?

Of course dogs are rehomed to a variety of people. But there are some situations that I would refuse. I've been in the roughest houses and they've been the greatest owners. Dog sprawled on the settee whilst the kids are sat on the floor. I've been to wealthy places wherever dog has been left outside tied to a kennel with no water and an eye infection. You can't predict who will be good owner and who will be bad one by looking at anyone. But there are just some situations that are repetitively a problem and shelters do avoid try and avoid them.

Are some too cautious? I'm sure so. But none of them went into the job not wanting the animals to have a good outcome.

Oh, go on then 😉

I'd say two things to that.

1. You don't ever have to justify why you don't want a dog. You're going to be with it for a long time. You need to fit with each other. And you need to feel comfortable and confident.

1. You had a bad experience with a staffie. My parents had a staffie and she had the sweetest temper and was really smart. Don't judge all staffs by your experience - easier said than done, I know.

@WhackingPhoenix I think climbing is a Rommie thing! My girl can scale trees like a squirrel! She has really long legs and sort of leaps at a branch and hoists herself up.

Money for the charity.....jobs for the workers. Also during lock down there were no dogs needing homes
Also so many self appointed experts work for dog charities and have ridiculous expectations.
Unfortunately many of the imported dogs in my experience are not suitable to live in houses and can be very aggressive. I know of a charity worker being bitten in the face

^ it’s an open forum. Nothing affects anyone here🙄does it. Personal experiences and the provision of advice or debate.

People adopt from Eastern Europe as they will allow dogs to be rehomed with children, if you are out a lot, work full time etc - basically they have less strict criteria than the than the U.K. Where most dogs need 6ft high fences, no children under 16 and adult only homes- they just can’t take the risk.

Well it seemed to work for Donald Trump.

Magnificent! ❤️

Here's my vicious feral Rommie girl. Look how badly she has attacked the junk mail.

No ones looking for a dog expert. There are plenty of people who are first time dog owners. But you're not going to get a responsible shelter to give you a bouncy dog with toddlers. And they're not going to rehome powerful dogs to first time owners. They need someone who is alert all the time and can who can be the pack leader. (Man or woman - it's immaterial.) Nor if you're at work 7.30 til 6. Etc, etc, etc. And the problem with many if these overseas rescues is that they have so many dogs they need to get gone, that they rehome into unsuitable situations.

I already said my chiropodist got a bouncy 2yo lab x. It liked to mouth things. Not bite exactly but mouth. Like it would play with his pack. But mouthing an 18m old was never going to end well. The dog wasn't nasty, yet. It just was a ridiculous homing decision. It lasted at her home 3 weeks. So now, it's removed ftom it's pack, it's been in a shelter, it's travelled a distance, it's been in a home, it's back in a shelter. Do you think there's no cost to its mental health? Do you think it's getting calmer or more nervous?

I know another one, a 3yo big dog rehomed with a frail 18yo cat. They started off friends. It's now growling at the cat. It escaped a couple of weeks ago and a lady tried to corner it to keep it off the road and it went for her. The owner has had it to a trainer and he did two sessions and refused to do any more. If that cat survives, it'll be a miracle.

I'm sure there are lots of success stories but there are a lot of failures too.

There are quite a few posts about temperament of dogs in the UK vs abroad but IMO I don’t think it matters really.

They say that the temperament of a rescue dog is usually better than a non rescue dog and in my experience this has been the case but any dog can be aggressive whether it’s been living in the streets abroad or been living in the queens palace.

Just because a dog has been living indoors it’s whole life doesn’t mean it’s a better temperament and often you find it’s the opposite.

A street dog is going to be much more sociable around other dogs, be part of a pack, used to strangers and cars etc whereas a dog raised in the home can often have issues because it’s not been socialised properly or it’s not had enough structure and rules like it would in a pack and therefore can become difficult to handle or aggressive.

Anyone wanting to get a dog needs to be aware that dogs need certain things like socialising, exercise and rules etc and without them the dog can become aggressive whether you’ve raised it from a puppy, got it from a UK rescue or from abroad.