Romanian dog rescue

[Preciousmemory]

I am in an awful situation that I can find no solution to. Please if any one could give me some advice.
i have rescued a Romanian dog which has turned out so badly.
He arrived 10 days ago and has serious problems I am not able to deal with so am asking if anyone can offer me advice.
The rescue have a policy that I must give him back to be rehomed but are not able to find anyone although it is a short time they are describing him on the advert as a dog that loves humans and children and dogs. A huge part of this is not right I have not tested him with a child but as for people he definitely does not like them , only me.
He attacks my husband in the morning, in the evening when he returns home from work and then randomly at any other time. The attacks are getting progressively worse. But yesterday he met my 80 year old tiny dad for the first time which I had also for the first time put a muzzle on him after 7 days of training with it.
The attack was so ferocious on my dad that he was foaming at the mouth leaping as high as his shoulders to grab him but because he was muzzled there was no damage. my dad immediately left. I despair to think what may have happened otherwise. My daughter turned up shortly after the same thing happened. I was thinking he maybe afraid of men but it seems not.
I have constantly tried to work with the Romanian Rescue which could take months for them to find a suitable home, the only option I have from them is to stick this traumatised dog into a kennel which will cause further damage to him, but I am not able to keep him in my home with this level of aggression.
Dog rescues are full up. I have contacted a few that specifically deal with dog aggression. I do not see how this poor dog can just be homed in a normal family environment as this will happen again. He is a large growing powerful dog that could cause serious damage to a person.
Thank you for reading , this is such an anxious problem that I see no solution to.
I am grateful for any advice possible .

So what if they don’t “respond well to it”. This useless “rescue” has literally put the ops family in danger and refused to immediately rectify it.

They’re not the law… they might like to think they are, but they’re not.

they are describing him on the advert as a dog that loves humans and children and dogs.

My God, they are going to get someone killed with their lies!

Get the dog PTS. I work with a couple of Romanians who find it unbelievable that we are importing their vicious street dogs.

This is not a safe situation for you, your family or visitors to be in. He is a powerful and growing dog that has obviously been traumatised in the past to the point where he will attack on sight. Perhaps you could consult an experienced dog behaviourist for an opinion before making a decision although it's more than likely you will be told that the only safe course of action is to have him put to sleep.
With regards to the Romanian rescue, this dog's behaviour does not match their description of him and I would be taking issue with that. It is completely irresponsible of them - and very unfair on the dog - to describe him as human-friendly when he isn't. As previous pp has said, our rescues are full to bursting point, why not use one of them.

My sister has a Romanian street dog rescue and he’s an absolute dream but through sheer luck rather than judgement, imo.

It seems mad to me that people rescue from abroad when there’s so many wonderful dogs languishing in kennels here but 🤷🏽‍♀️

This.

What an absolute mess. This is why people should rehome from U.K. rescues. It’s not like we don’t have enough of our own dogs wanting homes.

I arranged to adopted a dog from a local UK rescue centre and only found out when I signed the paperwork etc that he was originally from Romania. At the time I was not aware of the issues that these dogs often have. After a week or so he started to exhibit aggression, especially towards men other than DH. Similar to the OP, the rescue centre were not much help. We decided to give it 6 months working with a behaviourist and then decide if we need to have him pts (we don't have small children, had him muzzle trained and were in a position to be able to keep him away from other people whilst we trained him). The behaviourist told us that he'd have been shut down in the rescue centre- basically on his best behaviour and in his mind doing whatever was needed to appease them and avoid being hurt. Once he was with us he had started to show his real feelings and in his view try to defend himself and his new allies (DH and I). Working with the behaviourist we gave him 6 months of not having to go near other people (walked in quiet places, no visitors in the same room as him etc). Then we gradually introduced him to new situations and people (always muzzled and on a lead). 5 years on, he is completely happy with people we see regularly (it took months of slow training with each one) and he will ignore most people out an about. However, we still keep him muzzled and on a lead in public and don't allow him around visitors that he doesn't know well. I don't think he will ever be a 'normal' dog and I would never have him around small children. We were in a position to spend the money on a qualified behaviourist and to make adjustments to our lives to keep him away from people. If I had small children visiting regularly I don't think we could have done it and I think we would have had to have him pts because I really don't trust that the shelter would not have rehomed him again without explaining his needs. I definitely would not adopt a Romanian rescue again

People don't get dogs from UK rescues as the UK rescues have insane rules like there must be one person not working and at home all the time. Have you tried to get a dog from a UK rescue recently? Their requirements are mad.

Thank you so much for your replies it is really helping me to be able to hear others opinions.
i now realise to late that I should not have rescued from Romania. I lost both of my elderly dogs within a year last year. 17 & 14. We have had 9 dogs between us mostly rescue and cats to. I do believe in rescue. But what we have been through has made me petrified of making another mistake.
I feel that in my grief I did not think things through properly and thought I could make things right in so many ways including giving a dog a home from Romania. It is to late now I made that terrible decision. UK rescue in the past has been very difficult but now I see why , they want to match a dog to its needs. It’s not that they are being awkward but making sure the animal is homed in the hopefully last forever home

Having someone home most of the time is not a mad requirement. If you can’t provide than then you shouldn’t have a dog.

Those contracts are usually not worth the time it takes to write them.

The op owns the dog. It is her property and responsibility. She can and should have it PTS.

Yes this is so true I have been through this myself, some of my pets I have rescued have been from abandoned animals that did not get to rescue but I have given them a long lovely life. But I am kind of seeing the other side to UK rescue right now that they want to match to the right person so that it works out the first time rather than what has happened to me

Sounds like the dog is terrified. Needs some specialist training. I also have. rRomanian rescue that I got from a U.K. shelter. Complete opposite/ docile and loving . You need to go back to rescue centre and ask for help.

Which rescue did you use?

If they don’t want the OP to have the dog pts then they can collect him before the weekend is over and move him to kennels . Their choice .

Well the requirement wasn't have someone home most of the time, it was have someone not working - as in, if you WFH that's not good enough. How many people can afford to do that?

I was wondering the same. Why do people go to the trouble and expense of rescuing dogs from abroad when there are dogs needing homes in the UK? (To which they could presumably be returned if there were problems)

That is just not true. They do expect someone to be there a lot of the time and this is fair. No dog should be left alone for hours whilst someone works full time and doesn’t provide a walker / dog sitter who actually spends time with them during the day. If someone can’t provide this as a bare minimum they shouldn’t be rehoming a dog.

I would PTS. So sorry OP. x

Hi OP, which rescue is this? Please feel free to DM me. I used to volunteer for a Romanian rescue, so may be able to help with next steps. The rescue I worked with, had a back up plan where the dog was returned to Romania if relinquished, regardless of if another home was found.

Alot of the time, I was dealing with dogs that went into back up rescue when some had been returned due to aggression issues. I may be able to help in which ones. In this case, the Romanian rescue payed the cost of this, but this isn't the norm

many years on a beautiful Romanian rescue dog in the family still can’t be off the lead on walks because they’d bolt and/or attack other dogs. So sad

I have no issues with Romanian rescues. The rescue probably assessed the dog quickly in a kennel when it was terrified. It may have also been starving which makes animals more docile.

You need to have the dog put down. Ignore poster saying "the rescue won't like that" if a dog attacks somebody, under UK law it can be destroyed, so the rescue will have to take it up with the UK government if they don't like it. Put the bloody thing down it sounds mental. It clearly isn't happy. Dogs can be mentally unwell as well as physically.

It's a danger to you all and everybody who comes near your house. If it escapes it could kill somebody.

I have constantly tried to work with this rescue to find a new home without a man until last night when he went for my daughter I realised this was not man fear. Today they asked me for five good points about him. There are many good points about him I could mention. He is amazing in many ways. But there is very serious problem which leaves me not trusting them with rehoming. Their recent advert says all great things even fine with children but I have no idea if he is as have lost all trust. If he was rehomed I dread to think what would happen unless he has specialist assessment and therapy

Spot on.
I was matched by RSPCA with a skeletal Lurcher puppy- She was a fabulous pet fit almost 12 years.
I went in looking for something completely different “ No puppies please!” but they said she would make a very good match.

And they were right.💕

The thing is that he’s your responsibility now, I understand that you want the rescue to take responsibility for him but they won’t, because they’re unethical and shit. If you think they’re trying to place him in another home with children I think you have even more reason to do the only sensible thing and have him put down.

It has no chance of escaping but shows great rage if the postman turns up at the gate. For the public he is safe as will not take him anywhere. But my family are not safe. Most of the attacks on my husband are from behind if he is walking away which is alarming. He has lots of bruises on his back ripped clothes. Has not broken skin yet.