Dogs from Romania - Your thoughts/experiences?

[skyblu]

We are looking to get a dog, but would like an older/steadier dog, rather than a puppy.
I have found a website of an organisation that does amazing work rescuing dogs from Romania. They have kennels out there, work with the dogs to assess behaviours/characters. Neuter, de-flea, worm them, socialise, walk & play with them and get them ready & all paperwork sorted for travel. Some come to the UK to foster home first, but most do not.
So this means in many cases you do not actually meet the dog. You go all through the adoption process, have homecheck, can speak on phone to the rescuers etc....then once all in place, doggy flys over and is yours.
There are some truely beautiful dogs & because they are crossbreeds, far more choice for my size requirements etc.
Just feels such a massive decision to rescue one without meeting it at all & going by someone else's word & description over the phone. And such a big deal to put puppy through (flying over, new country, environment everything). For me, once commitment made, Thats IT. Doggy is mine for life. I would never decide no & give it back to rescue, that's not an option after putting it through travel/change etc. It would HAVE to work no matter what.
So, is it a brave/ridiculous/crazy thing to do? People must do it as the charity has been going a while! Any experiences of anyone doing this? Is it better for very experienced dog owners only?
(Not saying I'm going to do this, I'm just exploring all options/doing my research).

Lots of misinformation here... firstly most UK rescues are not in a position to know that much about their dogs histories as someone here thinks you can see them with their parents.. Some overseas dogs are street dogs and some are NOT. When they are dumped in the public shelters they are subjected to horrendous abuse and often attacks from other dogs.. it is NOT the case that they haven't experienced roads or other dogs.. The public shelters are terrible places not like the rescues in the UK. They might well have to fight for food, if there is any... A dog is a dog wherever it is.. the way you treat it will determine how it ultimately behaves. Most people who think it might be nice to have a sweet little dog that has to fit in immediately is delusional. I have worked with UK and overseas rescue dogs.. You put the work in, you get the right result.. Research thoroughly and be prepared to work, that goes for all breeds and all rescues... It's a commitment, it's expensive...

well done, and exactly my point. good for you..

We have just adopted a Romanian rescue. She is 5 months old and the most loving dog ever. She is brilliant with my 2 kids, very intelligent and easy to train. We all love her to bits and wouldn't be without her.

I personally think that importing rescue dogs from abroad is very irresponsible - shipping a dog across Europe, just so the owner can boast about their new trendy Romanian rescue isn’t in the dogs best interest.

If you want a rescue dog, adopt one from a rescue in the UK. If you’re wanting to support street dogs in Europe, donate money to a charity that spays/neuters and vaccinates street dogs, which will have a much bigger, long term benefit to the street dogs abroad.

We've always had rescue dogs. When we lost our old girl a few years ago, we were worried that our other dog would be lonely and a friend who's involved in rescue suggested a 'perfect' dog from Romania who had a lovely temperament and was great with other dogs. They met, they got on fine so we adopted her. Our old boy was absolutely delighted to have another dog in the house and we did very careful introductions with no high-value items lying around, fed them separately and did all the right things. Unfortunately it became obvious within hours that she was very, very unpredictable and she started flying at him for no reason and with no warning, pinning him to the wall or the floor. He stopped eating and was miserable, my DS was getting scared of her and we had to make the decision to return her to the rescue. She was then homed to a very experienced family with no other dogs, seemed to settle OK and was there for several months, but subsequently flew at the little boy in the house. Thankfully the mum was between them and was able to block her. She's ended up in a home with no kids or dogs and is kept on-lead but she seems happy.

The only way I can describe her is 'inscrutable' - she had very muted body language and was nigh-on impossible to read. She seemed to be constantly trigger-stacking and would go from snoring on her bed to pinning our dog to the wall in a split second - it was so sudden that I wondered whether there was something neurological going on. We talked to our vet about her and she said they'd had several other Romanian dogs in with very similar problems. It breaks my heart, the conditions they've endured, and I've met some absolutely lovely ones with no issues whatsoever, but in all honesty I wouldn't adopt another Rommie after our experience :(