Romanian dog rescues

[Glitters100]

So Mumsnet, I need the help from doggy loving members.

We’re have spent the last 18 months looking into getting a puppy/or a rescue dog if it fits our needs and vice versa.

Once Covid happened we saw prices sky rocket so put plans on hold, but still kept an eye on what dogs are out there.

So we stumbled upon someone selling the type of dog we’re after, it ticked all the right boxes, in size, temperament, child friendly, low prey drive, minimum shedding...And in was in our price range.
After some digging I realised it was a Romanian dog rescue and the dog would be coming over from Romania if we gave the go ahead.

We have turned it down but it’s got me thinking, this page only has good reviews, nothing negative about them online. So people are using them and seem happy with it, and updated pics of their dogs show the dog is happy too.

Could I have your stories If you’ve used them or know someone who has used them- good or bad.

I’m going to be telling my teenagers these replies as they are disappointed that we’re not going for it, but they do grudgingly agree getting a dog from a proper breeder is best, if we can’t find one that needs rehoming.

Hope I don’t get shot down in flames with this post! We are still doing research into dogs so we can be the best owners when we get one.

My sister has a Romanian rescue dog and hes been brilliant. Im not sure which centre hes from though. She initually volunteered to foster him over xmas a couple of years ago but she couldnt part with him. He was feral so needed work getting used to the house, cars, walks, he has a harness instead of lead. He will sit in the garden for hours and is happy to be left in the house. He is incredibly food orientated though due to his past and has to be watched he doesnt eat stuff he shouldnt.

My DS has had a Romanian street dog for a couple of years. He had spent a bit of time in a UK rescue before being rehomed. When he arrived he was very passive, was,terrified of groups of young men in tracksuit bottoms and tended to walk close to a wall if he could.

It's been fantastic watching him blossom. He's now confident, waggy tailed, friendly and gorgeous, and has made DS very happy.

@Figgygal he’s sleeping in the middle of the lounge while the youngest plays loudly on the floor. Personally, I would make sure that your dog is separated from your child when it is sleeping and your child is playing. Dogs can react aggressively if startled awake (sleep/startle aggression) and your dog will be more likely to react aggressively if startled because he has been through a massive amount of stress recently. It can take months for dogs to relax and show their true personalities after adoption. I wouldn’t be surprised if your dog was shut down right now (I’m not saying that is the case. I’m just saying that I wouldn’t be surprised).

I would also crate train your dog so that he has somewhere safe to go if things get too much for him.

It can take months for dogs to relax and show their true personalities after adoption. I wouldn’t be surprised if your dog was shut down right now
I agree, there are quite a few posts here talking about how lovely their dogs are when they’ve only had them a few days or weeks.
It’s too early to tell.

I wasn’t suggesting in my post that ALL overseas rescues would be tricky.
Of course, there will be some who despite everything have no issues.

And if a PP is correct in that a lot are dumped ex pets rather than beaten and abused street dogs that also does of course increase the odds of a nice pet.

I do feel though that this thread is a little misleading.

So many of the stories are really lovely but there have been so many threads over the years on here with people who have really struggled with their dogs, who have been given dogs that are not what they were claimed to be and have been in need of extensive professional behavioural work and completely ignored by the overseas rescue.

It’s risky, especially the ones that aren’t in foster and are delivered without you meeting it beforehand.
And when you consider some of what these dogs have been through, it’s really quite extraordinary to believe that according to these rescues none of these dogs have any issues

That’s not even getting into the other arguments, like diseases being brought over, like thousands of healthy UK dogs being PTS each year through lack of homes and like the investigations that have suggested that some overseas ‘rescues’ are in fact breeding operations/puppy farms breeding and/or stealing dogs to sell for profit.

theyre not going to be making a profit on £250. Most of these charities run on a loss financially and are run by really dedicated passionate volunteers. Theyd make a hell of a lot more money breeding pedigree puppies if they were that way inclined

The charity I adopted my Romanian puppy from I am 100% certain is trustworthy. A friend of mine who I've known for twenty years has been working with them on fundraising and coordination for the past seven years and adopted two dogs from them over the years who have been brilliant. I had a home check with a lot of questions to answer and was basically grilled to make sure I would offer a good home. Also the idea that my 5 month old puppy who I've had since she was 3 months old is suddenly going to completely change her personality all of a sudden just because she's from Romania is ludicrous.

Also the idea that my 5 month old puppy who I've had since she was 3 months old is suddenly going to completely change her personality all of a sudden just because she's from Romania is ludicrous.

It's really not that ludicrous. And it's nothing at all to do with where she's from - it's a common phenomenon that's can be present in all rescues, regardless of their backgrounds.

It commonly takes 6-9 months for a rescue dog to completely adjust and relax. Probably it's going to be less for a young puppy, but it's worth considering that the dog you see at 2 or 3 weeks post-rescue may not be the dog you have a year later.

A quick google will tell you that it can takes months for rescue dog to settle (and by months, they mean 6-9 months, not 2-3). Being transported across Europe is a stressful experience even for the most loved family pet, let alone a nervous rescue who's going to meet a new family for the first time.

It's very common for rescues to "shut down" and be exceptionally placid at first. As they relax and settle, their true personality (be it good or bad) starts to emerge.

Also the idea that my 5 month old puppy who I've had since she was 3 months old is suddenly going to completely change her personality all of a sudden just because she's from Romania is ludicrous
It’s not ‘because she’s from Romania’, it’s well known that dogs in new homes don’t tend to properly get comfortable and come out of their shell for a few weeks, sometimes months.
Add trauma to the mix and you can get dramatic transformations sometimes.
Rescue dogs (from anywhere) that first appear to be super calm and placid can sometimes turn out the complete opposite once they get more comfortable because the ‘calm/placid’ nature was a response to stress.
And vice versa, it’s not unusual for extremely busy, lively dogs to over time become much more placid once they get comfortable.

Well, I would agree for a dog but not a young puppy. Plus I had regular updates, videos etc from the woman who rescued her and asked her tons of questions about my puppy's personality before she came over. I'm confident I know her at least as well as someone who bought a puppy from a puppy farm in this country.

We’re in the middle of a pandemic, brought about by travel. Romania have lots of diseases that can be passed to humans that we don’t have. People need to consider this before they encourage bringing in dogs from overseas.

I do think it's interesting that despite the claims of there being lots of threads of people with disastrous experiences of rescues from abroad, every time I see a thread asking about it, it's overwhelmingly positive stories.

And a few people with a bug bear about it. Nobody is claiming that these rescue dogs have NO issues. Any dog is going to need a period of adjustment - rescue dogs from the UK don't come in a happy fully formed family pet either, it takes work.

My rescue dog from Cyprus was so nervous when she arrived it took me 2 days to be able to stroke her. She's still nervy now - wary of strangers, scared of loud noises, not keen on men

She is also clever, funny, cheeky, clumsy, adored by everyone who meets her, affectionate, cuddly, and she absolutely loves children. She was hard work but she was worth it. She was a street dog taken to kennels and never lived in a home before

Although OP I wouldn't get one from the place you've seen, sounds like they're just selling dogs rather than a rescue - steer clear of that one

Over the years we've had seven foreign rescues. All amazing dogs. Some friends bought pure breeds from reputable breeders and they were not easy dogs. It depends on the dog AND the family. Have you tried Chimney Farm Animal Rescue? They help puppies and adult dog and they are fantastic at offering help and support to the families.

A lot of these overseas rescues are just a money making scheme. The puppy's are coming from puppy farms and the older dogs are often ones that have been bred from. They are just using the animals to make money under false pretences that they are rescuing them

Steer clear

The most severe problems I’ve ever seen between dogs and their owners have not been foreign rescues or rescue dogs at all. Maybe because it’s much more common (even now with unregulated breeding and extremely high prices) for people to buy puppies from somewhere within their own nation state.

One thing I’ve noticed about my new Romanian rescue dog is how clear and pure (?) her canine communication is - which you’d expect, being socialised by dogs who for countless generations have also most likely been socialised by dogs and not people. I think people often take an 8 week old puppy home and try to apply some clumsy and inconsistent human interpretation of whatever their version of ‘pack theory’ is with varied results.

Indoctro - I'm with you on this. £200-300.- in Romania is a small fortune...
I also think a lot of people who want to do good in other countries apply our own normality to the situation.

@Indoctro

A lot of these overseas rescues are just a money making scheme. The puppy's are coming from puppy farms and the older dogs are often ones that have been bred from. They are just using the animals to make money under false pretences that they are rescuing them

Steer clear

Do you have personal experience?

If you're in the Manchester area I can't recommend Dogs4Rescue highly enough. The dogs are brought there from all sorts of countries, they are properly assessed and live there for a while (kennel free) before being matched with the right owner.

You have the dog on a months trial first, to see if you're a good fit then get lifetime support thereafter. All dog rescues should be run this way.

Thanks for all the comments, it’s been nice to read positive stories from ones who have actually adopted dogs.

As I said I’m my op, we kind of stumbled upon these rescues, I had no idea so many dogs were being rescued from abroad.

My husband and I have decided to keep looking at U.K. rescues for now, although they are bursting with dogs, I’m not hopeful we will find one. (On dogstrust today I put in must be ok with high school kids and cats and there are no suitable dog in any of their centres).

We may go down the puppy route, but not while breeders are asking greedy prices...I can honestly see why so many are using the rescues from abroad but we will be patient and see what happens.

I used Vizlamentes who are based in Budapest. They described each dog in detail, and ours was exactly as described - fab with people and other dogs, high energy, bright and up for anything. On the negative side, not good with cats, and not good with separation. He's now conquered the latter but not the former!

We've had him 5 years now. He's the dog love of my life and I can't imagine life without him.

Even if you can spay/neuter, vaccinate, passport and rid a dog of parasites for just a few €€€ in Romania what do you think it costs to transport these animals with DEFRA registered couriers across Europe to new homes in the UK?

A client had to get her dog to Belfast from London recently, the cheapest flight was £1200.

I forgot the microchipping and gps tracking. It must be easier in the UK to make much more money by breeding indiscriminately and selling the puppies within national borders?

Blondiney, that rescue sounds really good- I’m nearer Birmingham though not Manchester.

I have a Romanian rescue and a Spanish rescue. They are both wonderful with my cats and my DC. They are health-checked in order to get passports.

@vanillandhoney

If you want a family dog, I honestly think a foreign rescue is the worst way to go about it.

I hear and see nothing but horror stories. Dogs coming from different countries to what the owner was told. Dogs who have been abused and neglected, who've never lived in a home. Dogs with a totally unknown history (so could potentially be biters), brought over here and given to a new family with no chance for them to decompress from the long journey - it's all a recipe for disaster.

I also see a LOT of posts online from people whose foreign rescue dogs have escaped and bolted within days, which would worry me if you had small children to consider.

And I have heard nothing but positive stories of rehoming from Romania and also Cyprus.