Adopting from Romania

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I’ve been thinking of getting a pup for a long time, the breeder I was recommended has just had a litter but hiked their prices to a ridiculously high amount I’m not prepared to pay

I’ve been put off trying for a rescue because of the really high demands - I understand why the centres want to find the best homes- I don’t meet. The dogs either need another dog around, a rural no noise neighbourhood, can’t be left alone, have guarding issues, no children or all of the above! I live in a city with a small garden and feel confident I could provide a good home, to a pup.

I see puppies and young dogs for adoption in Romania and wondering has anyone else adopted from abroad?

I’ve met lots of dogs rescued from abroad. Have met a few nervous / problem dog types but actually the majority have a lovely temperament (which is surprising because their upbringing is often the direct opposite to what we would recommend for a puppy in the uk).

However, I’ve seen several who were ‘not as advertised’ ie much older or with existing health issues not disclosed to the adopter. There are also lots who come over with exotic diseases - sometimes the owner is told ‘she has tested positive for X’ but they haven’t been told this will be a condition that can’t be cured/will need a year of treatment/could cause serious illness in humans/will cost £1000 to treat, etc - so for that reason it’s not something I would recommend, especially not if you are looking at it as an alternative to buying a puppy. It’s definitely not straightforward and potentially just as expensive.

We adopted a Romanian rescue who had spent four months in a kill shelter then came here via foster care. I wouldn't adopt straight from Romania - at least via foster you have a better idea of their temperament. I would recommend Dogs Point of View website as a starting place - lots of information on there before you adopt - I really wish I'd known about this website before I adopted. Many Romanian dogs have similar issues - they are much more 'dog' than our pets here in the UK. Having said that, we are 16 months in with our dog. He makes us laugh and is a loveable softy. He can be dog and people reactive, which many of them can be, but as his personality comes out it's great to see.

We have a Romanian rescue and she is wonderful. However I have also heard horror stories so I guess my advice would be to carefully vet the organisation you choose to use, and ideally take one that is in foster care already so you can get a better idea of temperament.

One of the posters above hit the nail on the head in describing her rescue - they're very "independent" dogs. Ours loves to come in for a cuddle and a belly rub, but equally she enjoys to be left alone to do her own thing and regularly sits in a different room from us, or out in the garden.

We struggled to rescue in the UK because (at the time) we lived in a flat so the uk rescues wouldn't consider us. However the charity we got our rescue from were open to flat living for certain of their rescues. We still had someone come out to assess our home and communal garden areas - so they did their due diligence on us.

We rescued a Romanian dog in foster care. The charity paired her with us as we weren't experienced dog owners. She is THE MOST placid dog ever. She was fully house trained (despite living on the streets) and has never damaged any of our property. She's never given us any cause for concern re behaviour or aggression and is a dream with our toddler who came along a few years later.

However I would advise that she's not a typical "family dog" like you'd get with a lab or a spaniel. She doesn't play with toys, doesn't like walks (literally refuses to walk when she can't be bothered), is food obsessed and isn't motivated by praise. She's also terrified of fireworks and thunder. We don't walk her off lead unless we're somewhere off the beaten path where she can't get onto a road. Her recall is terrible.

In short - not all Romanian rescues are bad, ours was perfect for us! But definitely do your homework before welcoming any dog into your home. And also give them time to settle, it's a stressful thing for them too.

Please feel free to message me if you want details of the rescue charity we used. They were great for us.

My db has recently got a Romanian rescue and he's adorable. He's so good natured. Very boisterous and full of energy but is a lovely family dog. He was 5 months old when they got him.

My friend adopted a pup from Romania via a UK charity. She's an absolute delight. No troubles at all.

Our friends’ one is a big soppy softy.
Ours is hard work. She is incredibly loving and cuddly but also couldn’t give a monkeys if you ask her to do something, has zero recall so can’t be off lead, is dog reactive on lead (loves playing off lead but can only do this in specific circumstances because zero recall), and is very nervous of lots of things. She has turned our lives upside down, we now can’t do many things we want to because of her and we are struggling to manage her issues. But - she has come a long way already and is still young, so we hope will keep improving.
I honestly don’t think I’d have done it if I knew, however... currently. Ask me again in a year.

Having been to Romania and Bulgaria i would never have a dog from there. They roam around wild so who knows what they'd be like. I also think there's a moral /ethical question over the cost of importing these animals when we have enough in our rescues. That said, i do see the attraction as 1) rescues here are stupidly strict and 2) it's the only place to find a good ol heinz 57 dog.
Our neighbour has a Romanian rescue and he is gorgeous though...

I don't think rescues in the UK are stupidly strict - they've just had their fingers burnt. It just takes one person to overestimate, or outright lie about, what they can take on, a dog to run wild, bite a few kids, and it all comes crashing down on the rescue who were trying to do their best for a dog.

I have seen people openly say they would lie to a UK rescue "just to get a dog" - that's how things can go so wrong. The more times a dog is shuffled back and forth in and out of rescue after failed adoptions, the more messed up it and less adoptable it gets :(

it depends on the dogs history imo as to whether theyd make a good pet.
My dog is from spain, but has clearly lived in a home before.
I wouldnt take a feral street dog as I dont think its fair, or appropriate, but lots of dogs are abandoned or badly treated in other countries that dont have neutering programmes. I think do your research.
All the rommie dogs and spanish dogs ive met personally have been lovely though, and thats quite a few of them. Certainly no more issues than british dogs i know that people have had from puppies.

Honestly, I wouldn't get a Romanian rescue, for all the reasons listed above. Sure, some are lovely, but there's a disproportionate number of them that have really serious behavioural issues.

There's something of a shortage of nice / small / cute / fluffy / young rescue dogs in this country, which is essentially why the Romanian rescues have flourished. What I haven't quite worked out is why we don't import more dogs from Ireland rather than Romania - they have a significant problem with dog overpopulation, but most of them will have lived in homes in the past rather than being street dogs, and so will be more likely to adapt to living in a home in the UK.

There can't be insurmountable regulatory barriers - Dogs Trust quietly import quite a lot of dogs via their Dublin centre - but all the little rescues are importing from the other end of Europe. I suspect it's because Romanian dogs have a better sob story...

I wouldn’t describe the plight of many dogs as having a ‘sob story’. They have often been through trauma, but many are genetically predisposed to being nervous. I think as long as you realise that love isn’t enough and you will have to put in the work - of course many will have issues- it’s not a quick fix for many of them (mine included) but the hard work is rewarding.

We got our dog from Ireland. He's gorgeous and really well trained.

Very interesting re these Romanian dogs-
Just been to vets with ( English) dog and discussed Romanian imports-
Vet said they are nearly all nervous when they arrive in UK, then start to test boundaries, are often aggressive, reactive and riddled with parasites that weren’t in UK previously.
Heartworm, Leishmaniasis, tongue worm.

Romanians are making good money shipping these to people who think it’s the “
Cool” thing to do, to get a Romanian or other Overseas dog- But the owners are often ill prepared for a dod with health and behavioural issues.

An aggressive Romanian dog tore in to a friend’s sweet dog who is very gentle-
The owner’s excuse? “ It’s a Romanian rescue”

Not good enough.
So often same old thing “ Roamy! Come here!

• She’s a Rescue from Romania” - As if that is an excuse for everything.

I have had dogs all my life but this little one from Romania is a joy. She is the sweetest natured, most loving dog I have ever had.

She had had a tough life and came with some issues. They were mostly related to her being scared and thinking she was going to be beaten. Three years later she is so much more confident and resilient. I have to be careful not to scare her with something new but she loves us and trusts us and honestly is the light of our life.

It's not always an easy path, but so worthwhile.

By the way there is no Leishmaniasis in Romania. I researched this very carefully as our previous dog suffered from this. He caught it in Spain and I didn't want to go down that road again.

I’m sure the vets aren’t mistaken- Romanian dogs are arriving with it.
Spanish dogs obviously are more affected
.
With the warmer summers, Sand fly that transmits it may become prevalent here, and then it will be a concern.

Leishmania may not - yet- be endemic in Romania , but there are cases of it in recent years. ( Sandfly region)

Defra has also expressed concerns about Eastern European dogs entering UK - Rabies in particular, which must mean dogscare being sent here with faked paperwork or zero vaccinations - They have imposed a temporary ban on imports.
That must be for a valid reason.

Young pups are being smuggled in at ages where it is impossible for them to have had Rabies jabs.

Bio security is so important for us all, Animal and human.

And that goes for some of the UK smaller rescues too. Vet the rescue not just the dog. Check the rescue out. Check the people who run the rescue. Check their qualifications. Rescues will often tell you anything. Unless it's a small puppy then prepared to rehabilitate the dog yourself.