Really worried about friend getting pup from abroad

[Scottsforsure281]

My friend has 2 young daughters, one has Down's syndrome and they suspect that their other DD has autism though not diagnosed yet. They're 7 and 4. They've wanted a dog for a while and are seriously considering getting a puppy from a rescue abroad.

I don't know anything about dog breeding or rescues but this sounds like a bad idea to me. Could someone more clued up please explain to me why they shouldn't do this (or if my gut is wrong explain to me why they should!) so that next time I see her I can bring it up in conversation without her feeling attacked. Many thanks.

It can work out fine... but...

mine originally came over as a 4 month old puppy - that’s the youngest they can come over. On paper should have been a fairly easy dog to train, had been in rescues since a few weeks old, never in a public shelter or anywhere like that.

I got him a month later from a U.K. rescue as he’s definitely a project dog, not the easy puppy that was expected. It took me months to stop reacting to my DP and DS, he’s still reactive to anyone else entering the house and is very noise reactive as well.

That’s on top of having to get him used to normal household stuff, outside, going in a car and then basic training as well.

It can work out fine, I know 2 people who have done it. I have to say I wouldn't dream of telling my friends why they shouldn't get a dog or why I thought it was a bad idea.

Thankyou both.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

I have to say I wouldn't dream of telling my friends why they shouldn't get a dog or why I thought it was a bad idea why not? I'm not going to tell her she shouldn't get a dog but I don't see the harm in having a chat about the pros and cons of getting a rescue from abroad. I want it to work out for her, she's got a lot on her plate as it is. I'll be there to help out if she needs it, she's already asked me to have the pup when she's at work so I'd like to be as informed as possible and as her friend I think it's fair of me to pass that information on.

A rescue pup from abroad is likely to be hard to train and may be very reactive and often they like to roam so may never be able to be off lead. I wouldn’t get one and I’m a v experienced dog owner.

I'd just file it under 'not my business,' but you know her best and how she'd take it.

Honestly it sounds like your mind is made up. Do you have a dog?

If not then you really are unlikely to bring more research to the table that she hasn't done herself.

I think it is a bad idea rehoming from abroad with young children if they have not seen the dog first.

Many foreign rescues allocate the dogs and then bring them to the uk so meet or greet and very little vetting of the dogs.

I guess the reason they are going for a foreign rescue is that they know they will be turned down by UK rescue and there is a reason for that.......

.... so no opportunity to meet and greet the dog first

PollyRoulllson thankyou, I'll suggest she asks for a meet and greet and finds out how long the pups been in the UK for.

Gaspingandleaping·

Honestly it sounds like your mind is made up what makes you say that? I'm here for advice that I can pass on, I've said I'm interested in the pros and cons and that if my gut feeling is wrong I'd be grateful for someone to explain why. I've also said I want this to work out for her. I'm not sure how all of that equates to my mind being made up.

Gaspingandleaping and yes I do have a dog but my home situation is very different to hers and I've no experience at all with forgein rescues hence me asking here for advice. I was looking for someone with personal experience positive or negative. My friend doesn't know anyone but she likes the idea of adopting rather than buying and rescue centres in the UK say her DC are too young.

I think you have to be very experienced with dogs and prepared to spend a lot of time ,attention and possibly money (behaviourists) helping them settle.

Ok fair enough. We have a rescue from abroad and she's wonderful. She has no recall though so never off lead.

We never set out for a rescue from abroad but a local centre helped out.

I've also currently got 2 other rescues from the U.K. had puppies previously etc. I've always done research and asked other people.

I've always done canicross so I run with a few overseas rescues who are fantastic. Our circumstances are all really different though.

I think it's just difficult to go in with a position of advice if it's all second hand. And let's face it - we're all randoms on the internet really!

Because there are plenty of dogs that need a home in this country. We dont need to import more and for some 'charities' it's a great money maker selling us cute puppies.
Because it will come with issues that need time and money and means that a lot of these dogs end back in uk rescues, costing them money.
She either needs to find a local rescue centre that will rehome to children; smaller ones will if the fit is right, or pay for a well bred dog from this country.

I think it's a bad idea.
I'd suggest to them they buy a puppy instead from a reputable breeder ( yes I know people will say no such thing etc. etc.) but at least if you get a puppy from say 9/10 weeks old then they are less likely to have Behavioural issues, which with DCs is very important.

I think it’s a bad idea.
a lot of these foreign rescues are glorified puppy farms.
i assume they’ve been turned down by breeders/rescues here hence going down this road.

Is she experienced with dogs and training etc?

I've got two dogs from abroad and we were prepared and knew what it would be like as my mum rescued a Spanish dog whilst I was still living at home.

I adore them. They're incredible and make me so happy. But it has been a massive challenge. One only managed to get in the car, go for a walk and come home again yesterday, after having her for a year. The other is approaching two and is becoming reactive on walks in our local village. We have put a huge amount of effort into our girls and their training takes up a large proportion of our time.

So whilst adopting from abroad can go well, people need to know that a lot of the time, it means taking on a dog who needs more from you than you could ever imagine.

A dog could be great for your friend's family but the level of unpredictability overseas rescues bring would not be risk I would take. I've had two dogs from Hungary and while they're lovely, there's no way I would have had them with younger children around, never mind children with additional needs.

What might work better for your friend is a specially trained dog from a charity such as Dogs for Good

It is impossible to predict what a rescue puppy will be like. That's why it's a bad idea, nothing to do with where it's coming from. Your friend should research breeds, determine the best fit for her family, and buy a puppy from a reputable breeder. Much more more predictable and more likely to result in a happy outcome.

Unfortunately they can bring diseases back with them no matter how much they tell you they’ve been screened and vaccinated etc. My friend’s puppy ( and all the ones it travelled with) ended up dying from an illness not long after they arrived in the UK. The U.K. vet was horrified and said they don’t often screen them properly and they (vets) are seeing a rise in illnesses they don’t usually have to deal with other here.

I have a Romanian rescue, she came when she was four and a half months old and is the easiest dog I have ever had.
There was a very thorough vetting process and I did a lot of research beforehand.
I wanted to adopt from a rescue here but was turned down by the RSPCA (because I had had previous pets put to sleep- believe it or not there’s a policy that you cannot adopt if this is the case and there’s a big notice stating that in our nearest RSPCA centre), and because I didn’t already have a dog by 9 rescues rehoming puppy farm dogs.
I wasn’t fussy about age, breed or size but I didn’t want a staffing or a collie type.
It took me 7 months of searching.

Sometimes it turns out fine, but disproportionate numbers of them turn out to have significant behaviour problems.

With two children with additional needs, she's going to have great trouble getting them to reliably follow the basics - such as leaving the dog alone when it's eating or sleeping. This would be likely to result in the dog snapping if it has mild resource guarding issues, or is just a normal dog that's startled awake.

An acquaintance of mine literally still can't touch their Romanian rescue after 5 years. I've no idea how they're managing it with two young children but he clearly wasn't having fun.

Their chances of success will be highest with a well bred puppy from a good breeder, of a breed known for being fairly temperamentally steady, such as a show line golden retriever.

Wait until the youngest is older so 2-3 years.

I would say she should be concentrating on her DCs, things like taking them out to hobbies/ play dates/ the park - how can she do that if the dog is difficult to leave , or can't sit in the car if she takes it with her.

I know people who have done it successfully-however I also know one recently that went horribly horribly wrong. Pup was reactive and attacked another dog. With a rescue from abroad you don't have the same support with problems as you would with somewhere like Battersea. I would def see what support there is in the UK once the dog is here.
Sadly in this case the dog attacked another whilst working with a behaviourist and had to be put down.
The owner has not told her DC.
Of course it absolutely can work but just a reminder that it is not without different risk.

There are a lot of self declared experienced dog owners on here that don’t seem to know much about dogs!

I’ve got a Romanian rescue. She’s a gorgeous, sweet little thing. Always has been. Took a pretty long time to house train as she was a little nervous.

The rescue she came from was brilliant. A colleague of mine set it up. She fund raised to set up her own kennels over there so the dogs get taken out of the hell hole public shelter (which are truly awful, they only feed/water once a week and never exercise or clean. Every now and again they poison them all to get rid). At her kennel they get health checked and assessed before coming to the U.K. There’s lots of U.K. back up if need be, but in the four years I stayed involved with the rescue helping with fund raising auctions, I’ve only seen a couple that didn’t work out well.

ive also had several U.K. rescues- all pedigree, well bred dogs - that had been let down/messed up by their owners. Buying a dog is not a guarantee. A lot of “breeders” that are KC registered etc in the U.K. churn out puppies for profit.