Adopting a rescue from overseas

[AlphaAlpha]

I've submitted an EOI for a stray rescue dog from Europe.
They dog (bitch) is a terrier crossbreed and just over a year old.

If I'm considered by the charity, what sort of questions should I be asking them? Especially with regards to the dog.

I've not had a dog before, my husband had one 15 years or so ago (cocker)

We as a family are ready for a furry companion, we have the time and space and I so want to get it right.

Any input gratefully received!

What back up they provide is the big one tbh.

You get lots of positive stories about foreign rescues, but it’s pretty common for them to suddenly display major behavioural issues once they’ve settled in, so do they have behavioural help? And do they have premises in this country to take the dog back if it doesn’t work out?

Personally I wouldn't adopt any dog without meeting it first and making an informed decision about temperament , its history and the surroundings it has been kept in ect.
And then add a journey half way across Europe...

But if you have to, make sure the dog has had it's jabs and has been tested for Canine Brucellosis. Many vets have started not taking forging dogs without the test as it's infections to humans.
There are more diseases these dogs carry a bit of Google will tell you more.

Plenty of ddogs right here op. Imo trafficking one from abroad is unnecessary.. Expecially for the poor ddog.

I have rescue dogs - from Spain (I have a specific Spanish breed). Do your research on the charity to make sure they are reputable, and that the dogs are vaccinated, checked, neutered, etc. Check what they would do if there was a problem (would they take back, etc.) Speak to others who have adopted from the charity. Be prepared for hard work - you never know what a rescue dog has been through in their past.

I know lots of people who have sadly had awful experiences with overseas rescues so please do your research.
A huge one has been the dogs are not nearly as well assessed as they are sold as being, I’ve heard of dogs that are meant to be ok with cats who are absolutely not, dogs with serious fear agression and reactivity being palmed off as just needing to settle, add this to the often major issue of very little support after you’ve adopted and you have a huge issue… and several of them then end up in U.K. rescues as owners can’t cope.

Is there any reason you aren’t looking at U.K. rescues? There is not exactly a shortage of terrier types in rescue in the U.K. already.

Plenty of dogs wanting homes in the UK. Why are you wanting to bring more dogs here and not offer a home to one closer to home.

Inwas ablutbto saybwhy not adopt from.thiz country. Less trauma for the dog and probably more easily available support if needed

it’s pretty common for them to suddenly display major behavioural issues

Source?

My foreign rescue dog, the trainer I use for him that specialises in foreign rescues, the Facebook groups full of owners like me going, eek, this wasn’t what he/she was like in the rescue centre...

I don’t know what source you’d be after tbh 😂

There are plenty of success stories, but the issues aren’t a rarity either, there are quite a lot of adopters with dogs that have unexpected issues, either because they weren’t assessed properly or they didn’t display the behaviours until they were rehomed.

Mine is the latter because he was in a U.K. rescue and I actually did meet him before adopting him.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/6228321177205270

Lots of gorgeous dogs here in Portugal looking for new homes. All come from the municipal kennels so are fully vet checked prior to being placed. Sadly Brexit made it a lot more difficult 😡

Look at Rory Cellan on twitter for his experience with a rescue dog . #sophiefromromania . Not exactly a great experience . Personal I don't think that over seas rescue dogs are for a novice.

I have an overseas rescue dog that we adopted from a UK centre. When we approached them we had never considered an overseas rescue so we were fairly naive and ill prepared. Our seemed very laid back and friendly until he'd been with us for a few weeks when he started to react quite aggressively towards strangers (particularly men), cars, noises etc. We went to a very experienced behaviourist who told us that this is not uncommon with rescues as they will be shut down and first and in effect be on their best behaviour in their new home but once they start to feel more confident they show negative behaviours. She told us that in her experience this is more likely with overseas rescues as they have often had quite traumatic experiences, several shelters etc plus the extra distress of travel.

With quite a lot of hard work our dog is now wonderful with us but although he is getting better all the time and has accepted quite a few friends etc he is still quite challenging around strangers. With the benefit of hindsight I would probably not have an overseas rescue again. But if I did decide to, I would want to know as much as I could about the circumstances in which the dog came to be with the overseas shelter, what his journey would entail and what had been done and for how long to assess the dog. I'd also want to know whether the dog had lived in a home before (as opposed to a shelter, or being an outdoor dog). Even with all that information I would speak to a qualified behaviourist and line them up to assess the dog at my home and put together a plan to work with me on any behaviours that should show themselves and/or training needed. I would be very wary of taking on an overseas rescue if I had small children.

I’m not convinced that many of these overseas ‘rescues’ aren’t just scams trafficking traumatised dogs (many of whom have never even lived in a domestic environment) and bringing in foreign pathogens, at outrageous prices (“admin” and “transportation” costs dontcha know) to a nation of gullible animal lovers.

I certainly wouldn’t recommend these dogs to an inexperienced dog owner.

Our rescue centres and fosters are bursting with unwanted dogs looking for safe, loving, forever homes. Please don’t import more.

Honestly? Rescue from the UK.

Importing dogs should be seriously restricted.

Find one in the UK, we have enough problem dogs here already.

My local rescue, where i adopted my pup from, has a constant stream of dogs, including puppies. There always seems to be dogs suitable for homes with children aged 6 and above (though of course some dogs need adult only homes). Having not had a dog before was not a barrier for me. I know uk rescues are sometimes demonised, but honestly I think unless you're genuinely unsuitable to adopt a dog, that you can (and probably should) adopt a dog that doesn't have the added trauma of coming from overseas. I do feel sad about overseas street dogs, but we have so many dogs looking for a home here, more than usual right now as a side effect to the cost of living crisis.

My lovely Romanian has been with me for 7 years and we had his brother too until he passed away last year. Best thing I’ve ever done.

I would want to know vaccinations, their daily habits (we knew our two were lazy boys & slept for 12+ hours) and they loved the company of humans. Some street dogs with always prefer to be with other dogs over humans so you might not get that lovely connection. Ask about any contact with children, other animals and dogs.

To those saying, adopt U.K. dogs please give it a try. We did for over a year & no suitable dogs came up after visiting and registering with 10 different shelters. We want a pair of old dogs too so you’d have thought it would have been easy!

I think importing dogs from overseas "charities" should be banned.

(Bad incident with an overseas rescue in the care of an inept owner)

1. You can't check the dog or the charity
2. They can't check your suitability
3. It's a money making enterprise

The major thing you need to take into account is that most, if not all of the dogs are traumatised. That's not saying they are bad dogs, only that they'll need more time and support to adjust. My sister adopted a dog from Romania and he arrived very, very scared, but also very well trained.
He was also bigger than he looked in his picture so make sure you know what you are getting. For what it's worth, he's a picture of health now and a very loving boy.

I have two, one from Cyprus and one from Romania. Both are perfect angels.

I would question the charity, maybe post on here for reviews. Provided they’re decent, then it is their vaccinations and health check, any support for illness at the beginning (mine came with insurance so if any issues occurred quickly we’d be covered but both were and are healthy). Also ask how their temperament has been checked - are they in a foster? A shelter? How long?

It’s a fantastic choice imo.

If it goes wrong you can't send it back. And you will have to fill an already bursting rescue place with a very confused ddog.

Aren't there enough dogs in the UK already? It surely cannot be in the dog's best interests to traffic them around. A colleague looked into this a while back and read that in some places dogs are being poorly bred just to be passed off as rescues to gullible Brits.

I'm not in the UK but have just adopted a puppy from an organisation that puts dogs in foster families rather than kennels. Only a week in but it's going well. They vetted me as carefully as I vetted them.

A family member has a Greek dog from Healing Paws and is also happy.

We adopted a senior dog from Greece after seeing videos and photos of her and getting lots of information about her from the rescue kennels. We thought that we'd prepared well, we'd had many family dogs before of all sizes and breeds.
Turned out that for whatever reason, the kennels gave us misleading information. She was supposed to get on with other dogs.....she hated them, was very territorial in the house and viscous when she met any on a walk. The eye problem that was supposed to cause her no problem other than being partly sighted needed immediate treatment (removal) which was both traumatic for her and very expensive. She had supposedly tested negative for all diseases but actually had Leishmaniasis, found this out after lots of vet visits and tests. She was also deaf, the rescue said that they didn't know that.
Unfortunately, the Leishmaniasis was too advanced and she lived less than 2 years over here. Although we adored her and she had a happy and pampered ending to her life, I'd never adopt from abroad again

We adopted our rescue dog from Portugal and I agree that it’s important to check that it’s a reputable shelter/ charity. We actually visited the shelter in person and spent some time with our dog before we adopted him so had a bit of a sense of his personality/ the environment he was coming from. Obviously not realistic for everyone to see the shelter/ dog in person before adopting but personally I don’t know if I would have taken the plunge without doing that.

I would pay close attention to the shelter’s vetting checks of you as well. I think a good shelter will ask you as many questions as you ask them. We had to give lots of details about our set up, how long dog would be left alone for, what would happen if we weren’t happy with his behaviour, etc. They also got someone to come and do a home visit with us to check that the environment was suitable. After our rescue arrived with us, the shelter continued to check in to see how he was getting on.

In terms of questions I asked them - I clarified things like any known behavioural issues, medical issues, what vaccines he’d had, whether he had any training and if they knew what his background was before he came to the shelter.

Our rescue was dumped at the shelter as a really young puppy and so had never been in a house before, which meant we had to house train him for example so it was good to be prepared for that.

I second what some others have said about behaviours coming out over time. The first week or so he was on his best behaviour and just slept at my feet! But once he settled in he was a bit of a terror for a while - he was also going through his adolescent phase and wanted to rebel, which didn’t help matters.

So be prepared to pay for one to one sessions with a good dog behaviourist and putting in lots of time for training. Be prepared for regressions in behaviour as well. For example, ours went through a play biting phase a few months after we got him and a few weeks ago starting doing it again, so it’s like one step forward two steps back sometimes.

I think my top tip is to manage your expectations and think through worst
case scenarios. Like what would happen if the dog suddenly developed a medical issue that was going to cost £££ to fix. Or what if he couldn’t be left alone for more than an hour or so at a time? There are some issues that all the money, training, time, etc in the world won’t totally fix so it’s about thinking through what you could cope with, what your red lines are, and trying to ask questions of the shelter that will flag up whether you’re likely to have those issues and what support they would provide in those scenarios.