Your experiences of Romanian rescues

[palmtreesoliveleaves]

I'm thinking of dog adoption and have been looking at rescues online. I've been most drawn to Romanian rescues as I haven't seen any suitable dogs at any of the "traditional" rescues. They've all been no cats, no children, too old, too big, etc.

The smaller rescues have been a lot friendlier to deal with and seem interested in your own individual circumstances rather than an outright no.

I know someone who fosters and I asked her about Romanian rescues but she said absolutely not as she's seen too many disasters. She is very experienced so I trust her judgement.

I have more research to do before being ready to bring a dog home but it's quite disheartening. I would rather get a rescue than a puppy but I need to be careful with a rescue as I have 2 children and a cat.

I've been reading up on Romanian rescues and it does seem that it can be a difficult road to go down.

Does anyone have their own experiences to share?

I can only share my own experience. Our Romanian rescue was already in the UK bought from Romania by a charity then in a foster home which is where we met him.

He is very much his own dog, doesnt really sit with us on an evening etc or seek out our company (apart from on mornings when he likes to try to get into bed with us).

He likes DH and I and our two boys i.e the people who live in our house. Other than that he is very much not interested in humans (unless they have food) He is a very good dogs dog and understands dog body language etc in a way a lot of pet dogs these days don't seem to probably due to their lack of socialisation with other dogs.

He absolutely loves walks and is actually remarkably good off lead, DH thinks because he knows we are where the food comes from so never goes too far from us, the hardest part of recall at dog class was getting him to go away far enough to call him back.

So in summary our ddog is no trouble but not really an affectionate furry friend. More like a freeloading housemate.

BUT we got lucky, I would never adopt a dog I hadn't been able to meet first.

There are a number of overseas (not only Romanian) rescue dogs in my area, and honestly, they have been a very mixed bag:
Bolted and never found
Bolted and found a week later
Dog aggressive and a chaser of stock
Rarely off-lead and a chaser of stock
(The two above were bloody lucky that the farmer wasn't trigger-happy)
Project dog - neurotic - has got better but still very nervous of other dogs 2-3 years in
Long-term project dog, okay now (2-3 years along the road)
Lovely dog but died suddenly about a year after being adopted
Lovely dog but a recall nightmare (broken bones for the owner...)
Lovely dog, bit of a recall nightmare
Given to completely unsuitable family, lasted about 4-6 weeks (large high energy puppy to a family where both adults had mobility issues and one of the DC had SN - WTF was the rescue thinking?)
Lovely dog all round
Another lovely dog all round

So out of 12 dogs, five lovely dogs one of whom dropped dead, and one of whom took a lot of patience and input to achieve acceptable recall, plus two project dogs one of whom has done very well, a mixed bag of bolters and biters, and the poor bugger who went to 100% the wrong home.

From what I have seen, a lot of overseas rescues organisations are utterly clueless if well-intentioned. The breed- or type-specific rescues seem to do better, as they have a clearer idea of how a dog of that type should be expected to behave and what sort of home it needs. If you do go down that road, please ensure that ALL necessary health checks are done.

Alternatively look at breed-specific rescues in the UK, who may be more flexible with rehoming to a family.

I should say that 20-odd years ago we tried to rescue, got nowhere and got a puppy.

I have a Romainian rescue dog, but only since mid December.So far she's great.She's nearly toilet trained really friendly as well.

I went through an animal protection organisation.
I was asked by my vet where she came from because they have seen many romainian dogs who are very afraid of people.I think this one was never living in the street.

I know 2 families who took Romanian rescues. In both cases they took on dogs they were told were 'good family dogs' but were anything but - 1 dog was just utterly terrified of all people and the other couldn't cope with being cooped up in the house. Both ended up being rehomed. Very sad for all concerned.

My experience as someone who helps run a dog training club and is out doing dog stuff a lot (including local walking) is it’s a huge gamble. Less so if the dog has been in a UK foster for a time but still a gamble. I know everything from behavioural euthanasia to fairly normal dog but for the most part the dogs I know struggle to live normal lives.

We couldn’t rescue this time after 20 years of rescue dogs and cats so after over 2 years of trying we spent a lot of time (and money!) buying a well bred puppy from a breeder who does so for health and temperament. Imported rescues are too much of a gamble for me. There is nothing wrong with a well bred puppy from a good breeder. I know someone involved in welfare in Eastern Europe and puppies are being bred and marketed as rescues to fuel the demand in the west.

An absolute no from me- I know of three. Two PTS due to biting and the third is currently isolating her owner from all social visits because she now cannot have visitors to the house (bites). She has also lost her a couple of times and now cannot come off the lead. I definitely wouldn’t describe any one involved in these situations to have been happy, including the dogs.

And do not get me started on the exotic diseases they are bringing into this country with them. Utterly irresponsible and I just don’t know how it’s been allowed but there you go.

Anyway, these threads are often skewed as dogs are obviously a very emotive subject and people wont want to come on and admit they have had one that they’ve had to rehome/ return to the rescue/ had PTS. But I suspect there’s more “failures” than people are admitting.

I volunteer with dog rescues and as annoying it is to find a a dog to adopt that's not from abroad. I still wouldn't go near a Romanian rescue. Street dogs in general make terrible indoor family pets.

Plus as someone else said, most of the rescues coming into the UK are mostly bred for this purpose and are not true "rescues"

You might have a good chance at adopting puppy rescued from police raid etc.

Maybe have a look at Hope Rescue in Wales?

I know a few. One spent the first 6 months cowering on her belly on every walk and now spends every walk barking constantly at anything that moves.
Another was rehomed shortly after getting it as it had behavioural problems.
One has no interest in people or other dogs but is generally a lovely well behaved dog, just not affectionate in the slightest.
The last one is petrified of anyone except the 4 people in the house he lives in and cowers and wees if anyone else comes near.

I have a romanian rescue. She is a fabulous dog and in many ways very easy. Our only issue is she is nervous of other dogs so we can't use dogsitters that take more then 1 dog at a time. It did take a long time (more then a year) for her to fully settle and be comfortable to visitors to the house, she used to shake and growl, but now she loves all visitors and makes friends with all our guests straight away. They definitely take patience and you never know how they will react to the journey etc, and the rescues really can only give you so much information, though the organisation i used have a rehoming gurantee and also give lots of support if you have any issues. They absolutely want to match the dogs with the right homes.
The issues i thought we might have - toilet training and worried about her chasing or barking at my old cat turned out to not be issues at all - she is perfect with cats, and never had accidents from day 1. But i didn't expect the nervousness of other dogs as she had lived with them at the rescue. So i guess juat be aware you can't predict what issues they may come with.

My goodness. I really wasn't expecting the responses to be so similar.

A huge gamble sounds about right.

I only have experience of talking to Romanian rescues during the adoption process. That alone was enough to put me off.

The first one was very keen on getting me to agree to adopt not one but two middle-aged dogs, one a street dog and one who had been rescued from a hoarding situation despite me telling them that my last dog had been a lifelong project. I wanted a pet this time thus was only willing to deal with minor behavioural issues.

They used a lot of pressure and emotional blackmail tactics including posting my name on social media in an overly emotional post about how upset they were that X dog had been let down once again and was now back at risk of being PTS because of me after I told them I would not be going ahead. I had only been in touch with them for 12 hours at this point and no money had exchanged hands nor had any agreement been made.

The second rescue told me that my 18yo who has lived with dogs her entire life, including the aforementioned project dog and numerous foster dogs, was not experienced enough to look after a 4-month-old puppy once a week while I worked because the puppy "remembered the dog catcher and lived in constant fear of it coming for him". This told me all I needed to know about their understanding of canine behaviour and ability to properly assess their dogs.

We stopped contacting Romanian rescues after that. We hadn't been looking at Romanian dogs in particular, we also enquired with UK rescues but ultimately ended up adopting a dog from Spain via a UK-based rescue that worked with a Spanish rescue. He was perfect for us.

I would never take on any dog, from any country, without knowing what ghosts or demons are in its history. With visiting grandchildren, let alone the wider community, I don’t want to find out something that triggers aggression or terror, when I had no way of knowing what it may have experienced in its past.

I believe a lot of the charities bringing dogs over from abroad, citing them as strays, dumped or unwanted, are simply funding a trade in animals which in many cases should be put down. In this or any country, many “unwanted” dogs are unwanted because they’re bloody awful, and they can’t all be rehabilitated even by experienced handlers.

A work colleague has got one, a small terrier cross and it's turning out to be an absolute nightmare. They're very outdoorsy active people with busy social lives but this dog won't walk anywhere with them, is destructive in the house if left and they've come to the conclusion that it was a street dog and not a pet for anyone. The dog has got multiple ongoing medical issues, has to be muzzled to get into the vets surgery and reading between the lines, I think he'd return it to the rescue in a heartbeat.

Only experience of a Romanian rescue was being harassed (growling, barking and circling me and my small child) by one. The owner admitted it "wasn't good with kids" but nevertheless let it off lead at an event in a public place. Tried to excuse its behaviour because it was a Romanian rescue!

I know of two, both German Shepherd crosses. Both very reactive, and bark every time someone visits their house. One can’t be left off the lead because it bolts. The other is owned by a friend who is a very experienced dog owner. She can’t have visitors to the house because the dog never shuts up - you end up talking to her in the front garden. She’s had to sell her camper because the dog wouldn’t go in it. The dog also hates going in the car so she doesn’t come for days out much. It’s not at all affectionate either - she doesn’t get much back from it.
I really feel for her - she won’t give it up because then she feels like she’s failed, but I can’t see that it’s been any positive addition to her life whatsoever.

@palmtreesoliveleaves if you have 2 children and a cat, a foreign rescue is nothing short of potentially foolishly ambitious/insane.
Rescuing animals is admirable, but unfortunately unintentionally cruel for all involved if entered into without thorough research. There are many animal welfare organisations that you could contact and ask for advice from first. Please don't put your family/home in unnecessary danger. There are many ways to protect and help rescues. Get advice first. Battersea Dogs Home would be a great starting point.

It doesn't sound like your colleague has a dog problem but the dog has a human problem @FlyingCherub "Very outdoorsy" suits only specific dogs and "busy social life" suits very few. I think they very much should return it to the rescue because they'd be doing it a favour.

Back to the OP, I have a Rommie rescue and she has turned out to be a really great dog. My circumstances are very different to yours though. In your situation, if you do go for an overseas dog, I'd look for one who is already in foster care in the UK who has been thoroughly checked and who you can meet before you adopt. Have a look on Dogsblog. There's a good with children and cats filter and lots come up which may be suitable.

Just to add, I'd question why your friend is so against you taking on a Rommie. Why are they fostering if it so often ends in disaster? Maybe they take on more challenging dogs who go to experienced homes but if they are not readying them for UK life then I'm not sure what the point is.

@veggiepigs Again that's a person problem, not a dog problem. I've also heard similar arguments made about 'lockdown' dogs. Just a lazy argument from people who can't be bothered to train their dogs or manage them properly.

@EdithStourton a friend of mine has a Romanian dog that bolted the first night they got her. It took four days to find her. They have very young children with severe special needs. So I was concerned how the dog would behave. The dog is still neurotic? But fortunately hasn't been aggressive.

I have a Romanian rescue (my username is actually his name) and he's the most amazing boy. We rehomed him through the charity he came from but he had been in the UK a couple of years before we got him. We had a lot of great support from the charity through the process as well and if things hadn't worked out they would have helped rehome him again, but he's been a delight and is my autistic 15yo's best friend now.

I have a few friends also with Romanian rescues and they've all had great dogs. We've also met quite a few other owners when we've been out and about and our dogs have always played together nicely. I don't doubt others stories of badly behaved ones but thankfully that hasn't been our experience at all.

Our boy is the biggest softie, really sociable with people and other dogs but also doesn't jump all over people. He loves a cuddle but will also lie down when he's told. He loves his comfort so he likes to snuggle up beside me on the sofa a lot of the time.

He has been known to bolt when out so we can't take him off the lead. We have a long lead so he can still explore but we can still keep control and he doesn't play with toys or chase a ball which I do miss a bit though.

He loves going for his walks, especially to the beach or the pub but he can occasionally be stubborn if he decides he wants to go a different way when we're out. I have many photos of him standing at the door to the local pet shop when they're closed as he loves going in to pick his favourite treats and doesn't understand opening hours. 😁 He's obsessed with buses and has tried to jump on them if we've been walking past one at a bus stop. 🙈

He's honestly the best behaved dog I've ever had both when in the house and out for walks though.

Bolted? Got out of the house or bolted while out on a walk?
If it's the former, then the friend obviously didn't manage the situation properly and if they took it for a walk on the first night, then that was crazy! Mine didn't leave the property (house and garden) for two weeks!

I think it escaped from their garden.

My understanding is that rehoming shelters in the U.K. are currently inundated with dogs. Many of which were impulse-bought lockdown puppies whose clueless owners didn’t realise that cute puppies grow into adult dogs & have decided they can’t cope with them after all. So why on earth are we importing yet more homeless dogs fro Romania, if all places?

Hi,

Many people who rehome from Romanian so-called rescues do so because they can’t adopt from UK charities due to them being honest about working/needing to leave a dog for more than a few hours. Everyone I know with a Romanian dog, (and I know quite a few people), are in this category. No UK adoption agency would give them a dog due to them working long hours, so they took the ‘easy’ route.

Reputable UK rescues can be - understandably- very reluctant to rehome dogs to working people. Romanian rescues don’t care - especially those who are scammers.

A neighbour’s Romanian rescue is extremely aggressive- we do our best to avoid him. He was also very sick upon arrival. A colleague’s was nervous, borderline aggressive and had many health issues.

There are also many diseases being imported by overseas dogs, which can be very dangerous for dogs and humans. A while ago, some MPs tried to get a law through parliament banning the import of so-called rescues, but it seems to have been dropped.

It’s one of those animal welfare issues that really bother me. Please don’t go down this route; there are loads of UK dogs needing a home. However, if you are working outside the home and can’t adopt, then you could either wait until your circumstances change, (that’s what we did), or buy a puppy, then look into doggie daycare/dogwalking after the first few months, (not ideal), or get a rescue cat!

I know someone with a Romanian rescue she's had him for 3 years and still can't touch him. She won't give up but he's a wild animal living in her house.

We’ve had our Romanian rescue for eight years and she’s a little poppet, an absolute star. We got her from a British run rescue that a former colleague runs. They do a fabulous job, lots of back up in the U.K., they bought their own kennels in Romania so that the dogs could be taken out of the awful public kennels and assessed/checked by a vet before being rehomed. I stayed in contact with the rescue and was part of the fund raising team for a few years.. Most dogs settled wonderfully. They have kennels/foster spaces in the U.K.for the rare occasion that it didn’t work out. I can highly recommend them. (One Dog at a Time Rescue U.K.). Even though the owner knew me, they still had a thorough home check done on me. Much better than the YK rescue that our other dog came from did.

So I say do your research into the rescue, their methods and the back up and it can be fine.