Applied to a rescue

[LadyGaGasPokerFace]

Hi, I have put in an application for a rescue that brings dogs back from abroad, specifically Hungary. Can someone give me the lowdown on getting a dog settled? I’ve been approved and will send over my IDs. They’re looking and we are at mid July as I’ll be home for approximately 2 months to settle the dog in.

What’s your plan if the dog doesn’t settle?

It takes about 3 months for a dog to feel at home in a new place.
Generally that’s when more challenging behaviours start to show.
They are often extremely traumatised and fearful and can be completely shut down.

It very much depends on the dog, but don’t ask/expect anything from them for a few weeks at least.

Have you had a dog before? Or a rescue?

It can take months and, in some cases (if they are traumatised) a years+ to be settled…

Knowing how experienced an owner you are would help with advice!

What happens after the 2 months?

Like everyone else I’m interested in what happens after the 2 months , some of these dogs from abroad have many issues . I would advise you speak to the people at High Hopes rescue ( they import from mainly Romania) and run your plans past them for some advice . Personally I’m quite anti importing rescue dogs but if you are intent on doing so at least pick a rescue that has a support network in this country like High Hopes .

We have a Spanish rescue. Rescue dogs from abroad are very very different to UK bred dogs( this from our dog trainer) ,their personalities are very very different. I won’t deny this has been a bit of a shock to us,despite us always having rescue(UK) dogs.There is a potential in some countries for Leishmaniasis,unsure if this applies to Hungary,this doesn’t necessarily manifest for years,is expensive to treat. She was very nervous & reactive when we got her, training & lessons has made this more manageable but I feel this is never far from the surface. She jumps at loud noises,barks at anyone walking past on the other side of the hedge( hedge is 12ft+ away from house) this is a reaction to the top of someone’s head. Recall is poor, trainer advised she has very high prey drive & this is likely to always be an issue.Previous rescues we’ve had have trained to recall relatively easily.I’m looking at E collars for support in this, but would need help to train with that as we have zero experience. This means she always has to be on a lead in public, or she will run & jump up at random strangers,who may be terrified,or bounce all over most other dogs wanting to play,apart from a couple who she appears to want to kill. Those dogs have done nothing to her to cause this reaction.Basically unsafe. She knows not to jump up& rarely does at home, but I can tell she gets so focused on what she wants to do when we ‘re out,she doesn’t even hear what the commands/ whistle are . We love her dearly but would never adopt from broad again

Everything you have read about the rule of 3 for dogs....triple it. We rescued last July and it takes a lot longer for European rescues to settle than you think. You need a permanent safe space for them to hide when they are overwhelmed, and with us this happened a lot, especially with certain house noises e.g. hoover, post being delivered, a blender....anything "new". This can be a crate, or a bed by the door, up to you, but they need to know they are safe.

We also left her to her own devices, in a spare room, so she wasn't overwhelmed by us constantly wanting to pet her....they may not like that if they are not used to it!

We still struggle with overnight pees and poos. Not as frequent, maybe once every 2 weeks now, so purchased a washable incontinence mat to use instead of buying hundreds of pee pads! Saved a fortunate, goes in the machine, and easier to keep the room clean as we went for a 2m x 2m pad.

We dog already, and still do, and in some respects this helped her settle as she had a companion showing her the ropes, and she had come from a litter of 3, but that doesn't work for all rescues and we still don't let them have big treats in the same room, and they are still fed in different rooms.

Ultimately you need a lot of patience....don't expect them to love you back to start with...and give them space and time. Time in particular is very important.

Those overseas rescues really vary.
Im very very wary of one’s bringing over street dogs who’ve never lived indoors. They are often terrified and not really suited to pet homes.
I know a few people who have rehomed from them and only one hasn’t been an absolute disaster.

2 months is nothing for a dog that’s never lived indoors and is unsettled by the travel

Have you even met this dog before?
What happens if it doesn't settle or you don't "gel" with it?

Have you got any experience with foreign rescue dogs?

We had a Romanian rescue. Beautiful girl. Deeply deeply traumatised.

We had met her twice before bringing her home, and it was a very difficult two years before we lost her to liver failure.

She was so desperate to be loved, but absolutely terrified of humans for the first several months. It took us days to be able to sit near her without her screaming in fear.

She also ran away twice in her first week (entirely out fault) and getting her back as an absolute nightmare because everything in the world frightened her and she had to be cornered both times - she knew to hide deep in bramble bushes....

Once she was settled though, she was a dream dog in the home, very clean and VERY fast to learn routines and instructions but she was very territorial to other dogs, especially anything black in colour and so walks were a mare as she was so reactive. Normal dog trainers couldn't resolve it, it was deeply trauma based.

She also couldn't go 300 yards in the car without vomiting with fear so we couldn't go anywhere with her. No medication or desensitisation worked despite many months of consistency. She'd jump in happily, engine on with no reaction, but as soon as the car moved the shaking began so we stopped trying and accepted she wasn't designed for road trips. She was probably ruined by the long and scary journey to the UK in a van and on the ferry.

In short, whilst we loved her very much we'll never have another foreign rescue dog, it was too hard on us all. And putting her to sleep was the worst thing but it was the right decision.

I don't understand the current trend to adopt from abroad. You wouldn't be able to adopt in this country without meeting the dog. It feels a bit scary to me.

We've rehomed a dog from Hungary, the rescue only used fosters and we found the whole process really smooth. We had really good contact with the foster and transport was really good, we was kept updated the whole process so knew where the dog was travelling.

She slept all day the second day she arrived, she was shattered. Allow plenty of time for decompression.

It really depends on the rescue/circumstance. A lot of street dogs (not strays) i.e dogs that have descended from street dogs can find the transition to home life extremely stressful and may not be suited to a home so make sure the dog matches what you want/need and don't get sucked into a cute homeless dog picture. You can be fussy about a rescue dog, theres plenty out there to choose from!

Why didn't you apply for a UK rescue dog?
What do you hope to gain from this?

Best case - a dog that can live a normal life with time and training

Worst case - a dog you can’t leave or take anywhere, is terrified of humans and everything in the home and so deeply traumatised that you’ll never be able to take them out or have people to your house.

I know both ends. In all likelihood you’ll get something in the middle. The most predictable foreign rescues are those in foster homes here for several months. Breed specific are often best too.

Blimey! Tough crowd on MN.
Firstly, I’ve not been a great believer in getting puppies from breeders when there are thousands of dogs needing a home.
Secondly, the connection to Hungary is a driver. My parents were Hungarian, I speak the language and know first hand how the dogs get treated. Imagine coming from one country and then to move to another to be spoken to in another language?
The two months is because I work in a private school (long holidays) and I will be able to devote my time settling the dog. My dh works from home and I’d like to devote that time to settling them in.
Ive spent nearly an hour talking to a volunteer today and she was very happy with our set up. She was very thorough and the original dog I put an application in for needs an ‘experienced’ owner and that’s not me. This doesn’t put me off. I’m happy to put the time and effort in.
Not all the dogs are street dogs, some are there as the owner has passed away. In Hungary, no one adopts and if the dogs don’t get adopted, they get pts. Lots are used as guard dogs and are outside dogs. Lots are chained up and have a kennel outside and never see the indoors. The set up there is very different. I know this very well.
I was warned that dogs coming over sleep a lot and can be like that for a few weeks whilst they adjust to a new environment.
I have been told that I am able to meet the dog first, like a few ‘dates’ to see how we’d get on. They aren’t intent on dumping a dog on me, it’s what works for all of us. Some dogs are already here, some in foster. The volunteer was very strict on matching us to a dog that would suit us all.
I hope I haven’t missed anything out?

So why are you not looking at a uk rescue ?

When did you last try to get a UK rescue dog?

I'm permanent WFH, we have a good double income, no kids, no prospect of kids due to age and infertility, no visiting kids, no cat, a secure 6ft fenced garden and we own our home.

Still not accepted for any of the organisations in our area and no explanation other than high numbers of applicants.

@SilverHairedCat there are plenty out there , you may need to look further than local to you and at smaller rescues .

I'm not a moron, we did that. We applied for dozens of dogs at dozens of locations. It's a fruitless exercise unless you know someone within the organisations.

One of the dogs we applied for in 2020 is still in the centre now. It was a 11mth old collie pup when we spotted him. https://www.gablesfarm.org.uk/dogalogue/seven/. We applied again in 2021. Not even a reply. We have experience in collies, traumatised dogs and a calm home....

I think the reason so many are against overseas rescues is that we've seen what happens when it goes wrong.

A dog local to us was an overseas re-home - he opened a window, escaped, went on the run for a month and then fell to his death off a cliff when someone tried to rescue him. He was so scared of people and traumatised that a team of trappers working around the clock couldn't catch him. His story even made the papers - his name was Oscar.

There are also multiple stories of these dogs being so reactive they can't be walked, being so fearful they can't be stroked, or put in cars, or taken anywhere for months on end.

There's also the issue of disease, though this is something that's being tightened up on thankfully.

Unless I missed it I haven’t seen OP say she’s even had a dog before? They asked if she was experienced - but IME that means 3/4 previous dogs and knowledge of unpleasant behaviours (guarding etc) not one dog.

If you’ve not, OP, I’m sorry but this is going to end badly. I work closely with lots of people who are bases overseas and who have rescued/adopted whilst based in that country and even for those STILL THERE the aftercare is bloody shit. This includes Hungary along several other Central European countries as well as Eastern European ones. One the dog is gone, that’s it they don’t care about you or the dog.

There’s an awful lot of negativity towards abroad rescues in MN so don’t be surprised by the responses. Generally people who have them will have useful advice, but for every helpful response there are two more who “know of” foreign rescues who are a nightmare. All hearsay.

it sounds like you’re in touch with a good rescue - meeting the dog beforehand is a good way to do it. It’s good that they’ve already identified that the dog you were interested in wasn’t suitable.

the journey from abroad can be very difficult for the dogs. One of mine took months to settle and get over it, took a while to trust us and couldn’t touch her for the first day or so. The other leapt out of the van and into my arms for a cuddle.

i would join the dog training advice and support group on Facebook and have a read of their guides especially around rescue dogs. They’re a great resource and it won’t hurt to be prepared

@AnOpinionInTheHand why do you assume it's hearsay?

Some of us work with these dogs everyday and see the good, the bad and the ugly 🤷‍♀️

I work with some lovely foreign rescues with excellent natures and no issues beyond a bit of pulling or over-excitement.

Others have incredibly dangerous prey drives to the point that they've leapt over walls and ran into traffic. Some are so reactive towards other dogs that they have to spend their lives on short leads and wearing muzzles. Some are too scared to even leave their own homes.

Obviously any dog can have issues and I'm absolutely not saying it's all bad, but I've heard too many horror stories of people being lied to and the rescues offering absolutely no support or advice when the owners are struggling.

on the flip side we have two foreign rescues, one from Cyprus one from Romania. Both adapted well to "normal" life and are happy, well balanced dogs who we love very much. Both rescues did a good level of due diligence, full health testing and offered back up support.

We looked for a UK rescue for 18 months, over that 18 month search it became very clear that the vast majority of UK rescue dogs are every bit as antisocial, abused and traumatised as a a foreign rescue would be assumed to be.

We didn't want a puppy, nor to support the plethora of back yard breeders in the UK. UK rescues were universally (understandably, i get it they're run by volunteers), difficult to deal with, inflexible, with blanket rules around age of children, other household pets and 6 foot fences and unrealistic work schedules. Going with foreign rescues was a breeze by comparison with engaged, passionate constructive people eager to match us with suitable dogs, which they did, and 6 years in we are happy.

Ha! We applied for him too. They actually spoke to us, said we sounded great but we were a mile from their further homing postcode so sorry.

No kids, one dog savvy cat, WFH, 14 years an agility trainer, experience with rescues, house, garden, et etc. After two years of applying all over the country we gave up and bought a puppy.

I would not touch an overseas rescue as I’ve had a lot of experience of them. They can be ok but most of the time they are bad fits to the home and deeply traumatised. Even in the best homes things are still a huge challenge.

I'd say do your research on dog trainers and behaviourists now and choose one you'd like to work with. Unless you are very experienced, set aside funds to work with one from the start.