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.

@Newpeep I'm so angry with Gables.l about how they handle rehoming in general.

That poor dog was suitable for so many homes when he was a pup. Now he's a very institutionalised dog who I think has been homed and returned a few times (from the last campaign for him). He only knows living in kennels.

I am also thinking of adding a cat back I to the menagerie, but I'm loathe to go to them.

They are odd. I spoke to them at length but they insisted we were too far away. The other end of their area was 90 minutes further than we were! They lamented the shortage of experienced adopters yet still wouldn’t even consider us.

When he came in he had his issues but he could have been turned around with care. I’ve seen it happen numerous times. Now he can’t be. He’s in rescue for life.

We've had multiple rescues from different places and the best to deal with have been the RSPCA by miles.

This 👆

Even before covid, we couldn't get a rescue for love nor money. We had given up when we chanced upon a couple who were moving abroad and couldn't take their dog. Amazingly lucky.

Photo added for tax

We have a dog who was originally from overseas (Romania) but who we rehomed from a U.K. rescue where he was in foster care. He was billed as 'large mixed breed' and they did not know his age. He continued to grow quite a lot more after we had him so he was likely about a year old. I now realise he has a lot of flock guardian genetics which is not wholly ideal for suburban living but we manage OK. He is lovely cuddly and calm at home and with the family never once had an accident in the house, responds to training, has no separation anxiety and is always game for a long walk which suits me

On the downside his flock guardian traits are an issue. He has a very loud bark that he likes to deploy pretty often. He terrifies delivery people so we had to get an outside parcel box. His reaction to visitors has to be managed carefully as this can go either way. Once he realises they are approved he's very good but we shut him away or keep him on a lead at first meeting. He is actually good with kids but I would still not think he was a good dog for small children as he is so big. He barks at the neighbours and wildlife in the garden. Not incessantly but enough to be annoying. He gets stressed out in busy places and will bark and lunge at people invading any space he thinks he has claimed so I can never take him to a pub, cafe or the shops. He is always on some level of alert even if he looks asleep. He is pretty stubborn (apparently flock guardians are bred to work independently) He will not obey commands if he thinks it's not in his interests.

If I had my time over

• I would do more research on breed traits
• I would get a smaller dog
• I would be prepared for a rough first year
• I would commit to weekly training classes from the outset and choose better ones if the first one I tried didn't work

Photo tax

-Chilled at home
-On high alert because there are ducks nearby

@SilverHairedCat no I don’t think you are a moron but you did say in your post
Still not accepted for any of the organisations in our area and no explanation other than high numbers of applicants
which implied that you had only looked locally .

@ThePure lovely dog

That’s a lot of the problem. You’ve no idea what make up your dog is therefore what you are going to be dealing with. I’ve had terrier/hounds so know what I was getting into. Easy to train if you understand them but size wise very manageable when you need to.

Unknown make up + travelling trauma + often generations of street dogs = often really challenging situations. It does depend a bit what you want and need. If you are happy to have a dog and come what may completely rework your life then go for it. But most of us can’t/won’t therefore need less of a gamble.

UK rescues often have health and welfare baggage. Gone are the days of unwanted litters of healthy little accidents. Puppies now often have been through significant trauma and/or have predisposition to health problems via poor breeding. But more is known and they are likely more pet than part feral lines.

We adopted from a rescue that brings dogs in from Oman, we weren't looking but our dog trainer recommended us. They keep all their dogs in foster homes for 6 months to make sure they know what they are dealing with before considering rehoming. He was born to a street dog mother but was born in the shelter. He is not traumatised, he loves people other dogs is a bit iffy with cats but he was never on the streets and has never been badly treated by anyone. I asked why they don't do straight to home rescued but they think that it is very irresponsible as with possible trauma you never know what the behaviour of the dogs will be. They told me that they would never forgive themselves if a child got bitten. The head of the rescue has a dog who came in the same flight as ours and says they will never rehome her but keep her themselves as she is just too traumatised to be rehomed safely

I forgot to answer your question OP. we just went very very slowly, at the dog's pace. super quiet and chilled at first with no expectation to do usual doggy stuff like walking nicely on a lead or understanding commands.

One of ours hated walking on the roads, so for a while we drove him to quiet country spots where he could sniff and wander as he wanted, let him set the direction and speed. after a couple of weeks we gradually tried him on the roads again and he was totally fine, just tiny steps at their pace. we never rushed or pushed, just let the dogs lead.

My reckoning was we had the rest of all time to train, so we just slowly and gently tackled each new thing as it became needed.

the first few weeks / months were toilet training and settling quietly while i was working. then building up confidence for walking. lots of pub training as that was very important to us, but that incorporated the settling quietly, relaxing around other dogs, so step by step they learned what we wanted from them. we did A LOT of quietly sitting at a distance and observing. short spurts of that, no expectation they would sit and watch for ages, but short, repeated spells whenever possible, of roads, of people shopping, of dogs running about the park. it sometimes meant we'd go somewhere and leave again 5 minutes later but that's what worked well.

i will say both of ours were really easy to train and pretty intelligent. i read a lot about "street dogs" and there are interesting histories and traits which really made sense (look up the history of Romanian street dogs, it's really sad and they are the result of Ceausescu's clearance and displacement of people who had to flee and couldn't take their pets). Whereas Cyprus has a different history of using dogs for hunting and discarding those who are no longer useful. both of ours are pretty true to those scenarios.

I would read as much as you can about body language, it's really important to be tuned into what your dog is saying about their level of comfort but also where they get their outlets. this is something which is a bit more complex with a very mixed breed - you know what a Labrador or spaniel or Pomeranian was made for and how to satisfy those traits. with a dog on unknown heritage you need to spend a bit longer figuring out their needs and how to satisfy them.

@ThePure beautiful dog with an excellent owner!

I am against forgeing rescues because:

• you don't know what you get, often you have to commit before the dog is in the country
• travelling half way across Europe in a van, it's nutts, most dogs will hate it, yet alone one who has previously been free to roam. Genuine question: are they drugged?
• impot diseases and parasites (even if tested & treated, there is always something new emerging that nobody thought of at the time)
• can easily end up in a UK rescue when new owners have bitten off more than they can chew.
• and my controversial opinion: it's a money spinner & income for people. So, especially for young dogs & puppies I just can't buy the poor street dog narrative.

If you are serious about getting a rescue with issues there are so many people wanting to get rid of their untrained young dogs for a few ££, just get one of those! At least the poor dog didn't have to travel for days to reach it's destination.

What are your plans after the two months? Because that isn’t really long enough for a rescue dog with unknown background and potential trauma to start to settle… the whole 3/3/3 needs to be multiplied for traumatised dogs… for instance my puppy farm rescue adult took three years and meds to get her to the point were we can leave her alone ( with her dog brother) for any length of time (3hours at most)… she can’t be behind shut doors, she can’t go in car, she can’t be walked due to trauma and extreme anxiety, she is on meds for life ( huge cost- thank goodness for decent insurance)..
is the rescue going to give you ongoing support if needed? Do you have any experience in traumatised dogs?
Not trying to be negative but you need to really think this through? What happens when you go back to work and dog isn’t ready to be left? Have you organised a dog sitter in case? ( the good ones are booked up months in advance- I turned down 8 people in the last week alone) Have you considered the costs of ongoing behaviourial support with a behaviourist experienced in overseas dogs and their personalities/quirks?
I have seen one success story that was hard earned and I have seen many unsuccessful cases that did not end well.
Think hard…

Just why?
Why do you even need a dog?
What is happening with everyone needing a dog so much that they'll bring in dodgy animals from overseas businesses?
Have you tried a hobby? Making some friends?

With urban over-population of animals it's only a matter of time before a devastating zoonotic disease hits. What you're going to do - cull the pets or risk your lives?
The avian flu already crossed into cats in Poland. The Brucellosis is imported into UK with foreign dogs.
In fact, read the list of zoonotic diseases that pets already carry/can carry in this country. Enough to put anyone off "doggie cuddles" if you ask me, particularly if the dog is imported from god knows where, god knows by whom, with fake paperwork in the back of a van.

That's what I think.

Another of my "favourites" is just sending over all the ID information and copies to random people in Bulgaria/Romania/Sudan/Oman/Turkey in exchange for a street dog.
Your paperwork file is of more value than the £300 (or whatever) that you give for the dog.

Next time that someone cold calls you with a thick accent - just volunteer the file. Might as well.

The information about foreign "rescues" and how they link to illegal business, mistreatment of animals, fraud, import of illnesses and organised crime is plentiful available online.
Learning how to use Google is easier than learning all the ins/outs of owning a dog.

Here's a charming email from a Hungarian "rescue" when the person turned down a proposed match. Make of it what you will.

If I could make anyone at all to stop and think then it would be a good deed done.
Here's more:

Dogs Trust demonstrated the ongoing ease with which dogs could enter the country unchecked by successfully bringing a microchipped stuffed toy with fake paperwork into the UK from mainland Europe on THREE occasions.

Dog owner, think of that ⬆️ again the next time you confidently waive the medical passports of your foreign "rescue".

In a different story, there have been Colombian smugglers apprehended for bringing drugs into the US by implanting heroin into puppies.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if similar is happening in this country too, particularly with the lax attitude on checks.
As cynical as it might be, I don't for a split second believe that those foreign "rescues" are in the business of selfless acts for the welfare of dogs. I don't. And I would judge anyone participating - from the organiser to their hapless (or selfish) client.

@ThePure Mioritic Shepherd?

I know of one that sounds very similar to your pup.

Yes, that's the one

There's a whole Facebook group of us mugs who own them largely in the U.K. Stubborn and loud do appear to be common breed traits.

I've got a rescue from Spain - but I was lucky in that she'd come here into a Foster home for a few weeks before we adopted her, so we had an idea of personality. Yes, she is fairly traumatised and scared by a lot, will never walk off lead as I couldn't trust her to not be scared and run off, but she is also such a gentle soul and we have made huge progress, now 3 years later. Having a gentle resident dog also really helped, and I suspect she learnt more from him than she ever did from us (he was sadly pts last week). Definitely take your time - no walk is better than an anxious walk and you need to take things so slow. Let them rest and sleep where they feel safe, and don't worry about training at all for a few weeks - just let them do their own thing. I promise that it can all be worth it, good luck!

We have a rescue dog from Turkey. We got very lucky with him as he was never a street dog. He was a family pet that had been allowed to breed with their female dog so the owners became overwhelmed with the number of dogs they had and wanted most of them gone. This meant he was used to living with a family and children and arrived already pretty well trained. He still took a few weeks to settle in but we’ve had no major problems with him. I know this isn’t the case for every dog. Many dogs from abroad have spent most of their lives on the streets and come over with a lot of issues from that. They aren’t used to living with a family or even in a house and don’t know how to behave. They used to have to fight other dogs for food and resources so they can be aggressive to other dogs and even people, or just very timid. I know someone who’s had a dog from abroad for over a year and still can’t walk him because he’s absolutely terrified of everything. So two months may or may not be enough time for the dog to settle in. It really depends on the dog. And you’re likely going to need to spend a lot longer than that on training or maybe even pay for a professional trainer to help the dog adjust.

It really worries me that rescues are just re-homing dogs like this.

There are quite a few overseas rescues around here and they are a very mixed selection, from reactive messes via project dogs to ones that have panned out well. In general that ones that come via breed-specific rescues seem to be much easier. At least they way you have some idea of what breeds are in the dog (though it can be hit and miss - one near us is supposed to be a golden retriever and clearly isn't).

A thorough health check is essential, though.

• and my controversial opinion: it's a money spinner & income for people. So, especially for young dogs & puppies I just can't buy the poor street dog narrative.

I think we can safely assume this is the case.

@fieldsofbutterflies why does it bother you that rescues are rehoming Mioritic shepherds? They are not wholly unsuitable family pets. I don't think mine is more trouble than your average German Shepherd which lots of people do own as a family pet.

The U.K. rescue we got him from did have realistic restrictions; no young kids, no cats, enclosed garden which we fulfill. They also would take him back (although obviously reluctantly as a last resort) and they offer support and training although not for free. I am not sure of the circumstances of him originally coming to the U.K. which perhaps I should have enquired into more but didn't seem relevant given he was here and in foster care. He must have been young though since he was only around a year or so when we had him. We visited him a number of times with the foster carer and she has kept in touch. He came with a passport, full vaccinations including rabies and was brucella tested negative although I am sure some people will not believe this is true.
I don't think we were irresponsible to rehome a dog and I would absolutely do it again over buying a puppy as it just seems wrong to me to promote breeding. I just would have more experience and take more time to choose next time rather than fall in love on sight.