Mad to rescue a 5 month old pup from Romania?

[Almostalwayshappy]

Has anyone rescued a not-very-young puppy - she's just turned five months? She's in a private shelter in Romania, due to travel later in August. The rescue is reputable and offers back-up with many success stories. We have done our research and been weighing up the decision for two years. We adopted our last rescue, a lab collie x at about the same age and had him PTS just before his 16th birthday. He was a joy, but we feel we got lucky with him. We have a five-year-old rescue cat who is very bonded to me and I know she won't be happy initially. She hadn't lived with a dog before. We'll be crating (not as a punishment) and will have a puppy run and use Feliway for the cat. Both my husband and I mainly work from home and we have good back-up. My main concern is that the puppy will have ingrained behaviours already and that we will have missed vital windows in terms of behaviour and training. Is that the case or am I just scaring myself? So this thread doesn't get derailed...we have done lots of research about rescuing from abroad and also on crate training (which wasn't successful with our last rescue!). Many thanks in advice for any advice you can give me or your experiences, positive and negative about welcoming a dog of this age into your home...

When we lost.our last dog we were very lucky ,we had kept in touch with the rescue , he used to go back and stay when we were on holiday and become friendly with the people running it. We.were offered a selection of dogs from people just contacting us on Facebook but it was too soon. Then our previous.dog trainer recommended us to someone which was how we got our current dog. I would look for local smaller rescues, try contacting local dog trainers as they often know of people trying to rehome dogs.my trainer is constantly taking in puppies people have bought and then their circumstances change and they can no longer keep them

https://www.nawt.org.uk/rehoming/animal/11092/

What stories does your friend tell?
I adopted a rescue from Romania, she was 11 months old when I got her.It took a year to get her toilet trained.
She is a real sweetie, very friendly so I don't know if I was lucky.She did have kennel cough when she arrived which she gave to my other dog.

Now they are real friends so it all worked out okay.She is something like a poodle Shih tzu mix.So small.

Hey SquirrelChaser , just out of interest did you have a DNA test on your dogs ? Ours is from Bosnia , she looks like a small lab but then has German Shepard type back end . I’ve always been intrigued to order a test just to see what mix our baby is . Was intrested to see how you knew x

https://www.hoperescue.org.uk/adopt-hunter-and-cora

https://www.hoperescue.org.uk/adopt-willow

https://www.bleakholt.org/lancashire-animal-sanctuary/adopt-a-dog/

@3bluellamas You are being very kind sending links to dogs you think might be suitable - but they aren't right for us and I have already checked out many of them. It's such a personal thing and I know as a very experienced dog owner what sort of size, breed and character of dog would be the closest match and have the best life with us. I'm not being picky, but we don't have a resident dog, a dog-savvy cat or breed specific experience. The rescues have very specific criteria and usually don't even get back to you unless you meet all of them. I think you are trying to show there are dogs available - and you are right of course. But not every available dog is going to the best fit for every home. Thank you though.

8 weeks old and starting life in a shelter! Poor little mites

I think this thread also goes to show that as well as adopters the world needs fosterers - because it's only over a period of months in an actual home a dog can be truly and honestly assessed. After it has decompressed, relaxed and settled into a rhythm the true dog emerges.

Dogs aren't themselves in cages in shelters, obviously.

It creates a lot of unknowns so the profiles just say 'cannot cope with this or that' because it hasn't really been tested so they just say no.

When I'm retired I should like to foster. Impossible while I work full time, as is the case for most ppl I should think.

@shortoedtreecreeper that they’re well-known fronts for money laundering, the kennels the dogs live in are disgracefully unclean and dirty, the animals are often abused by those working at the rescue (which is why they turn up in such feral conditions - most ‘street’ dogs in Central Europe actually don’t live in such awful conditions from what they say), that the animals aren’t vaccinated, some are even stolen from loving homes - one of my colleagues dogs was stolen out of her garden and she appeared a few days later on one of these sites for rehoming in the UK as ‘found as a stray.’ Several of them work in Embassies out there and are often contacted by their citizens about various issues to do with these shelters after their Citizens have been ripped off, or scammed. It’s a huge problem for these Governments and we (we being people who adopt form overseas thinking they’re helping) just enable it.

Twenty + years ago before overseas adoption was fashionable, they were genuine charities but now almost all of them are dodgy as hell. And they get away with it because the authorities don’t have the numbers to do anything about it.

Of course you know what you are looking for. Many people fall into that camp. But that simply means you need to buy a dog from a reputable breeder.

i was partly posting to show the thousands of others who will have viewed the thread that there are puppies waiting in shelters in the UK.

Those are the sort of dogs I'm applying for and being ignored though. I know they appear available if you look online. I'm not fussy at all I just have a child.

I think the problem with rescue puppies is that shelters know people with younger children often have less time available. So it isn't that the puppy has issues with children, its that the shelter wants to ensure the puppy is given the attention it needs

Not medium sized but rescue greyhounds are wonderful. I meet a few in the park. Contrary to logic, they don't need a lot of exercise and are usually quite happy to chill on a sofa or in front of a fire. I've asked owners if they worry about the dogs seeing a squirrel and they say they don't respond to anything other than rabbits!

Rommies get a bad name, not helped by that awful biased documentary that the BBC put out recently. It’s had a lot of complaints and rightly so.

Interesting you’re going to a uk rescue because you’re worried about your cat. You realise that street dogs (including those in shelters) see cats every day and most don’t blink an eyelid!

We rescued a 5 month old pup from Romania. I was worried about our cat too but she completely ignored the cat.

Romanian dogs often have a guardian instinct due to their breed mix. It’s something you have to manage and it’s been 3 years of hard but very rewarding work. She now guards her family, including the cat and chickens. Every other dog I know would chase the cat/chickens! These dogs often suffer a far worse life than any UK rescue and they shouldn’t just be written off.

The Brucella Canis debacle is a non issue which has been blown out of all proportion. The disease has been in this country for decades, with very little evidence of transmission to humans. There is a wonderful former RVN who has dedicated her career to fighting the misinformation about BC and foreign dogs - look her up on Facebook. Dogs from abroad are both tested and vaccinated far more than any UK dog.

Just make sure the rescue is reputable and offers back up. There are great Facebook groups dedicated to these dogs and people can recommend good rescues.

If you want to dm me I’m happy to answer any questions or help with any advice needed for taking on a Rommie pup. Good luck in your doggy journey x

I’d have loved a rescue greyhound, but I was told no because I have a cat and they’re trained to chase!

@Almostalwayshappy have you heard of Cinnamon Trust OP?

It's a rescue specifically for people who are terminally ill or have become physically unable to manage their pet 😥

Basically I'm thinking that those pets will be "problem free" to put it so crassly but just have the sheer misfortune of having an owner who has become seriously ill :-(

They even cover the vet bills for a "forever foster" dog

The Brucella Canis debacle is a non issue which has been blown out of all proportion
I think making the public aware of a disease that, by law, has to be reported isn't blowing things out of proportion. There is also a significant increase in cases, again, it's good to spread awareness amongst potential dog owners and veterinary staff.

Rommies get a bad name
Rightly so. Because rescues do glorify these dogs and tell people these dogs are everything they want. Forgetting that the dog is traumatised after spending 30+ hours in a noisy, confined & dark van. Emerging in an alien environment without familiar sounds & smells. I think decompressing = adjustment after significant trauma. Add to this
it’s been 3 years of hard work and Romanian dogs often have a guardian instinct due to their breed mix. It’s something you have to manage plus any other unwanted ingrained behaviour like being a bolter or dog aggression or taking guarding the family property to far.
This means a lot of time and money spent on training and learning how to manage a dog. This in return can restrict the way the new owners are living their life. Especially when rescues refuse to take the dogs back... I also believe many end up in UK rescues, unable to find that special home because of significant behavioural issues caused by trauma or simply because they are unsuitable to be a pet.

Yes, I am cynical about these import rescues. But if you look at it at face value, it takes an average of 18 months full commitment to train a 8 week old puppy to be your dream dog. There should be no management of unwanted behaviour afterwards.

It took me 12 months to teach my private rescue cockapoo to be house trained, not scared of other dogs and recall... it took another year and a bit to turn her into an competition Agility & Obedience dog. I know, I was lucky and there are still a few issues but I don't need to manage or avoid these. I knew the dogs full history and could tailor my own training with this in mind.

We've had all our dogs' DNA done with Wisdom Panel. There have been some unusual results (I am somewhat suspicious of results tbh as one breed was stated to be Fijian Street Dog - is there even such a breed??). Almost all dogs from Bosnia have Chihuahua in them. It's amazing. |At some point in the dim and distant past, Chihuahuas were having a whale of a time!

@Almostalwayshappy I think it’s great that you want to rescue 😀 I’d agree that if you can rescue in the UK then that’s probably the best idea.

However, if you don’t meet the requirements then can I suggest looking at the Soi Dog foundation in Phuket, Thailand. I lived in Phuket for several years and I spent 6 months volunteering at Soi Dog. I adopted my dog from there and she lives with 4 cats very peacefully (she is definitely the lowest rank in the pecking order 🤣). Soi Dog have a huge UK presence and support service so you would always be supported if needed. You can filter for dogs that have been tested with cats on their website.

Obviously everyone has their own opinions on this topic and I’d always say if you can rescue from the UK then do. But if not then Soi Dog is a very good option. It was founded by a couple from Manchester who moved to Phuket in the 90s. Their processes are thorough and follow all the rules. They have an incredible on-site vet team who genuinely work miracles with their dogs. Even if you don’t adopt they’re an amazing rescue to be aware of :) two of my cats are also physically disabled and she’s very gentle with them.

link here and I will try and attach a photo of my sweet Soi Dog girl and the cats that rule her life 🤣 best of luck to you!

https://www.soidog.org/adopt/melbo-121

Thank you @Hopeandfaith1990 - beautiful photos. Will take a look.