Has anyone had a good experience with a rescue dog?

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

I’m having an interview today to discuss adopting a rescue dog.

she is 2, apparently house trained, okay to leave (although she won’t be left often, and then only for 2-3 hours), and good with cats.
Ive spoken to a few people who have ended up with unsociable, needy and anxious dogs and I’m a bit worried.

we have had dogs before and I was brought up with having dogs.

How long has she been in the UK ?

and have you started getting insurance quotes ?

We've had 2 rescues, both utter sweethearts.
Our current darling is a Rommie rescue. She goes everywhere with us and is good as gold. She can be left for a few hrs, but we didn't do this for months.
She is so clever, learned all commands within a very short space of time as she was a foodie and also very eager to please.
A lot of these dogs are well socialised and very charming, as they've relied on a stray pack and also begging from humans.
I'd be nervous of a female dog that had had puppies due to the Brucellosis risk (ours was spayed early and had a full passport/vaccinations but our vet gave her another Brucellosis test - thankfully negative.)
The other thing with both our dogs was they were terrified of everything - even things like stairs. But zero aggression, so very easy to give confidence to and acclimatise them to living with you.
BTW, both of ours were perfectly house trained, even though current girlie lived in an outside pen after rescue in Romania. Bless her - always eager to please and 'survive.' We adore her.

With cats, I'd be very careful, OP.
Rehoming a Rommie is next level. Would she be your first dog?
Can you see any dominant breed in her?

Edited after reading OP properly!
What type of dogs have you had before? How much time and commitment can you put into a dog? What's your home set up like? I don't want to put you off but an ex-street dog from Romania can find it difficult to adapt to life as a pet in the UK. I hate saying that because I know the need is so great but I have learnt the hard way and while i don't regret it (she was already here in UK too) I'd not do it again.

@Eaumyword that’s so helpful, thank you!
@redboxer321 she is currently living with cats. No, not our first dog. She is apparently a ‘terrier mix’

A friend of mine had a Romanian rescue and she became quite vicious and the rescue was unable to have her back immediately. The woman who ran the rescue, with whom she had had a good relationship, immediately became cold and uncooperative. She paid for a behaviourist but the fear aggression persisted. She had to stay with a dog that she was basically afraid of until another foster home could be found with a dog trainer. This dog had previously been in foster care too. Some Romanian pups are from herding breeds, guarding breeds and the street dogs there interbreed with wolves too.

I work in the pet industry and see a lot of dogs including some lovely Romanian rescues. It is a lottery though, and I would check that the rescue will take the dog back at the first sign of trouble.

I personally wouldn’t rescue from overseas.

Hi OP,

I have a Romanian rescue with me now - we got her when she was 6 months old. She's an absolute gem. I highly recommend this group on FB - https://www.facebook.com/groups/374160792599484. It's a self help group but they have a great section in their guides for rescues.

I hope all goes well.

Given your update, I think I'd be tempted to give it a go so long as you can return her but I'd still be very careful around the cats at least until she is properly settled.
Mine is a hunting dog. Never any aggression but she's still, years on, slightly feral outside the house and very stubborn. A cuddle monster inside though! She is lovely but hard work. I'm on my own so everything falls to me but if you have someone to share responsibilities with then I think that would make it easier.

We’ve had 2 rescues and both have been the most amazing dogs, but you do have to be prepared for lowering your standards quite a bit for quite a long time would be my advice.

They often don’t settle into a new home as quickly as a puppy would, they might not be okay being left at all in a new environment with new people for quite a long time, they might slip on toilet training with all of the stress/anxiety/change, you have to be prepared to find new triggers/fears/anxieties randomly and be prepared to put the work (and often the £ for proper behaviourist/trainers) in to work with this long term. It’s not like a puppy who really within a week will be settled as if they’ve been there forever, it can months and months before a rescue reaches that point but the feeling when you finally have them curl up next to you for a cuddle is worth every minute.

We have had ours for the last 5 years, we went to a breed specific rescue. He has been great for us. Took a few months for some habits to settle (but probably still far less stressful than a puppy).
We’ve since fostered several dogs along side him for a couple of different breed specific rescues and each one has had quirks but equally made really lovely family pets (most give us as hoc updates).

Thank you, all of this information is so helpful!
im wondering if I should get a puppy instead- I was thinking a slightly older dog may be easier as it would be a bit trained - we got our previous dog at 9 months and it was all good- but I think maybe a rescue might be really challenging.
The issues is that DP works from home, he doesn’t mind’ if we have a dog- he would look after it but I don’t think he would be really invested in all the training so I thought an older dog would be better.
i work out of home three days a week.

We have had 5 rescue dogs - we currently have 3. All have had some issues - some more than others. However we have worked with some excellent behaviourists and, although by no means perfect, they are all much loved and have fitted into our family really well.

We have had two rescue dogs, @Twoshoesnewshoes - the first came from The Dogs’ Trust in Glasgow and the second is a rescue pointer from a shelter in Cyprus. Both times we were carefully assessed by people from the rescues, and with the dog from the Dogs’ Trust, we had to take our other dog in for a socialisation session with the rescue dog and one of their dog behaviourists, to ensure the two of them got on.

Both dogs have been delightful - they settled in quickly, were already house trained, fitted in well with our other dog, socialised really well with the other local dogs on dog walks, and have basically been an absolute delight.

Both times we have made sure we put them on the highest pet insurance level, because we knew that we didn’t know their health history, so wanted to make sure we could deal with any issues that arose.

Given your update, I don't think you are in a position to get a puppy or an older dog. Sorry OP.

@Twoshoesnewshoes Given that your DH doesn't sound that bothered about having a dog and you've already got a cat, why do you actually want a dog? I'm not being goady, just genuinely curious.

Just to add, I've only ever had rescue dogs (and cats) and they've only ever been lovely.

I wouldn’t get an overseas rescue. They’re often stolen dogs or dogs purposefully bred to be rehome in the ‘west.’ By buying from them you just support the bad practices, unfortunately.

I wouldn’t describe that video as hilarious though. I’d describe it as an indicator of behavioural issues you’ll have to work hard to fix at that age.

And it sounds like neither you or your DH are cut out for any sort of dog, really.

I’ve got a rescue and had him for 10 years. Apart from toilet training at the beginning as he’d never lived in a house, he is the most perfect dog. He loves people, isn’t reactive to other dogs and is really well behaved. He’s super bright and food driven so training him was really easy. Hrs definitely my heart dog and a once in a lifetime dog.

Yup, he was just 1 when we got him and he's now 4 with the sweetest personality.

It was a long settlement period though....someone said the dog you have at 6 days, 6 weeks and 6 months is very different, and they were absolutely right.

thank you!
@ginasevern we have had dogs most of our lives.
we live on the edge of a village and still walk every day after work - we live next to woods and meadows so it’s a lovely place to have a dog.
we often go away locally at the weekends in our Campervan and this is always focused on a long walk - coast path or similar.
we miss having our doggie companion!
our children have left home so I’m aware that I’m filling my nest…
DP genuinely doesn’t mind either way, happy to have a dog or not.

My rescue was abused, never fed or walked. It's been hard work getting his trust but he really is the most wonderful dog.

I would tread carefully with an overseas rescue and consider how you would feel if you adopted a dog that turned out to be reactive or had other behavioural problems. I'd also want a very open discussion with the rescue centre about what would happen if behaviours came out after a while that you didn't feel able to manage. Do they offer follow-up help etc? Also consider what sort of lifestyle you have and how a more 'interesting' dog might fit in to that and how much time and money you are prepared to spend training etc.

I say this with the benefit of hindsight. We have a Romanian rescue dog and he is in many ways amazing. He loves nothing better than cuddling up with his humans, loves going in the car for road trips/holidays/days out and long walks. He is very well house trained and doesn't chew things he shouldn't. However, he does not like strangers so visitors need to be very well managed and he has to wear a muzzle in public. With the help of a proper behaviourist we have learned how to slowly train him to welcome specific friends and family members but this has not, and probably never will, meant that he will accept people in general.

We adopted him from a UK rescue centre and were told that he had a lovely gentle temperament. This appeared to be the case for the first 3 weeks or so but I now realise that he was incredibly shut down (basically in survival mode) so as he relaxed and let his true feelings show the reactivity emerged. It was not an easy time and when we asked the rescue centre for help/advice they basically just said it happens sometimes but they couldn't take him back as they were full. I have since seen facebook posts from the same centre with rather disparaging comments about people who returned dogs to them- I'd look out for this now as a red flag. We decided to give him a chance and spent a lot of time and money on training etc. He's wonderful but I would be lying if I said he was the dog I wanted (which feels wrong to say given that he is currently curled up next to me looking at me with big brown eyes!)

Then go for it. Life isn't complete without a dog in my book. Obviously I would encourage anyone to rescue a dog if at all possible. It's so rewarding and basically saving a life - no pressure! But I know everyone's circumstances are different.

My first rescue was 3yrs old and a darling! He lived to 14.

I've taken on a 9yr old and she has so much trauma. Crated for the first 4yrs, lived in a home with 6 children, an XL, 2 cats, witnessed police turning up all the time for DV incidents. I've been working with behaviourists and trainers, but she's very damaged. I adore her, though. She just can't be left and has bonded to me to the point that a dog walker can't take her out (I've had a mishap and can't walk atm so she's very grumpy).

Really look into the breed of the rescue and their history. See if you can foster them or weekend board for a bit. Make sure they are a really good fit.

Every single one became cat friendly despite not having lived with cats before, I have and always have had cats, had the cats first.

This is really interesting @OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon (love your very specific username!) - can you say anything more? Were the dogs noted on their records as cat-friendly when you first got them? I'm thinking of getting a rescue companion for our dog but it's really important that the cat isn't traumatised.

At the risk of u-turning more than this government... I think only you know how much time and effort you can put into a dog and only you can make the decision. People pick up on things that don't sound great but only you know how much you're willing to work round that. Good luck whatever you do!