In part 1 of this part-work, we explored the legalities involved in rehoming a Romanian or overseas originating rescue dog (from another overseas country within the EU).
In this part, part 2, we are going to look at the additional research & homework that you can do to help you choose the best rescue to adopt from.
Therefore parts 1 & 2 of this blog should be considered together in your choice of rescue organisation.
To recap, personally, my choice of rescue would be based upon such things as their registration, Approved Importer status, their adherence to the EU’s Balai Regulations & following the Pet Travel regulations, what tests & treatments they have given their dogs, what tests & treatments they will give the dogs again shortly before travel (as some should be repeated) what vaccinations they have had & when, & as much medical & other history as you can get (mindful that this information may be limited to the time in rescue). We will cover tests, treatments & vaccinations in more detail in part 3 of this part-work.
Let's start by considering how the dog is currently living & being taken care of by the 'foster' in Romania, & how they are operating on behalf of the UK rescue. (Again, by 'foster', with reference to Romania, I refer to the Romanian based person or Romanian based shelter taking care of the dog, whilst they await a UK home). Some of this information won't, of course, apply to the dogs already living in UK foster homes or UK kennels. But some of the information might still be relevant, particularly if the dog is still fairly new to the UK or if the dog is in UK kennels. We talk about this more below.
Here are some things to think about, research, & ask the UK rescue about... Remember 'foster' here refers to the caregiver in Romania... Is the foster quite hands on with the dogs? Are they actively socialising & interacting with the dogs & regularly? Are they actively able to assess the dogs' behaviour? Can lots of videos & photos be provided, particularly current ones? What is their general set up like? Is there a social media page or channel you can view, belonging to the foster? Has the UK rescue actually visited the foster & dogs? How often does the UK rescue go out to Romania to visit their foster & dogs? Is anyone from the UK part of the rescue actually living & working there?
This is all very important as the fosters all operate differently in Romania, & some are more hands on & reputable than others. The same goes for the UK rescue, they may or may not visit their foster & dogs in Romania.
Every UK rescue operates differently, some will directly rehome to you, others will take the dog into an experienced UK foster home or UK kennel first. We've always taken ours 'cold' off the bus, so to speak, but some people might prefer to meet a dog first. If you are one of these people, then you might want to consider rescues who rehome from UK foster homes or UK kennels only. That will also prove to be an easier way to shortlist & you will be able to meet the dog first.
Other things to consider in your choice of rescue are: what level of after-support you will receive, as well as rescue back up (R.B.U.) if things should go wrong. None of us likes to think about this, but it is an important consideration.
The reputation of the rescue & references from other adopters are also important considerations. If the rescue has social media channels, doing a bit of research on their page/s &/or group/s should yield some useful information & insights from past adopters & how happy they are, etc. Also, look for references on their website.
Speaking of which, have a very good look at all of their social media channels as well as their website. Look at how professional they seem to present themselves, how well they respond to people on social media, & how many dogs seem to have been surrendered back to rescue & why. Here, you are taking the time to independently research the rescue, which will help you to choose a good rescue.
Listen to your gut feeling, if something doesn't feel right or you have any concerns about the rescue or their chosen foster, either open a dialogue with the rescue or move on & look elsewhere (it depends on the 'red flag' involved).
Something else to consider when choosing a rescue is, what are their minimum requirements? For instance, most rescues will require a certain fence/wall height around the garden. These requirements should be taken seriously because the rescue knows the dog/type of dogs & what they are capable of. Always be truthful & if you can't meet the minimum requirements, consider how you can meet the requirements & make the necessary adjustments BEFORE applying to adopt a dog.
So, once you've found a rescue &/or a few rescues that you feel look good, & whose requirements you meet, the next part is to start looking through their dogs available for adoption. Most dogs should be advertised with plenty of information, photos &/or videos; the more detailed, the better.
However, most rescues will want to match a dog to you & your circumstances, so we would advise you to contact the rescue with a few to several dogs you like, & let them help you filter them down by suitability.
Please remember to look beyond the dogs' physical characteristics & consider the character & personality which is being described. Be prepared to be open minded because the rescue might very well recommend other more appropriate dogs to you. Please see part 4 of this part-work for further discussion about choosing a dog to adopt.
Going back to suitability, if you have other pets, animals & children, you will need to consider if the new dog would most likely be ok with them. Some rescues will cat-test, for example, & most rescues should be able to tell you how good the dog is with other dogs. You should also consider your current pets &/or animals - have they been around other dogs before, & do they seem ok with them? You should tell the rescue, at the outset, about any current dogs, animals, & the children you have/visiting children, because it will help them to match you with the right dog.
Going back to the advertised dog/s now... after the rescue has helped to match a dog to you & your circumstances, what background information can the rescue give you about the dog? Are they able to supply details about their rescue or any details about their life before rescue? What sort of check ups has the dog been given by a qualified vet, & how recently has this been done? Does the dog have any known or suspected health issues? Has the dog ever been poorly in their care & has the issue been successfully treated & how? Could an older health issue possibly reoccur in the future, &/or could it cause any future repercussions? What tests, treatments & vaccinations has the dog had? (We will come back to the latter question in part 3 of this part-work). Is the dog spayed or neutered? If age is a consideration to you, roughly how old is the dog predicted to be? (Please note: aging a dog is not an exact science, so it will only ever serve to be an estimate). Similarly, if physical size is important to you, make sure you ask for measurements & their weight. This is because a dog can often look very different in photos & videos. Does the dog have any known or suspected behavioural issues or preferences with other dogs/animals, children, or people? Some of these dogs are not keen on men, for example. This is usually because of the very poor handling they have received by dog catchers, who are normally men, & due to the dreadful treatment & conditions in Romanian public shelters. This is where time, love, patience & understanding is so important. Your new dog will most likely have experienced some level of trauma in their life.
In addition to all of this, sit down & make a list of other considerations that you might want to explore with the rescue BEFORE choosing a dog or contacting a rescue; as my list is by no means exhaustive.
Please do feel free to comment below if you would like to add to this list to help other prospective adopters.
Please also remember that most of these dogs have never lived inside a home environment before, so they are likely to require some degree of house training. For example: they might have 'accidents' inside the house until they are trained to go outside to the toilet. They might try to chew some objects, so they might require training there, too. They will also have to learn about all the new sights, smells, noises, & potential hazards in a home environment. So, expect to help, guide, & train them in some way - much like a young puppy or even a new human baby.
If your dog has come from a UK foster placement, then they might have already received some training & further behavioural assessments.
It is also worth noting here that your new dog may seem different with their foster in Romania, their UK foster, or when in UK kennels. They might reach your home environment & then react very differently in your home &/or with the occupants there. Again, this is where time, love, patience & understanding comes in. Put yourself in their shoes & remember the 3, 3, 3 rules (where decompression, acclimatisation, & settling in can take up to 3 months, or indeed longer, & all in stages). Think back to the last time you started something new, a new job for instance. It's nerve racking isn't it?! You have to learn the layout of your new workplace, get to know your new colleagues & what they do, learn the new job, paperwork & processes, & get to know your customers, etc. It's stressful for a few months, isn't it?!
So, I hope you can now see why the buying & selling of houses analogy that we explored in part 1 of this part-work (the research required & the processes you must go through) applies to the adoption of a Romanian or overseas rescue dog. It really isn't just a case of choosing a dog!
In our next blog, which will form part 3 of this part-work, we will explore in more detail what tests, treatments, & vaccinations etc. you should expect when adopting one of these special dogs.
🐕 Please now read part 3... 🐕
🐶 Thank you for stopping by. 😊 Please remember to pop back for more or subscribe & we will notify you when new articles are published.
We endeavour to produce a new blog article every month. As you can tell, we like to be as thorough as possible. 😉
🐶 We hope you are finding our website both informative & useful, & we hope you are enjoying reading 📚 our blog articles as much as we enjoy writing ✍️ them.
Our website is completely free for anyone to view & access. 🥰 However, it is not free for us to run, unfortunately.
Should you like to send us a little gift to express your gratitude, then we would gratefully receive it towards the costs associated with running our website. 🤩
You can send us £1, a few pounds, or however much you would like to give, to our PayPal account here:
If you see us as 'friends & family,' please do feel free to select this option.
📣 Another way to support us is via our affiliate link to the following online courses & webinars (which you can study anytime, at your own pace)...
Here is our unique link to 'The Dogs Point of View' website:
These reasonably priced courses & webinars start from just £25 (& some are even FREE, no catch 😱🥰) & are specifically tailored towards Romanian & Overseas rescue dogs, however some of these courses might also prove useful & relevant for U.K. rescue dogs too, so well worth a look.
You can even join the training & support group where you will be able to access ALL online courses & webinars for FREE, 100's of step-by-step teaching guides, progressive training plans, optional weekly zoom calls, & get qualified trainer support & advice whenever you need it for as little as £27 per month! 😃
Some topics covered include:
🐶 fearfulness & social shyness,
🐶 prey drive,
🐶 building calmness & confidence,
🐶 techniques to rebalance & calm,
🐶 reactivity on walks,
🐶 reactivity with visitors,
🐶 the quirky nature of Romanian dogs,
🐶 how to set yourself up for a successful adoption.
The course & webinar content has been carefully constructed by Meesh Masters, who is an Holistic Canine Behaviour Consultant specialising in working with Romanian & Overseas rescue dogs. 'The Dogs Point of View' is committed to following the latest scientifically proven fear free methods.
Thank you so much for being here & for supporting Patchwork Paws U.K. 🐶
We always welcome your feedback, so please feel free to leave us a comment or email us. 🥰
📣 Please remember to always choose no harm, fear free, force free & non-aversive training methods based on mutual respect, trust & positive reinforcement. Please always consider that a behaviour that YOU might find undesirable might be quite normal behaviour to your dog, the behaviour might be motivated by a past trauma/fear, or it might be motivated by your dog's emotional response to something. Always treat your dog with love, patience, empathy, understanding & kindness - even if they do have toileting accidents or if they chew your favourite slippers. 📣🙏
📍 The dog behaviour & training world is largely unregulated here in the U.K. & not all are equal. Please do your homework & always choose a behaviourist or trainer carefully. Look at the methods of training they use & the stance they choose to adopt. Always check their qualifications, accreditations & references/feedback carefully. 📍
🐶 Pictured is our beautiful Sophie from Thailand. 🥰 She was rescued from the illegal meat trade there.
Comments