Advice for foreign street dogs
At Islay Dog Rescue we are often asked why we help foreign dogs. To us a dog’s life is a dog’s life – regardless of its geographical location. We have rescued dogs from Bosnia, Italy, Romania, Greece, Spain, Macedonia, Thailand and Dubai. Whilst adopters shouldn’t be worried about or scared of foreign dogs, it is true to say that they are different. They may present some issues within the home but they may not!!! It would be unfair to blithely say that they all come laden with problems because that is absolutely NOT true.
Given most of our foreign dogs come from Romania let’s hear from Carol, who adopted two a few years ago..
Romanian Rescue Dogs – An Adopter’s Point of View
My first experience of Romanian Rescue Dogs was when I was lucky enough to adopt Truffle and Luther from Islay Dog Rescue in February 2021. I had had rescue dogs all my life, but none compared to these two ‘Rommie Rascal’s’, Truffle and Luther (occasionally referred to affectionately as Trouble and Lucifer!)
I had heard that Romanian Rescue Dogs were unique and very unlike UK Rescue Dogs – I wasn’t convinced initially as I thought my years of rescue dog experience would serve me well, and using time, patience, routine, repetition and positivity would be my key tools to help settle Truffle and Luther in.
Well, how wrong was I? Turns out VERY! You see the key thing about the Romanian rescue dog is that they are not a pet – they are very much an independent companion who has choice – they are free spirits and thinkers!
To understand them, you need to do your research about them. Romanian dogs with their generations of surviving as street dogs, means that they are genetically predisposed to be wary, wily, and instinctive.
As a result, they’re a different kind of dog, but they are immensely rewarding to be around. I have learned more in four years about dogs than I have in the past 40, and whilst I have loved and cherished all my dogs dearly, and fondly remember every one, it is Truffle and Luther that have pulled up my bootstraps and made me a much better canine carer than I ever thought possible!
So, what’s the difference? Romanian Rescue Dogs are street dogs, plain and simple, they are streetwise – they are a unique combination of cautious yet curious and you need to learn to adjust your approach, they are not your typical dog, they have a special genetic make-up that brings with it history, experience and survival skills coursing through their veins.
When Truffle and Luther came home with me, they were very naturally very affectionate, but any sudden moves and they would flinch, Luther was instantly wary of my husband – despite being a lovely gentleman – many Romanian Rescues are naturally wary of men – it’s a fact of life that most of the rescue dogs have had some very terrifying experiences because of men.
Luther was a very sensitive and fearful dog when he first arrived; he was unpredictable. There were many times over the first two years that we thought Luther would need to be returned to the rescue, as he went through life nipping family members, redirecting his frustration at another dog onto me or my husband, destroying furniture, barking incessantly – the list went on and on. I was working full time, and I just couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong – I was following all the training techniques, I was being clear and consistent, and I was doing everything by the book, and then one day it clicked – I was doing everything other than listening to Luther. He was constantly trying to tell me he was feeling overwhelmed, he was scared, he didn’t understand. I was treating him on the same way I had worked with all my UK rescue dogs – I was the problem, and my approach was the problem – Luther was trying really hard to communicate with me and I wasn’t hearing him.
It turned out that it was me all along and not Luther. Romanian Rescues are very sensitive they pickup on every emotion. I realised I was feeding his anxiety, and I had to chill out and start again. I did some online research and upskilled myself about reading dog body language and sign – I them just started to watch Luther and oh my goodness there it was – the subtle changes to his ears, how he panted – how his left hind leg would tense before a lunge occurred – it was all there and I hadn’t seen it before. I also learned to advocate for my dog, so I muzzle trained him, and stood up for him when unwelcome and unwarranted opinions were given about him.
I retrained myself and now Luther is honestly a completely different dog, he is my best friend, and we communicate with each other – I know if he wants to do something or not – I never force or make him do anything (going to the vet is a special exception to this!). Luther still happily does all the basic commands such as sit, down, wait, watch me – there is no difference in his abilities or ‘dogness’ – he’s just a bit quirkier and a real joy to be around. The Rommie Rascal backchat is my favourite part – especially when he is clearly trying to justify ripping up a parcel that I wasn’t which enough to pick up and put away!
Truffle, came with her own irks and quirks; she had to have one of her hind legs amputated due to a nasty trauma injury because of cruelty – but despite this adversity she was and remains the most opinionated, vocal and belligerent little lady I have ever known! Truffle’s chosen person is my husband, and she bonded instantly with him which was a complete contrast to Luther.
Truffle has always coped with the world do much better than Luther, but I have often put that down to her being slightly older and clearly, she had had several pups when in Romania. The lasting effect for Truffle is that she is always wanting food – she has known real hunger and struggle and now that she had food security, she still behaved like every morsal was her last meal. From my perspective seeing her like this is heartbreaking, but we have worked together, and she now has set times for each meal and snack – she has learned that she will always have a full tummy, but it has taken time to build her confidence and trust around food security.
I won’t pretend and say that adopting a Romanian Rescue was easy, for some of you it might be, for others it will be a difficult journey – it depends on the dog, and how they cope (just like people) but it is worth it. Romanian Rescues have a way of burrowing into your heart and once you understand your ‘Rommie Rascal’ you will never look back!
