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 and affectionately referred to as, Trouble and Lucifer!)
I had heard that Romanian Rescue Dogs were unique and very unlike UK Rescue Dogs – Initially, I wasn’t convinced 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 I was! 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 that 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 they are genetically predisposed to be wary, wily, and instinctive.
As a result, they are a different kind of dog, but they are immensely rewarding to be around. I have learned more in four years than I have in the past 40 about dogs, 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 is the difference? Romanian Rescue Dogs are street dogs, plain and simple – they are a unique combination of cautious yet curious, and you need to learn to adjust your approach. They are not your typical dog and have a special genetic make-up that brings history, experience, and survival skills.
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 an extremely sensitive and fearful; 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 couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong – I was following all the training techniques, I was being clear and consistent, I was doing everything by the book, and then one day it clicked – I was doing everything other than listening to Luther!
Luther was trying to tell me he was feeling overwhelmed, he was scared, he did not understand. I was treating him in 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 hard to communicate with me and I was not hearing him.
It turned out it was me all along and not Luther. Romanian Rescues are sensitive they notice 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 signs – I then started to properly observe 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 – 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 other people gave their unwelcome and unwarranted opinions!
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 requests such as, sit, down, wait, watch me – there is no difference in his abilities or ‘dogness’ – he is 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 was not 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. 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 so much better than Luther, but I have often put that down to her being slightly older and she had had pups when in Romania. The lasting effect for Truffle is that she is always wanting food – she has known real hunger and struggle; even though she had food security, she still behaved like every morsal was her last meal. From my perspective seeing her like this was heartbreaking, but we have worked together, and she now has set times for each of her meals and snacks – she has now learned that she will always have a full tummy, but it has taken time to build her confidence and trust around food security.
I will not pretend and say that adopting a Romanian Rescue Dog was easy; for some of you it will 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 Rescue Dogs have a way of burrowing into your heart and once you understand your ‘Rommie Rascal’ you will never look back!
