Rescuing a Romanian Dog
Important advice for potential adopters. Please read carefully.
As a rescue dog there are some things I would just like to share with you…
Some of us have never lived in a house, we have never heard household noises like the washing machine, the bleep of the microwave, the television, the vacuum cleaner, a door bell, computer games... children laughing... squealing... loud voices... banging doors... the list is endless, you understand these noises and you know they’re not going to hurt you, we don’t! So on hearing them we may be frightened, we may try to bolt, so please be extra vigilant for the first few weeks.
Many of us escape our new homes within the first 48 hours and lots of us never make it back alive! We don’t know this is a better life just yet... so please keep us safe.
‘’Please listen to the advice given by the rescues.‘’
We have never felt carpet under our paws, we have never had our own soft bed or toys. We have never had a routine like when to sleep, when to play and when and more importantly where to toilet. You see some of us were born in yards, derelict buildings, in a wooded area, a ditch at the side of the road, under a bridge etc. Some of us have been badly treated, chained up .. chased away etc
Some of us were thrown out when we were born without our mummy and we missed out on those vital first few weeks with our mum.
For some of us, we have always roamed free in open spaces… or some of us have grown up in a private shelter so upon entering your home with all the walls and doors and no obvious escape routes, we may see this as a prison/scary enclosed space at first and be looking for an opportunity to escape... or we may hide for a while under the table or behind a sofa. This is normal for some of us, so please give us chance to find our bearings and to assess the situation.
Some of us may have never eaten from a dog bowl before, we ate off the ground or may have had to go through bins and hope someone has left some food. So please don’t be angry when we counter surf or go searching and stealing food, we don’t yet know that there is going to be steady source of food at regular intervals.
We haven’t been house trained because we have never been in a house so we may have the odd accident. Please do not shout at us when this happens, understand we need to be guided and helped to understand where we should toilet.
We haven’t been for a nice walk on a lead before and for some of us a catch pole of the cruel dog catchers is our only experience of something round our necks. So give us time and don’t expect miracles.
For some of us we haven’t been cuddled and stroked by a kind hand… A LOT OF US KNOW A HAND AS SOMETHING THAT HURTS US! So be careful how you approach us and take it slowly.
Most of us know what pain is as we have been hit or kicked or had things thrown at us... intentionally struck by cars or had our ears and tails cut off.
SO YOU SEE WHEN WE COME TO YOU WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN AND THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO LEARN IS TRUST.
Why should we trust you we don’t know you ?
We don’t know your hand is a kind hand.
We don’t know your other pet dog is friendly.
We don’t know your other dog is not going to steal our food.
We don’t know that these noises in your house are from items that are not going to hurt us.
We don’t know that all these people that want to come and visit us are kind.
We don’t know that the cars in the street you are trying to walk us alongside are not going to drive at us. (Try sitting on the pavement next to the road and see and hear what we see and hear)
We don’t know that we will never go hungry again.
WE DON’T KNOW YOU OR YOUR HOME OR YOUR OTHER HOUSEHOLD PETS SO PLEASE GIVE US TIME.
Put a good fitting harness and lead on me when you take me out every time in case I try to bolt from something that frightens me.
Please do not rush to take me out on a walk, give me time to bond with you and our new home... it is not a race we have plenty of time. I will be quite happy in the garden till I am settled.
A collar and lead is not secure enough to walk us in the early days... weeks... months and we can easily slip that if spooked by the many noises outside and then we are gone.
A good fitting harness (escape proof) and double leaded is needed to keep us safe. Please don’t forget we may never have seen a bike, scooter, pushchair or skateboard, or a jogger before, let alone cars, buses and lorries. We may not be used to people walking past us that aren’t going to abuse us because we are there. So please be vigilant and watch our body language for signs of stress and don’t push us to go to far too soon.
Yawning is a sign of stress so is licking lips and looking away... so please do your research it will help us both.
Introduce us to your other pets slowly for theirs and our sake. Don’t just throw us together and think ‘we will sort it out’. Also be prepared for some grumpy moments.
Make sure when you answer your front door that we are safe and can’t run past you through that open door.
Don’t think because we are lay in the corner of the room on our bed that we are not going anywhere, when an opportunity arises we can move like lightning. !!! So keep a door closed between us and the front door you are opening.
When you stroke me, start gently under my chin, don’t bring your hand down on top of my head because the people that hit me did that. Don’t force interaction.
Please ensure you are aware of the many signals I may give out when I’m not comfortable... and respect them.
If you have children please ensure they respect my space and my need for time out... I’m not a toy and I can’t speak out when things are too much or I’m feeling worried.
The responsibility for the relationship between the child and the dog does not sit on the shoulders of the dog. As parents, it is your responsibility to ensure your child is as dog friendly as you’re expecting the dog to be child friendly! Respect works both ways.
Taking on a rescue dog is a privilege and not a right, it is a journey of discovery for everyone and should never be taken for granted. There is no timescale to this journey and you must be prepared for all the ups and downs the journey may throw at you.
Like having children, taking on a dog is a responsibility for a life and it should be for life!
Please don’t expect too much too soon and if you are expecting a quick fix perhaps you should rethink whether or not a rescue dog is right for you.
But when you do really want to take on a rescue dog and are prepared to deal with the potential challenges... the rewards will be huge, but please remember…
GIVE ME TIME, BE PATIENT AND LOVE ME
THAT IS ALL I ASK AND THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING FOSTERING/ADOPTING AND SAVING A DOG FROM ROMANIA
Some of us have never lived in a house, we have never heard household noises like the washing machine, the bleep of the microwave, the television, the vacuum cleaner, a door bell, computer games... children laughing... squealing... loud voices... banging doors... the list is endless, you understand these noises and you know they’re not going to hurt you, we don’t! So on hearing them we may be frightened, we may try to bolt, so please be extra vigilant for the first few weeks.
Many of us escape our new homes within the first 48 hours and lots of us never make it back alive! We don’t know this is a better life just yet... so please keep us safe.
‘’Please listen to the advice given by the rescues.‘’
We have never felt carpet under our paws, we have never had our own soft bed or toys. We have never had a routine like when to sleep, when to play and when and more importantly where to toilet. You see some of us were born in yards, derelict buildings, in a wooded area, a ditch at the side of the road, under a bridge etc. Some of us have been badly treated, chained up .. chased away etc
Some of us were thrown out when we were born without our mummy and we missed out on those vital first few weeks with our mum.
For some of us, we have always roamed free in open spaces… or some of us have grown up in a private shelter so upon entering your home with all the walls and doors and no obvious escape routes, we may see this as a prison/scary enclosed space at first and be looking for an opportunity to escape... or we may hide for a while under the table or behind a sofa. This is normal for some of us, so please give us chance to find our bearings and to assess the situation.
Some of us may have never eaten from a dog bowl before, we ate off the ground or may have had to go through bins and hope someone has left some food. So please don’t be angry when we counter surf or go searching and stealing food, we don’t yet know that there is going to be steady source of food at regular intervals.
We haven’t been house trained because we have never been in a house so we may have the odd accident. Please do not shout at us when this happens, understand we need to be guided and helped to understand where we should toilet.
We haven’t been for a nice walk on a lead before and for some of us a catch pole of the cruel dog catchers is our only experience of something round our necks. So give us time and don’t expect miracles.
For some of us we haven’t been cuddled and stroked by a kind hand… A LOT OF US KNOW A HAND AS SOMETHING THAT HURTS US! So be careful how you approach us and take it slowly.
Most of us know what pain is as we have been hit or kicked or had things thrown at us... intentionally struck by cars or had our ears and tails cut off.
SO YOU SEE WHEN WE COME TO YOU WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN AND THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO LEARN IS TRUST.
Why should we trust you we don’t know you ?
We don’t know your hand is a kind hand.
We don’t know your other pet dog is friendly.
We don’t know your other dog is not going to steal our food.
We don’t know that these noises in your house are from items that are not going to hurt us.
We don’t know that all these people that want to come and visit us are kind.
We don’t know that the cars in the street you are trying to walk us alongside are not going to drive at us. (Try sitting on the pavement next to the road and see and hear what we see and hear)
We don’t know that we will never go hungry again.
WE DON’T KNOW YOU OR YOUR HOME OR YOUR OTHER HOUSEHOLD PETS SO PLEASE GIVE US TIME.
Put a good fitting harness and lead on me when you take me out every time in case I try to bolt from something that frightens me.
Please do not rush to take me out on a walk, give me time to bond with you and our new home... it is not a race we have plenty of time. I will be quite happy in the garden till I am settled.
A collar and lead is not secure enough to walk us in the early days... weeks... months and we can easily slip that if spooked by the many noises outside and then we are gone.
A good fitting harness (escape proof) and double leaded is needed to keep us safe. Please don’t forget we may never have seen a bike, scooter, pushchair or skateboard, or a jogger before, let alone cars, buses and lorries. We may not be used to people walking past us that aren’t going to abuse us because we are there. So please be vigilant and watch our body language for signs of stress and don’t push us to go to far too soon.
Yawning is a sign of stress so is licking lips and looking away... so please do your research it will help us both.
Introduce us to your other pets slowly for theirs and our sake. Don’t just throw us together and think ‘we will sort it out’. Also be prepared for some grumpy moments.
Make sure when you answer your front door that we are safe and can’t run past you through that open door.
Don’t think because we are lay in the corner of the room on our bed that we are not going anywhere, when an opportunity arises we can move like lightning. !!! So keep a door closed between us and the front door you are opening.
When you stroke me, start gently under my chin, don’t bring your hand down on top of my head because the people that hit me did that. Don’t force interaction.
Please ensure you are aware of the many signals I may give out when I’m not comfortable... and respect them.
If you have children please ensure they respect my space and my need for time out... I’m not a toy and I can’t speak out when things are too much or I’m feeling worried.
The responsibility for the relationship between the child and the dog does not sit on the shoulders of the dog. As parents, it is your responsibility to ensure your child is as dog friendly as you’re expecting the dog to be child friendly! Respect works both ways.
Taking on a rescue dog is a privilege and not a right, it is a journey of discovery for everyone and should never be taken for granted. There is no timescale to this journey and you must be prepared for all the ups and downs the journey may throw at you.
Like having children, taking on a dog is a responsibility for a life and it should be for life!
Please don’t expect too much too soon and if you are expecting a quick fix perhaps you should rethink whether or not a rescue dog is right for you.
But when you do really want to take on a rescue dog and are prepared to deal with the potential challenges... the rewards will be huge, but please remember…
GIVE ME TIME, BE PATIENT AND LOVE ME
THAT IS ALL I ASK AND THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING FOSTERING/ADOPTING AND SAVING A DOG FROM ROMANIA