Rescue dog from abroad
Discussion
dhutch said:
CAPP0 said:
We've done it too.
I do some voluntary work for a GSD rescue who also put posts up from other rescues they are associated with. Cue the appearance online of Lola, who had been rescued from a kill shelter in Spain, and who MrsC immediately said "we'll take her".
We asked some searching questions about the mediterranean diseases which she had either had, or been inoculated against, took advice from our own vet here, and then paid the rather large sum of money needed to transport her over here. We already had our GSD boy, Otis, and thus had to arrange rescue backup over here (which was easy for me due to my connections, but is essential in case things don't work out when the dog arrives) but happily in our case there was no need.
This was them the first summer she was here, her wearing a GPS tracker because she hadn't quite got the message that she lived with us and was a little prone to going walkabout! She's actually a fair bit smaller than him although the perspective doesn't show that in this pic.
Happy doglet:
Lovely looking dogs.I do some voluntary work for a GSD rescue who also put posts up from other rescues they are associated with. Cue the appearance online of Lola, who had been rescued from a kill shelter in Spain, and who MrsC immediately said "we'll take her".
We asked some searching questions about the mediterranean diseases which she had either had, or been inoculated against, took advice from our own vet here, and then paid the rather large sum of money needed to transport her over here. We already had our GSD boy, Otis, and thus had to arrange rescue backup over here (which was easy for me due to my connections, but is essential in case things don't work out when the dog arrives) but happily in our case there was no need.
This was them the first summer she was here, her wearing a GPS tracker because she hadn't quite got the message that she lived with us and was a little prone to going walkabout! She's actually a fair bit smaller than him although the perspective doesn't show that in this pic.
Happy doglet:
We are reading this as we're considering a Romania street dog, not fully planned as we started off looking for a 1-2yo domestic uk based golden retriever, however we're doing a lot of asking questions and considering if it could work.
He is medium sized 1yo, good with people and other dogs, one of the Romanian rescuers saw him each day on the way to work for the last year where he would wait for the school to let out in order to play with the children. But obviously also not house trained, used to a collar, or recall etc. Basically a 1yo puppy! Sigh. We shall see. My parents had a uk stray when I was tenish so long chat with them tomorrow morning.
GPS tracker seems a good callz we thought about it for our last dog (lurcher rescue, direct from original family at 6yo but never really needed it as he is so keen to be with you the whole time! What brand did you have?
Daniel
We used a Tractive tracker (www.tractive.com). To be honest there may be better options although I haven't looked into it. You have to pay a monthly subscription for the Tractive service but the key downside was that the one we had worked from the 2G (yes!) signal, so whilst that means that you ought to be able to get a signal anywhere, equally if your dog is running (which Lola did) then it doesn't keep up very well. Gives you an idea where they are but not pinpoint.
Hope that helps, and good luck! We absolutely wouldn't be without her now.
CAPP0 said:
Thank you
We used a Tractive tracker (www.tractive.com). To be honest there may be better options although I haven't looked into it. You have to pay a monthly subscription for the Tractive service but the key downside was that the one we had worked from the 2G (yes!) signal, so whilst that means that you ought to be able to get a signal anywhere, equally if your dog is running (which Lola did) then it doesn't keep up very well. Gives you an idea where they are but not pinpoint.
Hope that helps, and good luck! We absolutely wouldn't be without her now.
Thanks for the reply, I will have a look at that and also see what others there are.We used a Tractive tracker (www.tractive.com). To be honest there may be better options although I haven't looked into it. You have to pay a monthly subscription for the Tractive service but the key downside was that the one we had worked from the 2G (yes!) signal, so whilst that means that you ought to be able to get a signal anywhere, equally if your dog is running (which Lola did) then it doesn't keep up very well. Gives you an idea where they are but not pinpoint.
Hope that helps, and good luck! We absolutely wouldn't be without her now.
I understand some sort of monthly subscription is required for proper gps location tracking (nothing wrong with 2G, even more widespread than 3G, and the packets of data are tidy) as the cheaper versions without rely on being within bluetooth range of a device with the app (which despite marketing claims, practically means, your phone unless you are in a city) and then there is the faff of battery life. Which is why we never bothers with our current dog, as it became fairly clear his worst nightmare was loosing us or being left behind!
However with a street dog, they are pretty happy being away for some time, my parents had uk stray when I was around 10 and even with her still having her puppy teeth when picked up she was always a little free spirited.
Daniel
CAPP0 said:
We used a Tractive tracker (www.tractive.com). To be honest there may be better options although I haven't looked into it. You have to pay a monthly subscription for the Tractive service.
Had a bit of a rummage around, and Tractive appears to be the brand leader on these things, maybe PawTrax which appears to have the cat market for toy sized dogs. £45 upfront for the device, plus around £45/year subscription for the connection. Subscription free ones rely on a bluetooth link to your (or others) phone and therefore likely give poor performance/range outside of maybe a city park.More here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Romanian doggo due to leave on 11th June and be with us around five days later, dropped directly off to us.
Daniel
We had the original Pawtrax which turned out to be the yellow MT90W tracker you can now get on Ebay for about £33 all in.
We got an Ebay replacement when the original one died, and it came with free lifetime access to a tracking site (Windows, IOS and Android access) which was handy as the original free Pawtrax app had changed to a monthly fee.
So the only extra cost is the very occasional Giffgaff SIM topup.
We got an Ebay replacement when the original one died, and it came with free lifetime access to a tracking site (Windows, IOS and Android access) which was handy as the original free Pawtrax app had changed to a monthly fee.
So the only extra cost is the very occasional Giffgaff SIM topup.
we used https://saferescuefordogs.co.uk/
Our dog (then Ken, now) Lazlo is the collie/lab black spotty/patchy looking wolf-thing in the front page pic. All the way from sunny Romania.
They were very good & we couldn't be more pleased with the result. It was a proper interview, rather than just coming round to check the garden was secure. "what changes do you think you'll have to make?" "What will you do to make your own dog happy with these changes?" Ooh, blimey, erm...
We'd had pedigrees and crosses (a shih tzu, a tibetan terrier & a cockerpoo). Our tibetan had been gone about a year & we thought it was time to add another, as the cockerpoo had been on his own. We also thought it was about time we did a good deed - especially when we found that cockerpoo prices had literally doubled in 5 years. Gulp...
To answer the 2nd poster (about UK rescues) - we did actually run into a few problems. First, there weren't many UK dogs around when we started to look (summer 2019) & most of the ones that were available weren't suitable. They
1) Couldn't live with other dogs or cats - most of our friends & family, have cats &/or dogs. We also had cats in the past & will again sometime soon.
2) Couldn't live with children - we don't have children but all our friends & family do.
or
3) were puppy farmed staffies that had been with families & rejected. I've no issue with staffies - plenty round here & they're lovely things - but didn't want any behavioural issues if possible.
Lazlo was chipped, neutered, innoculated, but in pretty shabby nick - all of which we knew prior to collection. The charity's job is to get them homed, not ready for crufts. However it was still a shock to meet a scrawny, bony, underweight, shaggy, smelly, unwashed, terrified dog. We were also under the impression our cockerpoo was a medium breed (14kg), & as Lazlo was described as "medium", we got another shock when this 21kg gigantic (to us) wolf thing was led out...! (Hands up - completely our stupidity there). He also took one look at us & tried to hide under the rescue centres van. Thanks mate...lovely to meet you too. Also he was unfit - no speed or stamina at all. Couple of months of grooming, good food & longer walks have boosted his stamina, weight & muscle tone though.
So, we were expecting a tough time of it, but he's been brilliant. No house training issues whatsoever. Worked out the dog flap on his own within 10 days. No crying at night, not at all destructive, defensive, or possessive. No big issues with our dog - each one decided to help themselves to the other's food bowl on days one & two & after the other gave them a b@llocking, that was the end of that.
His recall is still dodgy & it seems like he can't resist the sight or scent of the local deer/fox/rabbit population, but so far, when I haven't been able to call him back, I've returned home to find him sat on the doorstep, looking chuffed to bits & knackered. We did have recall classes booked but lockdown put paid to it for the time being.
Still a way to go. Overall he's just not used to being a house dog/pet. He's very wary of strangers, especially men. Put my sunglasses on whilst getting the leads ready recently & he fled upstairs & wouldn't come down! Has no idea what toys, balls & play are all about & his natural instinct is to sit on the sidelines & observe, rather than stick his nose into anything going on, but there are at least a couple of local dogs he will run & chase with now, so he is getting more trusting. Our other dog is ball obsessed, so Lazlo's fave game is to either zig zag in front (shouting "@rsehole!!" in his face, it seems) as chester (cockerpoo) runs or just shoulder charge him away from us. Eventually Chester will run out of patience & hand out a b@llocking of his own, at which point he'll drop his ball & Lazlo will come trotting back with a huge grin & a "where did you get that fluffy p*nce?" look on his face. Cracks me up every time!
Overall - we've fallen for him. We vowed we'd never have a big, moulting dog....but we do. It took a while I think, because we never had the fluffy cuddly puppy stage, but he's a lovely guy who is desperately trying to be everyone's best friend, but is just scared. His progress has been amazing, but maybe will never be a "proper" pet. Whatever that means!
TLDR - do it. Ultimately the good charities will take returns if it just won't work & these guys do deserve a good life in a good home.
Any questions, just ask.
Chs CF
Our dog (then Ken, now) Lazlo is the collie/lab black spotty/patchy looking wolf-thing in the front page pic. All the way from sunny Romania.
They were very good & we couldn't be more pleased with the result. It was a proper interview, rather than just coming round to check the garden was secure. "what changes do you think you'll have to make?" "What will you do to make your own dog happy with these changes?" Ooh, blimey, erm...
We'd had pedigrees and crosses (a shih tzu, a tibetan terrier & a cockerpoo). Our tibetan had been gone about a year & we thought it was time to add another, as the cockerpoo had been on his own. We also thought it was about time we did a good deed - especially when we found that cockerpoo prices had literally doubled in 5 years. Gulp...
To answer the 2nd poster (about UK rescues) - we did actually run into a few problems. First, there weren't many UK dogs around when we started to look (summer 2019) & most of the ones that were available weren't suitable. They
1) Couldn't live with other dogs or cats - most of our friends & family, have cats &/or dogs. We also had cats in the past & will again sometime soon.
2) Couldn't live with children - we don't have children but all our friends & family do.
or
3) were puppy farmed staffies that had been with families & rejected. I've no issue with staffies - plenty round here & they're lovely things - but didn't want any behavioural issues if possible.
Lazlo was chipped, neutered, innoculated, but in pretty shabby nick - all of which we knew prior to collection. The charity's job is to get them homed, not ready for crufts. However it was still a shock to meet a scrawny, bony, underweight, shaggy, smelly, unwashed, terrified dog. We were also under the impression our cockerpoo was a medium breed (14kg), & as Lazlo was described as "medium", we got another shock when this 21kg gigantic (to us) wolf thing was led out...! (Hands up - completely our stupidity there). He also took one look at us & tried to hide under the rescue centres van. Thanks mate...lovely to meet you too. Also he was unfit - no speed or stamina at all. Couple of months of grooming, good food & longer walks have boosted his stamina, weight & muscle tone though.
So, we were expecting a tough time of it, but he's been brilliant. No house training issues whatsoever. Worked out the dog flap on his own within 10 days. No crying at night, not at all destructive, defensive, or possessive. No big issues with our dog - each one decided to help themselves to the other's food bowl on days one & two & after the other gave them a b@llocking, that was the end of that.
His recall is still dodgy & it seems like he can't resist the sight or scent of the local deer/fox/rabbit population, but so far, when I haven't been able to call him back, I've returned home to find him sat on the doorstep, looking chuffed to bits & knackered. We did have recall classes booked but lockdown put paid to it for the time being.
Still a way to go. Overall he's just not used to being a house dog/pet. He's very wary of strangers, especially men. Put my sunglasses on whilst getting the leads ready recently & he fled upstairs & wouldn't come down! Has no idea what toys, balls & play are all about & his natural instinct is to sit on the sidelines & observe, rather than stick his nose into anything going on, but there are at least a couple of local dogs he will run & chase with now, so he is getting more trusting. Our other dog is ball obsessed, so Lazlo's fave game is to either zig zag in front (shouting "@rsehole!!" in his face, it seems) as chester (cockerpoo) runs or just shoulder charge him away from us. Eventually Chester will run out of patience & hand out a b@llocking of his own, at which point he'll drop his ball & Lazlo will come trotting back with a huge grin & a "where did you get that fluffy p*nce?" look on his face. Cracks me up every time!
Overall - we've fallen for him. We vowed we'd never have a big, moulting dog....but we do. It took a while I think, because we never had the fluffy cuddly puppy stage, but he's a lovely guy who is desperately trying to be everyone's best friend, but is just scared. His progress has been amazing, but maybe will never be a "proper" pet. Whatever that means!
TLDR - do it. Ultimately the good charities will take returns if it just won't work & these guys do deserve a good life in a good home.
Any questions, just ask.
Chs CF
GT03ROB said:
Love it. Just paid the transport. Ours is due to leave Suceava public shelter within the week.Tractive tracker arrived today, so will be testing it on the existing hound ahead of the new boys arrival.
We will be taking it super slow, but the first job once he allows is to try him with a collar and or measure for a dog harness.
Daniel
dhutch said:
GT03ROB said:
Love it. Just paid the transport. Ours is due to leave Suceava public shelter within the week.Tractive tracker arrived today, so will be testing it on the existing hound ahead of the new boys arrival.
We will be taking it super slow, but the first job once he allows is to try him with a collar and or measure for a dog harness.
Daniel
GT03ROB said:
How's it working out?
In short, really well actually.He has been basically everything we could have wished for an more, having heard plenty of stories and read the book 'Charlie, the dog that came in from the wild' we were prepared for the worst, if still having picked fairly carefully, expecting the best.
I can drop some photos over later when I feel like braving the PH upload tool, but he was one of the few to walk off the van on a lead without needing to be carried, direct into the back drive to have a walk round the garden, where I then introduced him to our existing dog, and they have gone on well from the off really.
Transport was a bit disorganised, no eta's given and a stroppy arse of a lady running it, and it appears perhaps slightly overcrowded at the start of the drops (34+cat in a crafter with about 20 pens), but also got here safely and unstressed, in a tidy looking purpose build van with aircon etc, and had his own pen, water, food by the time he got to our drop.
But yes; friendly, relaxed, playful 1yo dog hound. Not a huge fan of you coming at his head with it, but after a few short spells will now happily wear a collar or harness, went on an onlead walk around the block and started recall training on I think day two, sit/stay/etc. few walks on the lunge line and half an hour in the disused tennis courts and we did our first off lead session at the beach a few days later. Two weeks in he is walking off lead and going to new places with us daily, re-started dog walking with our excellent walker last week having suspended them for covid19 and she has also taken him off lead, slightly slow on his name, but bang on recall with the whistle. We have the tractive tracker, which slightly reduced the risk, but he very much wants to be with the pack and is if anything more needy than our other dog. Super food orientated which makes training easier.
Didn't enjoy the idea of crate training so we gave up on that instantly, but no issues at all with toilet training, didn't need to do any of that. Would get a bit excitable and unsettled at bedtime, pawing at various beds/flooring and not settling, but we just sat with him in the dark for a bit etc and within the week he was find with it and basically stops downstairs with our other dog till wake up now. He has chewed a few items we have left out, a garden sprinkler rose, jiffy bag, but not any of the furniture skirtings / edwardian doors which is what matters. He knows how to find things he can eat, and has had some salmon we left out still in packet, and carried some chicken we where defrosting for a lap of the house till spotted it, but what do you expect. We have had a sponge bath so look and smell a lot less like we have just come of the streets. Been the our vets for registration and annual checkup, no issues found.
Not sure what else to write, the center reps (uk/romania and rescue backup) have been great and we have made good friends with them in the process. He is the best looking dog i've ever seen, I think there is a reasonable chance he was a pet that was abandoned to the street, or maybe just well looked after by someone on an informal basis, but certainly not feral or abused. Cant fault him really.
How about yours?
Daniel
dhutch said:
In short, really well actually.
How about yours?
Daniel
Sounds great, wife collects on Saturday. As it's pretty much a puppy hopefully will work out fine. We have another dog as well, so will be interesting to see how they get on. I've been quite impressed by how they have dealt with it so far little thing like insisting you have pet insurance, insisting you enroll in puppy training. Little things but they seem to care. How about yours?
Daniel
GT03ROB said:
dhutch said:
How about yours?
Sounds great, wife collects on Saturday. As it's pretty much a puppy hopefully will work out fine. We have another dog as well, so will be interesting to see how they get on. I've been quite impressed by how they have dealt with it so far little thing like insisting you have pet insurance, insisting you enroll in puppy training. Little things but they seem to care. Our existing dog (a 10yo lurcher) has been a great role model and very patient, although I also think the new god might teach him a bit about socialising with other dogs given the old dog wasnt socialised much, only time will tell. Ours is really quite puppy like, but also 1yo. We had good checks, home and garden, vet referral, and also impressed we have a dog walker who he highly qualified and experienced, degree in BioVeterinary and effectively our walks turn into daily sessions with a behaviorist. Very tolerant and understanding.
We didn't have to prove we had pet insurance, which is good because while I am sure it is right for some, I don't personally feel it is right for us and would rather put the funds into a saving account should they ever been needed. We have a an older house which is
a major project so have cash aside for that and if needed it would just go on the dog.
Daniel
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