On July 1, I adoped a one-year-old rescue dog called Ginger. She has been housed in a cage/kennel in a big warehouse with 200 some other dogs in Georgia. It must have been heartbreaking. No sunshine, no fresh air, no walks, nothing. Her first three days she was stunned, stressed and panting but by day 4-5 she had already bonded with me. She lay at my feet on the arpet with her head on my foot or at the side of my bed when I go to sleep. She is a Lab/Terrier mix with a supercharged energy level so we spend our days outside; exercising, exploring and training. She is doing very well, learning quickly and adapting to her new life with my husband and I. She loves to play with her toys and is loving, sweet and such a great companion. I feel like I have hit the jackpot!
That's lovely to hear. It is such a rewarding experience. I've had Sue for 3 years now since I uploaded this video and she has turned into the most incredible dog. I agree, patience is the key. It took roughly 9 months before we started seeing improvements and I wouldn't change her for the world
your baby girl is gorgous xx i adopted my romanian rescue inka 6 and a half years ago its her birthday today shes 7 years old . like your girlie it take time but the rewards are so worth it xx
Sometimes its better to use a crate for the car ride and afterwards. She needs a safe space to go and come out in her own time. We crated ours in our room, that way she felt secure, she couldn't destroy anything. We also put a big blanket over top, making a cozy den.
That's so lovely to hear 💙 We've had our Romanian rescue now for almost 3 years since this video and I wouldn't change her for the world 😊 she truly has turned into the most wonderful dog
You’re doing a fantastic job! I think it’s just a matter of time. The trouble is, you have no idea what she’s been through. She’s probably known hunger, maybe had to complete with other dogs for food, bless her. She’s probably never had toys or a bed. She’s a lovely dog, well done for giving her a home and a new chance 💕
Thank you so much! Definitely. We're very lucky she doesn't have any guarding issues with food or sleeping areas as she's quite a shy dog. She does eat everything and anything though so we have to keep our food safe! She's making small improvements each day
She's doing so well looking good at the video. It's only been a couple of months and look how far you have come. Time and patience. Slowly get her used to he car by giving treats by the car all sit outside then by the open door with treats then slowly all sit in the car with out it moving. Try not to use your voice when doing this. Have positive thoughts and she will pick up on this you know the car is safe she just needs to get the idea from you. You have a life time with her ❤ All the best
Lovely vid very informative thankyou , We've just got a Romanian rescue five weeks ago, it really is a learning curve, at times one step forward two steps back. This is our first dog and at first thought it would be easy but after the first two weeks Skye has become a lot more challenging, he's now 7.5 months old and probably the first 5 were on the streets. So he has a lot going on! He has started to react badly to certain dogs and people where previously he had been great with everyone.maybe a sign he's more confident, He is now booked in for a 10 week training session. Adopting a rescue is very challenging but will be so rewarding given time. At first I asked every passing dog walker there advice on food , meal times , walk times ,walk lengths. bed times etc , One thing that really stood out to me, everyone does it differently ,every dog and owners circumstance are different , it can be hard because you care but don't overthink it as I have. Thinks will take time and patience and lots of love, Good luck
Have you tried those doggie, johnson's ginger root travel tablets? Only cheap. 4 years my two shook and threw up in the car, struggling to get them in and just down the road and the puking started, even on empty stomachs. I tried things but nothing worked. They are medium size. I gave them 4 tablets each and took them on a long journey, then gave 4 more to travel back the same day. They slept and relaxed, no sickness all the way there and back. I've used them ever since, but less of them and I've even forgotten, and both of them are fine. The tablets are pure ginger root. Brilliant things. No harm in giving any extra. I admire your very caring, kindness, and doing all you can to help her. She has a beautiful face. Lovely eyes.
zoomies are a sign that she's less anxious and happy, she has energy and spunk she needs to let out! ur making good progress. if u have a friend with a well-behaved, calm dog, try to go on walks with them together. this will help her realise that other dogs are not a threat and she'll learn to relax over time. having a dog friend she can look forward to seeing will be such a positive thing. with the car thing, "DESENSITISING" will help her not associate the car with a threat. leaving the car door open and putting treats around the edges is the first step. this will get her used to the presence of the car. make sure you let her be, let her smell, put her head in, give her space and quiet to make her feel less overwhelmed. do this frequently until she gets more relaxed. next, slowly put treats inside the car, on the edge, next to the seats on top of the seats to get her more with how the inside looks. when she understands it's not threatening, she might feel curious enough to look inside. the reason she won't get in the car is because stray or chained and abused dogs feel really restricted in spaces where there are no exits and where they don't have space to back away. the whole idea is to make her feel like she has personal space and is not trapped. sitting in the car with both (back) doors open, with her present, maybe a squeaky toy in hand - something to spark interest or make the interior more inviting - and letting her get curious, slowly making her WANT to come in and explore is kind of the last step. She's got a negative association with the car, so u need to replace these with new GOOD memories. say you're sitting in the middle seat at the back, both doors open and she started to poke her head in. u need to treat her instantly and give praise. just for showing interest in coming in, she gets rewarded - good association. keep persevering, when she shows interest, instantly reward (use a clicker too if u have one). it's going to be difficult but slowly it might work. u can start calling her in and closing one door, treating, and opening it again so she doesn't feel so threatened. then incorporating having her on a lead and so on. then maybe adding doggy beds, letting her sit alone in the back with someone in the front, adding toys, making it more inviting. on the first few trips with her, you should make short stops where you let her off to let her know shes not trapped, and then getting her back in again. im not a dog trainer or expert of any kind. i have a lot of knowledge on this topic though and i befriended a feral dog and i know from that small experience, trying to put an anti flea colar on, trying to pet him, trying to introduce him to toys, its so so hard to let them know youre not a threat. they can be so skittish and afraid of being close to u, or with u in a small area. but from these new positive memories, they understand that these scary things are actually harmless. i hope some of my advice might help! good luck!
Thank you so much for this! It's really helpful and I will definitely take this on board. We're still working with a dog trainer in helping build her confidence. We did manage to get all four paws in the car this week which was a huge achievement! She jumped straight back out but it's all about baby steps. I really appreciate the advice, thank you!
Our family is just embarking (No pun intended!) on the journey that you have had ...... we are very nervous about the fact that the first meeting will be on our doorstep !! What if she doesnt like us ? what has her journey been like ? how do we de-stress her and settle her into a new life ? these are all things that keep bouncing around my head. I know this is not going to be a fairy tale walk in the park but I`m 100% sure we can offer her a better life. I am recently retired so I can spend unlimited time with her and hopefully this will help with settling her in. Part of me wants to know how her journey was but then the other half thinks lets just see where we are when she arrives and pick up the pieces and move on. Wish us luck xxx
Maybe she was different with them, especially as it was a completely different environment and experience for her. Perhaps she's never been in car. I can imagine how scary it might be. She probably needs a lot more time.
Thank you for your comment 😊 It does seem we had different experiences compared to the foster carer. I just really want people to be aware of the hard work it takes to train a foreign dog. It definitely hasn't been easy
My son adopted a hound dog from USA, he was large and now is 122 pounds. He was 5 months old chewed our base boards in home, chewed up a couch, pooped on floors, pee, he was ready to give up and take the dog back, keep in mind it was crated and he was working a lot of hours, not good I would say for dog. So he asked me to babysit the dog, I found the dog to be quite friendly and what he really needed was some sort of a schedule, I took him out on walks, potty trips, got him toys, fed him on a schedule, that was 12 years ago, I take him with me on errands now and have to help him in my car, he is my best buddy so please do not give up the humor in this is my son learned most important to have a schedule set for the dog, and spend time with the pet. This by the way was a dog no one wanted. So please do not give up I babysit a dog 12 years later that is smart, intelligent, and caring, love to have him around, he is an old dog now, told my son would not change anything about this dog, please give yours a schedule and time with you on walks, play with him or her and get it toys, most of all do not give up, keep in mind it is a pet not a human and enjoy all the misadventures you have with the wonderful dog, and you saved a life one that matters, a dog. Your dog.
Thank you for this. We definitely won't give up on her. Although I admit there were times I wanted to give up, she's changed so much over the past few months and compared to some dogs she's as good as gold. She's become part of the family x
Hi Ruth, Lovely to hear about Sue, I may have some advice for you as I have 2 Romanian rescue dogs and have been a volunteer for a Romanian charity before. Compared to some dogs Sue has done so well, you started to get her to walk outside in 3 days. It took my 1st Romanian rescue dog (Dixie) 1 month to come out of the house. For the Car… make it as comfortable as possible. Maybe put her bed in there? And blankets. I know you want to give her time and don’t want to pick her up. But, we’ve had our second Romanian rescue (Apple) a week now, she was terrified of the car. We picked her up and put her In there and she is smiling now. She does get sick occasionally but they grow out of that. Take your time with the secure field because after learning about Sue today, I think if she hears a loud bang etc she will be gone In a second and you don’t get them back. A lot of Rommies don’t like squirrels etc, it’s because in Romania they may of had to survive on animals like that! It’s Crazy….. Give Sue a cuddle from me! x Florentine x
I've had a lot of animals who have had problems adjusting.its amazing what love time + patience can achieve. Bless you all animals need good people like you pity there wasn't more.x
Thank you so much for doing this - found the video last night and there were soooo many similarities between Sue and our dog, Millie! She came through a different agency, but same issues and behaviours. I've had dogs my whole life, I did my research on rescues and thought I knew what to expect, but for the first week she refused to even allow my partner in the same room. I think that the charity are naïve rather than wilfully misleading, but there were so many things we were told that aren't true (including the fear of cars - I specifically said that we intended to take her to Scotland with us on holiday, but at no point did they say that fear of cars was a trait with RR dogs). We got her a week before Xmas so it's still early days, but it's been tough. I saw loads of posts on Facebook from people who had such happy positive experiences and I just wish they had more honest. I probably would have still gone ahead, but at least I would have had an idea what to watch out for. I love her to bits and she is growing more confident every day, but I still feel that we have a long road ahead of us.
Thank you so much for your comment! I'm sorry to hear it's been tough for you as well. We had the same problem. We really wanted a dog that was comfortable with travelling in the car as we do go hiking a lot but they dropped a bombshell on the day we had her about her not being car trained and it's the one thing we're still really struggling with 4 months on. I have met a few people recently with Romanian dogs who started off with bad experiences and the charities lied to them about the issues but, they have turned out to be lovely dogs. It's all going to take time. Our Susu is also growing in confidence slowly everyday but I reckon it'll take at least a year for things to finally settle. Good luck! I really hope it all goes well for you x
Great to see such an honest account. I love how you still recognise all the positives despite it clearly having been really tough at times. I would love to see this work out well - you two are clearly brilliant with her and I'm sure that in no time she'll come to realise that she's safe now and that you're always going to be around to look after her and she looks like a real character. I'd love to see an update in another few weeks to see how everything is especially with the car issue - that will be a brilliant one to resolve and then the adventures can really start. In the meantime, thanks for posting the video and more so - GOOD LUCK!
Thank you so much! That really means a lot❤️ I am considering doing an update video soon as I've had such a positive response from my video and I think it would be good to show everyone how my rommie is getting on. She's making progress but we've still got a long way to go! We've been incredibly patient as well as getting help from a dog trainer. Her confidence is growing slowly and address showing her cheeky side 😂
Hi we have had our rescue dog Foxy for a month now. We too did our research before getting him and thought we would be prepared for his coming. How wrong we were. It is so uplifting to see your video and know we are not alone. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your message! ☺️ I totally agree! You just don't know what to expect and what issues your dog will come with as my dog was apparently different to when she was living with a foster carer for 6 months. They say it takes 3 months for then to settle but I think it may take at least a year at this rate for our dog! 😂 Keep going! You will notice changes even if they're really small and it could be a slow process. Good luck! x
@@petebartlett2229 Thank you! ☺️ I hope it goes well. We've had a our rescue for 4 years now and I wouldn't change her foot the world. In fact, we adopted another rescue last year and it was the best thing we did 💚
What helped with our rescue is to put the car on our porch and just open all the doors and let him explore on his own while we were around the car and put little treats in it. First on the edges and then deeper in the car. I wish you the best of luck! ❤️
Thank you! She's making good progress. Slow, but she's getting there. We started letting our dog roam the car on her own terms with the doors open and without the lead and it seems to have settled her slightly.
I found this video informative and honest so thank you. I have a Romanian rescue arriving tomorrow and I’m excited and anxious! I have been told he was put into the shelter when his family’s circumstances changed. He was then rescued from the shelter. I’m told he is house trained and lead trained but other than that I’ve no idea what to expect. He’s said to be fine with other dogs, cats and children so fingers crossed he’ll be easy to train!! Thanks again for your insight xxx💕
Thank you for saving her! It’s going to be hard for you but think how hard it is for her! My latest rescue is terrified of riding in my truck and gets carsick. I think she is scared of being abandoned but who knows really. I think you have to realize that your dog probably will never be like a dog who was raised in better conditions, how could she be? Please do the best you can and love her for who she is.
I have a Romanian street dog I have had her three months now and I am struggling, she is so lovely and loyal and looks quite similar to yours but she won’t let people in the house she has nipped four people she is very anxious and fearful even though I was told she was good with people and dogs, thank you for being so honest I feel like I’m not alone as it’s hard work and I have had to book her into training , if that don’t work I’m unsure what to do 😞
I'm so sorry to hear that! Honestly, getting a trainer involved was the best thing we did. We believe it's money well spent as our dog is making small improvements each day. Some days she'll have setbacks and then it's like having to start all over again but you need to keep working on it. It's only recently that our dog has started learning to play with dogs so it does take time. We still struggle now and again and we've only had her for nearly 3 months. You're definitely not alone! I felt the same but I felt I had to each out. I ended up getting in touch with the charity we adopted from and asking for help so they put us in touch with their behavioural therapist. I hope the training goes well. Good luck!
I am hoping to adopt a dog from Romania and the bio says she is good with dogs and people. I was a bit skeptical because all the bios I looked at said that. However, if you look on RSPCA and Dogs Trust sites, very few dogs were described this way. It is really useful to hear your experience so that I can be careful and well prepared.
@@deborahcustance2754 Yes, it's best to take the bios with a pinch of salt as it doesn't always turn out this way! My mother-in-law adopted two dogs from Cyprus and they were advertised as being good in the car when in fact both of them suffer with severe travel sickness! I don't believe the shelters really get to know a dog until it's in a home.
@@deborahcustance2754 British rescues, especially the 'Big' ones, RSPCA/Dog's Trust are far more honest...as they don't want 'Bouncebacks'.. it is not good for the dog, so they really assess the dog properly, and know the type of home that the dog will suit {eg, only dog, no cats, needs to live in quiet countryside, older kids only, needs other dog &c} They also check out the potential home well.
Regarding the car problem (applies to any new situation really). Try even smaller steps: for days just take her near the car and give her high value treats _only_ near the car. When she's ok with that, open the door with her close and give her treats only with the door open. Then for a few days maybe leave the treats on the seat, so she takes them from there. It might take days/weeks for her to be ready to go in the car at that pace, but you will get there. If you can do this daily and after exercising her it'll go much faster. I foster Romanian dogs, btw. It's all about tiiiny baby steps. It's so unfortunate you were paired up with a difficult case, most are quite ok. But she's a lovely girl and it shows you love her: you've got this :)
11 minutes in and I still haven't seen the dog yet haha. I've got 2 Rommies, both girls. I love 'em to bits and they're getting more relaxed every day. I hope it's still going well and you're seeing a lot of improvement. You'll feel really good about yourself when she's settled and you'll love her all the more for the challenge it was. Good luck.
Hi, thank you for adopting this beautiful girl. My last 3 dogs were rescues. All of them had fear of cars. It's not that they are afraid of the car, they are rather afraid of being taken somewhere and abandon again. So, the good thing is, she already bonded with you and loves you and she just doesn't want to leave your house. All dogs are different. My Dalmatian mix overcame her fear after couple of months, my black pitbull would put up a fight every time we tried to put him in the car and then was so anxious that he would throw up. It took him much longer to overcome it. 6 months ago, we adopted a type of hunting dog from the local high-kill shelter. We don't hunt, so we've been dealing with her super high energy and kind of wildness since then. She overcame her fear of the cars within the first maybe two months. We realized that since she was afraid of leaving the house in the car, we need to take her for a short walk to some parking lot, where we parked our car. To come back home, she needed to jump in the car. Once she did, we would drive straight home. This way, she associated the ride in the car with coming home. After doing it few times, we took her for a short ride somewhere else, where we hiked and then rode back home. She definitely was more willing to jump back into the car to come back. But do it close to your home, so you can walk with her in case she refuses to jump in the car. You mentioned that she played with another dog. If that dog is OK with the car rides, maybe take them both for a ride. My Sky overcame her fears also because she saw my other dog jumping happily in the car (the pitbull, who previously hated the car rides). So, it just takes time. My Sky has a lot of issues and I can say this - they are a pack animals, meaning you and your partner need to be an Alpha leader to her. I realized that if I'm firm with Sky, when she does something bad, she listens and obeys me. Also, teach her how to walk on the leash. Sky pulled terribly. I taught her to "heel" - go by my leg, but also I give her the release commend "free dog", when I'm OK with her to explore and sniff. I heard from some trainer that it's important to have the release commend for the dog. Having Sky for 6 months as well as having rescues previously, I can tell you that it does get better. My previous girl (a Dalmatian, who passed away 6 months ago) was terrified of men. It took her few months to overcome it. Sky was terrified of different sounds. Passing cars scared her and she reacted by jumping towards them. Now, she learned not to do it. So, it just takes time. They are like a bit older kids, who never were told how to behave, so they need to learn everything. Sorry for the long text. I understand your struggles. It will get better, I promise. I really think, you and your partner are doing a fantastic job with her. She seems very happy with you guys.
Thank you so much for your advice! I really appreciate it! I will bear all of that in mind as I agree I think she's terrified of being abandoned again as that what she associates with cars. I do think that is a good idea about driving somewhere local and encouraging her to get back in the car to go home. I would like to try that when lockdown is over and the trainer feels it's okay to. We've had her for 3 months now and we're still working on getting her in the car. We still have a dog trainer who comes to the house once a week with her own dog to help Sue overcome her fear and she did manage to get all four paws in last week! We've now started unclipping her and letting her explore the car in her own time. I do think it's helping build her confidence each week. Thank you! I really do hope it gets better.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling Being transported all that way with others for sale/''adoption'' probably frightened her more than anything else. It's a very long journey especially for a dog who has unlikely ever been in a vehicle before then.
Love your determined creative approach to training.😄 A professional dog trainer once told me that dogs w/ high prey drive cannot always differentiate between a small child and other small prey. It’s unlikely, but slow supervised introductions are best.
Thanks! We're quite lucky she seems to be good with children. She lived with a toddler in her foster carer so introductions with my niece were a lot easier! She still has a high prey drive but we've managed to train her to stop chasing if we notice she's about to run.
Wow, she's amazing! Thank you for being honest. You did a noble thing by giving her a loving home. Seven weeks is early days, and she's already come a long way - especially given where she came from. I think by the end of the year she'll be fine in a car. Have you thought of asking Victoria Stilwell for help in this regard? 🐾 🦴
Thank you very much! 🥰 I really hope so. I would love to be able to drive her to beautiful places for a walk! Each day we see slight improvements but she's come a long way. It would be a dream to get advice from Victoria Stilwell!
Really loved the ending...I've had my Romanian rescue for 3 months now, he looks very similair to your dog. I had a DNA test done and he's 72% German Shepherd plus chihuahua, Transylvanian Hound, poodle, Segugio Italiano ...love him :)
Thank you! We've had her for over a year now! I can't believe how quickly time flies. Oh that's amazing! I really would love to do a DNA test on Sue, they're quite expensive though 😔
1st of all thank you for sharing We've just adopted a Romanian dog..some of what you said we had the same issue but not as harsh as what you have experienced....we have to pick him up to get him in the car as he is petrified of them but once in he's settled...walking on a lead is a struggle I made a mistake of using a collar and lead bad mistake he slipped it several times fortunately he came back to me.....so he now has a harness....toliet training is working progress how ever he won't wee or poop in public only in the garden.... It's going to be a long journey....but we're prepared to put in the work... we're lucky as it's a soft friendly dog...I guess it's pot luck what personality the dog you adopt...but I've enjoyed hearing your experience.... she is lovely looking dog you have she's lucky to have to loving owners ....I guess the words with these type of rescue dogs is Love & Patience I wish you best of luck with your lovely dog
Thank you so much for your comment! That means a lot! Our dog had the same issue with going to the toilet. She refused to go in public until eventually she learned to go when we took her for a really long walk and now she very rarely goes in the garden! She doesn't let us know when she needs the toilet so we have to guess or look for signs. Unfortunately we can't pick up our dog as she really doesn't like it and the trainer advised this could lead to aggression if we force her into the car. Although she's a sweet and friendly dog, she has recently bared her teeth and snapped at another dog recently so we know she is capable of turning aggressive when pushed which did scare me a bit. The harness I feel is the best way to go. My dog absolutely hated the slip lead but she's learned that the harness means walks which she really enjoys. We let her off lead for the first time a couple of months ago and she was as good as gold. If you do try this I recommend the long training lead! Good luck! I really hope it goes well and would love to know the progress!
Well done for persevering! How is Suzie now ? We are potentially adopting a young Romi, he’s beautiful . I hope he’s gonna work. He did sit in command when I saw him, so feel he may be workable. He also can to call. Fingers and toes crossed
Glad to hear your dog is doing well :) We struggled at first to leave Sue on her own, but we gradually built it up over a few months and made sure to leave games and chewy treats at home to keep her occupied for a while. The longest we've left her alone at home is 5 hours and she was absolutely fine. It's not something we do regularly though.
We had a similar issue with my old rescue dog on walks. Her main issue was that she was so high energy and being on lead wouldn't be enough, no matter how far! Her recall was awful due to huge prey drive and would chase anything for 30mins before returning if loose (we live near a massive nature area). Shame she isn't too engaged in toys for tiring out, I think you are right in looking into enclosed areas to let her run and maybe engage in play. They might also love agility training as is so smart. You might like it too! Otherwise if someone loves running, they might be a great partner. All the best, you sound like a great dog mum x
Agility is definitely something we're going to look into! I think our dog would really enjoy it as she just loves running up and down steep banks and she's jumped across riverbanks! Yes, unfortunately Susu's recall isn't great when she's off chasing a squirrel! We've bought a tracker for her as she does love wandering off into the woods. We don't mind too much as she always comes back, we just need to be wary of what's around us. I wouldn't trust her off lead near sheep though! Thank you so much! x
I have a Romanian rescue and she's sick when I take her in the car due to stress bless her. My suggestion is to feed yours high value treats in the car without the engine switched on. After she's ok with that, try with the engine on but not driving anywhere. Desensitization takes a lot of time and patience. We've had the same problems with lack of playing with toys. I've got a lotus toy with food hidden inside velcro flaps that I throw to her and she's slowly learning. She loves hunting for smells and food though.
We have a fearful dog and I’ve hired a recommended dog trainer who approaches dogs with positive reinforcement. The first visit ended up with my dog falling asleep at my feet. ❤️ It’s a shame you don’t have access to a fenced in field- she probably wants to run. ❤️
Aww that's really sweet. We're still working with a trainer for her anxiety but it has been a slow process. Thankfully we're at a stage now where we can let her off lead for a run so a fenced in field isn't necessary anymore as she comes straight back to us x
Omg your experience is almost word for word the same as mine ! From the charity issues to the behaviour issues, the stress has been unreal . We got our Romanian rescue 4 weeks ago. I would love you have a chat to you so we can share our experience. It’s so relieving knowing I am not the only one struggling and would be nice to support each other ❤️ x
@@nikkidocherty9048 Of course! I'm no dog expert but you're more than welcome to message me for any advice. The best thing we did was get a dog trainer involved. To be honest, I feel the same! It's a relief knowing that I'm not the only one. I wasn't expecting such a positive response to my video! I am considering doing an update video as we've made some progress but still a long way to go! They say it takes 3 months for things to settle down but I think it'll be a year for me at this rate! 😂 Keep going and give it time! I hope it all goes well for you 💚 x
@@Ruth_forever_rambling oh I would absolutely love to see an update video ! Even if things havnt processed as far as your hoped :) that is the unfortunate reality for some rescues. Time and patience. He has made some progress since last week too ! But also some set backs. It’s such a rollercoaster honestly. Some days it’s amazing and you are so happy about your decision to rescue, then a day later your back to feeling that thought of “what have I done, I can’t do this” i just keep the hope that it will be all the sweeter once he finally settles. I also got a behaviourist in for my guys aggression problems and I must say the difference is staggering. Stay strong 💪🏻 I know we will make it worth it in the end xxx
Nikki and Ruth omg we should have a what’s app ground for support. We got our rommie rescue from pptf 7 weeks ago and also going through a lot! Let’s support one another
Have you tried crating her in the boot ,? both mine are anxious in the car unless crated as then they feel safe and I shove a stuffed long or something in there too to keep them occupied and make it a positive experience.
Yes we did try her with a crate. I was a bit reluctant to at first but the dog trainer we hired had crates in her van and our dog hated it! We had a bit of breakthrough this week though as our dog managed to get four paws into the crate and then jumped straight back out again! It was only small progress but still a huge achievement. I think we will try putting her blanket in there next time so she feels a bit more at ease.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling slow crate training ... lure her in with a high reward food like chicken , then feed it through the open door to her once in and slowly shut door and feed through the gaps. ...might help?
These videos have been so interesting! Definitely appreciate the honesty, it’s important to see that it’s not all sunshine and roses. We’re on the final stage of adoption for our Romanian pup... the home check! What questions did they ask you?
Thank you so much! Definitely, I want people to be prepared for adopting a dog especially a foreign rescue as well as learning from other people's experience as I want the training to be done properly. They basically asked how would we deal with certain situations and scenarios such as dog reactivity, guarding issues, anxiety and separation issues, will we take the dog to training classes and, if so, where will we take them. They also asked who will look after the dog when we're away, how to stop the dog from escaping the house/garden, toilet training, where will the dog sleep, what dogs will it most likely interact with. It took an hour and a half so make sure you have answers prepared as well! Good luck! :)
This was a great video. I found there were so few videos prior to adopting our girl through PPTF in November 2020. We will have had our girl 3 months this Sunday (Valentine's Day). I intend to do a video detailing our experience as it has been similar to yours. We are coming out the other side but can say, hand on heart, we went into this blind and struggled. We spent a good few days utterly distraught thinking we were over our heads and whether we were making the right decision. Thankful that we pushed through as she is the most loving dog. She has her problems but sometimes I worry if we will ever get over them, such as dog reactivity, but we have to stay positive. You will get there!
Thank you for your video! She looks so like our Romanian Rescue and we have just reached our 7th week too. I can totally relate to some of the feelings that you are having but I am sure you will get there as you guys sound like awesome owners :) Do you think she might be part Shepherd? If so, you should check out the Sheep Ball game if you haven't already. Our trainer recommended it as our pooch showed zero interest in fetch (she chased the ball but had no idea what to do with it after catching). It is such a fun game, completely tires her out and we can play it whilst still on lead (works well using her normal lead or her 5m training line). Wonder if it might work for you :)
Thank you so much for your comment! ☺️ That's very kind of you. How are you getting on with your Romanian Rescue? We do reckon she is a cross between a German shepherd and Greyhound/Whippet/Lurcher as she's got quite a high prey drive and runs really quickly! She's also latched onto my partner more than me and it's apparently normal for GSD's to only form an attachment with one owner. I've not heard of the Sheep Ball game! Thank you for recommending that! I'll look into it as our dog doesn't seem to know how to play at all! She will run after a stick but then drops it and runs away. She's making slow progress but her confidence is definitely growing ☺️
@@Ruth_forever_rambling We absolutely love her! Like your pup, it is slow progress but huge when compared to the first day we brought her home. Do we have the same dog? I swear you have just described our Pepsi :) I hope it works for you guys. Let me know if you find anything else that works because our dogs seem to be very similar :D
I wonder if she would benefit from a Thunder Shirt? Good Luck Hun, it'll get better, you sound as though you are doing all the right things. Don't let people who think they're experts make you feel you're doing it all wrong. XXX
It seems like the E. European stray dogs are mostly 2nd or 3rd generation street dogs. They are treated horribly there (and in many other countries around the world), so her experience with humans might have always been bad. I wonder if dogs like Sue even want to be inside. I really admire what you are doing and hope your training pays off. It's a good sign that she has bonded with your partner, so that shows she is capable of it.
Funnily enough, I actually mentioned that to my partner about whether she even wants to be inside! Sometimes I get the impression she would rather be outside, although she does look very content when she's curled up on the sofa. She hates confined spaces so it's even taken her months to get used to our kitchen as it's quite small. I wish we knew her history as even our dog trainer has said she's been the most difficult dog she's come across in terms of her anxiety and fear. Thank you so much! I do love seeing that she has bonded with my partner as frustrating as it is sometimes!
@@Ruth_forever_rambling It just occured to me that she's like adopted kids who have Attachment Disorder. They've learned not to trust anyone because all adults in their lives have let them down. Anyway, even though she's a difficult girl and it might take a couple of years for her to let her guard down, you're doing everything right for her! 🌼
Thanks for being honest, I’ve got a rommie dog coming in in about a weeks time and I’m incredibly nervous. Very excited, don’t get me wrong, but nervous as hell too. A lot of people have had issues with pawprints 2 freedom and apparently they illegally brought a load of dogs in without proper vaccines and have misinformed people about dogs issues, so I do think there is a likelihood they lied to you about the dogs issues. So please don’t beat yourself up!
S W of course! There’s a Facebook group called uncovered - pawprints2freedom which annoyingly I can’t link as I’m on an ipad and I did see somewhere a veterinary journal saying how dangerous they were as they brought in a load of dogs with improper rabies vaccines so that’s dodgy as hell. A rescue called Pennypaws, they’re local to me which is nice and didn’t turn me down immediately on the grounds of I live in a showmans wagon and not a house. Thanks! And if I find that veterinary article I’ll link it on here :)
Thank you for letting me know! I will check that out. I always felt something wasn't quite right with the charity. I also forgot to mention that the passport doesn't match the date of birth they gave me and is different to what she's microchipped with. It was really odd. I hope it all goes for you adopting your rommie! 😊
We have a 1 year old Romanian rescue dog, had her since she was 6 months old. We’re still having problems with visitors coming over and she gets very scared. Do you have any tips?
I'm sorry to hear that 😔 That's got to be a tough one! I actually followed a lot of Victoria Stilwell's training techniques for dog training as it's about positive reinforcement. Our dog was incredibly nervous (but not aggressive) with people approaching her. She's never barked, but she would only approach on her terms. We found that giving visitors treats when they entered the house really helped with putting our dog at ease as she's so food orientated. She's not keen with too many people wandering around either, so getting everyone to sit down and not making a fuss helped. I do recommend taking a look at Victoria Stilwell on UA-cam or getting a dog trainer involved. We hired a dog trainer to come round once a week to help build her confidence. Hope that helps! Good luck!
with the car thing, i think you may be asking too much of her. Try to find out where her boundries are (where she starts to get anxious - is it when you are 10meters from the car? is it when you are next to it? maybe its when you touch the car/open the door? frind out where exactly her line is and then just stop - shower her with treats and comfort, and then go back inside and let her go. maybe do it a couple times a day, but never more than once in a row. slowly you will be ably to get closer to the car before she starts to panic( but sometimes you may also find that you arent getting as far, and thats okay, dont try and force her) with time she will begin to associate the car with something good, and you may be able to get her in. if you do DO NOT DRIVE ANYWHERE. Just really take baby steps all the way and eventually you'll be able to close the dor behind her, or turn the engine on ect.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling yeah, its a pretty big thing to leave out if you do travel alot by car... i have heard some not-so-great things about shelters leaving out info about bad behaviours so that the dogs are adopted easier, which doesn't really help anyone. It definetly is a hard job to adopt a dog with a rough background - probably more so than i thought. Sounds like you are doing a great job with her though, and i am sure she deeply aprichiates all you do for her!
have you tried the same thing as you did with the night time problem, just sit in the back of the car and read just ignore her and maybe she will just jump in
I have rescued a Romanian dog he is 6 and has some nasty scars and has had a very hard life I am struggling to train him just the simple commands didn’t know if you or anyone have any tips ?
Hi. I’m looking at Romanian rescue centres, and I can see there’s a lot to consider. How old was the pup when you adopted? And if you don’t mind me asking, what was the name of the rescue centre? Thanks 🙏🏻
We're not sure really as we were told she was 4 years old, but her passport says she's 6! We adopted her from Pawprints to Freedom, but I wouldn't necessarily consider them. I found the whole process a little dodgy and later found out that many others who had adopted from them said the same. We've had Sue for over a year now and I wouldn't change her for the world as she has turned out to be a fantastic dog. Just please be aware that Romanian dogs are likely to come over with serious issues i.e. anxiety, guarding, aggressive etc due to their traumatic backgrounds. It took our roughly 9 months until we started seeing real progress with Sue.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling thanks for the info! I’m struggling to adopt from RSPCA, Battersea, Dogs trust, etc.. they require me to have a garden, even tho I’m in a big flat next to the park and beach.. these European rescue centres seem like a good option as they make the exception to the garden rule, but I suspect they often play down the issues of the pups. I live alone, and work part time, and I’ll be relying on a mate walking my dog 4 nights a week while I’m out, so a pup with behavioural issues could be tricky 😕 I think I should accept defeat and just get a pup from a reputable Breeder. If the lack of garden is a deal breaker, then I don’t really have a choice 🥺
I’m a volunteer for Pawprints to freedom, my main role is a kennel volunteer. So I volunteer at our Cheshire kennels as we really do have some amazing dogs, im sorry to see you had a bad experience Ruth. I have two Romanian rescues, one of which was like a wild fox and I never encountered any of these problems 😔 I really hope she’s better now.
I am aware of that, although I clearly stated 2 mins into the video that we didn't have any luck adopting any dogs in the UK. Please bear in mind that this video is over 2 years old now and we tried to adopt a dog during the pandemic. However, no UK shelters would accept my application either because they were inundated with applicants, I hadn't owned a dog for a very long time, so they wouldn't choose us due to lack of experience and our garden fence was too short. Pawprints to Freedom was the only charity that gave us a chance as long as we had a 6ft fence built, so we did. I wouldn't change my dog for the world, and if we were to adopt again I would of course apply to a UK charity now that we have the experience as I'm aware UK shelters are bursting at the seams with dogs due to the demand from the pandemic and because of irresponsible breeding. Anyway, all dogs deserve a chance regardless of what country they come from.
I believe she just need more time to adapt. The fact that she chasing other animals might be the fact that she is insecure. Give her more time and keep the reinforcing training because it appears to be something simple on the UA-cam episodes but it takes a looooot of effort and repetition. With the car try spending time with her around it and gradually open the doors e move inside (take as much time as needed as she has shown anxiety related to it). Good luck and don't feel bad for adopting a dog.
Thank you for your comment! ☺️ It had been a very great process getting her used to the car. She's finally getting her front paws in but still not able to drive anywhere yet but we'll definitely go at her pace incase it sets her back. That's interesting! I never considered it may be down to insecurity chasing animals. She does seem to do that a lot more since we first had her. They say it takes 3 months to settle by I do think it could take at least a year at this rate! We're taking baby steps ☺️
Have you tried putting a large box in the front seat , cut out the side that faces you , so she only sees you and not the other three views. Pop her fav blanket in and just sit in the car with her , next day start engine, turn off , repeat . Do everything in small doses. I'm fostering one at the mo . Look up Meesha Masters, she's our patron of the charity, excellent with rommies
At the moment she's working with a trainer who uses crates to help her overcome her fear with the car Unfortunately, our Susu is still not comfortable getting in the crate even with her favourite blanket :( We bought her a new crate the other day and she ran a mile terrified! She's getting better at jumping in the car for treats but then still jumps straight back out again. It's still a low process after 4 months, but she's getting a little better. Thank you so much for the recommendation! I will definitely look into Mesha Masters! :)
@@Ruth_forever_rambling cool two people had said paw prints but won’t recommend them but it’s because I got a dog from last chance rescue Romania so you choose a dog or more and they pick the best one out of them and I get my sion in a week they went really fast
My partner has taken a step back and I've stepped forward with more responsibility and although she still has a bond with my partner, she knows I have authority as well. It's taken months of training but she has warmed to me a lot more now.
He was quite old when we adopted him. The rescue said he was approximately 8 years old and we had him for 7 more years before the vet suggested he be euthanised due to ill health. He ended up having a few strokes, diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of balance, eye sight was going, struggled to walk.
@@blondecat666 Thank you ☺️ Yes, he was getting on a bit bless him. He was a small cross breed but having been found as a stray he was quite a difficult dog to look after. He did have a sweet side but his biggest issue was guarding things and he also bit a lot which we were unaware of when we adopted him.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling I does happen, and kudos to you not to have given up on him. I also have a rescue, fortunately she is the sweetest ever... She was kept in a kennel (rather a bigger cage in the middle of a yard with a little doghouse). She was fed every 3 days and never let out. There were no people living in the house, her only companion were 2 cats. She's been with me for 6 months now and she is a real Velcro dog. :-) A little separation anxiety, but it's understandable. She is a lurcher-lab mix.
There seems to be an epidemic of cruelty to dogs in that country. There's literally an industry here in the UK that's built up around rescuing dogs from that specific country lol. No soul
Apparently when the Russians controlled the country they built a number of high rises and stuff. People weren’t allowed to take their dogs so they ended up on the street. From that a massive street dog population boomed so now Romania has a massive issue with stray/street dogs. Their solution to this is to round them up, stick them in kill pounds with the intention of putting them down. So numerous charities now try to rescue them. I got a Romanian rescue pup in December and he’s been the most challenging dog I have ever had. It’s caused me a lot of stress and definitely wrecked havoc with my mental health. But despite the resource guarding, separation anxiety, reactivity to other dogs when out and being bitten a few times I still couldn’t part with him now. He looks very similar to suesue. But with a curly husky like tail.
Dogs who appear to be terrified about getting in the car need more of a confident body language from you. My daughter couldn't get her Romanian rescue in the car and after a week I visited and took the lead and she walked to the car with me and hopped in like she had always been in it. Its not the dog, it's you. She doesn't have as many issues as you might think, she needs YOU to learn the art of communicating confidence to an insecure dog. Please, PLEASE contact James Penrith and he'll point you to a local trainer who can help you.
Hi Allie, we have actually managed to get Sue in the car for the last 3 months so the car isn't really an issue anymore. I did upload a recent update video about how she's doing. We have been working with an experienced dog trainer for the last 9 months and it wasn't because of what we were doing was wrong, it's because she was terrified of being taken away again having travelled from Romania and from when we took her from the foster carer. We had to resort to picking her up to put her in the car ourselves but, when she learned she was coming home again, she started jumping in herself anyway.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling @Ruth Giblett it's a shame it's taken a trainer 9 MONTHS to help her, and it's so frustrating that trainers are still humanising dogs and claiming they are 'terrified of being taken away again' having travelled.....dogs don't have thought processes like that. Those are human fears. She was just anxious about being in a confined space because she has been in them before and not been let out for a long time, that's all, and may have learned travel sickness. Picking her up and putting her in - was that the trainer's idea?? If so, your trainer has no idea about how to give a dog self confidence. Picking dogs up leaves them helpless and can worsen fears, you have to help them do it then when they see they can, you praise galore and they feel like they just won the World Cup. Getting them up onto high things is also really good for confidence, getting her to jump up onto walls and other raised surfaces so she feels tall. It's really helpful. Is she reliable off lead yet? If not, your trainer is not capable of getting a recall on her and if you want her to have a free and fulfilling life, please contact a balanced trainer. My most recent addition (number 6 in my pack) is a Romanian dog found emaciated and exhausted on a main road - I spent the first 3 weeks letting her decompress and not demanding anything of her, just bonding and hand feeding to encourage her to see me as relevant, then we went to work on training. She was just over a year old, a malinois/husky/hound cross, but she had 100% recall within 2 WEEKS and comes back with a tail like a windmill and with such enthusiasm it makes you laugh. Don't be fooled if your trainer tells you she will never be trustworthy off lead, or makes excuses about how she had to find her own food and that's why she runs off hunting. It is 100% possible to have PERFECTLY RELIABLE recall despite distractions and anyone that can't get a recall on her isn't worth their salt as a trainer. It's up to you, obviously, you can choose to confine her to a flexi lead for life or you can embrace her genetics and give her freedom to run like the dog she was born to be, without risking wildlife, sheep or Sue herself. You just have to be ready to learn and not taken in by the rubbish spouted about what balanced training involves by gullible people who have no idea what it involves! Larry Krohn, Tyler Muto, James Penrith, they're all balanced trainers and they all get actual results. It shouldn't take 9 months to train any dog, Ruth. By that time I'd expect it to be capable of making dinner! You are being fleeced there. I have six foreign rescue dogs and my pack are well mannered and get 2 hours off lead together a day, romping through the countryside and swimming in rivers, exploring the woods, walking politely to heel past dogs, sheep, cattle, strangers...and we have overcome pretty much every issue dogs can present with . It is VERY possible ;)
@@ragdollyally We have actually had Sue reliably off lead since January so, again, no issue there. Please bear in mind that this video was very recently after we adopted her so, a lot has changed since then. This was just my experience at the time and Sue's confidence has grown incredibly. We don't actually have a dog trainer anymore as we've recently just moved away. And, no, it was my idea to pick her up to put her in the car with the consent from the dog trainer and it actually helped her confidence. Sue was already jumping in and out of the car for months prior to picking her up, it was just we wanted her to be comfortable during the journey. She's a totally different dog now jumping in the car herself and lying down in the car. Sue actually gets 2-3 hours a day off lead as well as exploring woods and swimming in rivers. Plus she's incredibly friendly towards other dogs, doesn't chase cats and listens to my command if I can see she's about to chase a squirrel.
Oh dear, the charity should have warned you the rule of three. You shouldn't walk the dog in the first three days while they decompress, sometimes for the first week. But sounds like you need to muzzle train her potentially. I wouldn't recommend a flexi lead, they can break, try a long training lead like a 10 metre one that you rap up yourself. The lunging sounds like anxiety more than excitement. Sounds like you are doing a good job but I would potentially suggest a behaviourist instead of a trainer. Because I bet she is super clever but she probably had a shed load of anxiety. Look at adding camomile or passion flower etc. To her diet that should relax her. A behaviourist will be able to perscribe anti anxiety meds as well. Romanian rescues have huge pray drives because they will have been used to hunting for food. So any cat intro would need to be very very careful. I promise you things will get better, as a owner of the biggest arse hole Romanian rescue, it will get better. Just keep at the good work. Sending love xxxx
We couldn't walk her in the first few days anyway as she was petrified of the harness and lead. I think it was around day 4 my partner managed to walk her out the front door and back in and then day 5 was around the block. I still want to muzzle train her just in case but we've somehow managed to train her to stop chasing as long as we notice she's about to run as soon as possible. She's getting a lot better at responding to the command "leave it". We actually gave up on the flexi in the end and went for a short springy lead instead which has worked a lot better. She's now brilliant off lead and comes back to us. Thanks for the tip! I will look into adding camomile to her diet. We've currently got her on anti-anxiety meds but I want to ween her off them. We did try a behaviourist that was working with the charity, but I didn't find it helpful as it was all done over Facebook messenger and I found most of what she sent was copied and pasted from in the internet... Thank you! I hope so. She is doing brilliantly and has come such a long way. We're still having setbacks but she's improved so much xxxx
Pawprints to Greedom have an appalling reputation . It's highly lucrative selling ''Mutts'' to British buyers. Far better to get a dog from RSPCA or Dog's Trust where they are honestly described and assessed.
I have since heard about PPTF's bad reputation and I personally wouldn't recommend them in future. In all honesty, I never intended on adopting from a foreign rescue. We tried for ages to adopt from UK dog shelters and I lost count on how many dogs I applied for, but we were either getting ignored, our garden didn't meet the criteria or the demand was just too high and dogs were getting snapped up straight away due to lockdown demand. In the end I came across Sue on PPTF and she was already in a foster home near me in Wales for 6 months and was on the urgent adoption list. I chose her because I thought she was suitable for us and it meant she was already in the UK rather than me adopting her straight from Romania. I personally wouldn't adopt a foreign dog again purely because of the stress the travelling puts the dogs under and the background is unknown, but I don't regret adopting Sue and we've had her for nearly a year now and I wouldn't change her for the world. With the right training, she's turned out to be brilliant dog regardless of her background.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling You have done really well with Sue..But many haven't had such a success story. The journey is awful for the poor dogs, days in an airless, stinking van, awash with vomit, diahorrea and urine. The fact that there are no prior introductions isn't good...Just choosing a dog from an image, and having no idea if the dog and you will 'Click' or not. Meeting a dog really helps give an idea as to how the two of you will get along. The UK charities have really strict criteria for the animal's sake.. Nothing is worse for an animal than to be returned as 'Unsuitable'... so they tend to ask that a person visits the animal several times beforehand, and they want to see all the family, and do a home check &c. They are really strict, sadly because they have been lied to in the past about people's circumstances. If you actually turn up at the premises, and speak to the staff face to face, you are far more likely to be lucky :) I was fobbed off over the phone, but upon turning up, found the staff to be very helpful. I wanted an adult dog, and the manageress said 'I think I have a dog that is suitable for you'...and showed me an emaciated 16 week approx puppy, a stray Lurcher. I said ''But puppies get homes too easily..She replied, ones like this don't''... so every day for 10 days I visited her til she was well enough to come home {she was very unwell and full of parasites when they picked her up} So by that time, she knew me a little bit. Her only ''issue'' was separation anxiety, apart from that she was wonderful. She also suffered from car sickness, {but not bus sickness!} I expect your poor girl has been put off vehicles because of her gruelling journey in that stinking van. You could maybe try another vehicle? I'm sure you will overcome her fear of vehicles, maybe have an open window, but keep her restrained so she can't jump out in a panic. There are some very sweet Romanian dogs locally, one a complete charmer who ''High fives'' for treats. {A large fluffy herding type} Her people have done very well with her, but I'm not sure where she came from.
On July 1, I adoped a one-year-old rescue dog called Ginger. She has been housed in a cage/kennel in a big warehouse with 200 some other dogs in Georgia. It must have been heartbreaking. No sunshine, no fresh air, no walks, nothing. Her first three days she was stunned, stressed and panting but by day 4-5 she had already bonded with me. She lay at my feet on the arpet with her head on my foot or at the side of my bed when I go to sleep. She is a Lab/Terrier mix with a supercharged energy level so we spend our days outside; exercising, exploring and training. She is doing very well, learning quickly and adapting to her new life with my husband and I. She loves to play with her toys and is loving, sweet and such a great companion. I feel like I have hit the jackpot!
Ginger is so fortunate to have you and your husband. 🐶 👍
Had my romania rescue for 3yrs now patients is something we learn ,he has turned into a super dog amazing with other dogs and people,
That's lovely to hear. It is such a rewarding experience. I've had Sue for 3 years now since I uploaded this video and she has turned into the most incredible dog. I agree, patience is the key. It took roughly 9 months before we started seeing improvements and I wouldn't change her for the world
your baby girl is gorgous xx i adopted my romanian rescue inka 6 and a half years ago its her birthday today shes 7 years old . like your girlie it take time but the rewards are so worth it xx
Sometimes its better to use a crate for the car ride and afterwards. She needs a safe space to go and come out in her own time. We crated ours in our room, that way she felt secure, she couldn't destroy anything. We also put a big blanket over top, making a cozy den.
I rescued a similar dog. 1st thing I did was buy her a crate. If not she destro my place. Hence anxiety. Lots of trying & lots of love💙🙏💯
We adopted our girl from romania almost 10 years ago. Shes still living the dream.
That's so lovely to hear 💙 We've had our Romanian rescue now for almost 3 years since this video and I wouldn't change her for the world 😊 she truly has turned into the most wonderful dog
@@Ruth_forever_rambling yep we have the UKs number one hound 🤣
You’re doing a fantastic job! I think it’s just a matter of time. The trouble is, you have no idea what she’s been through. She’s probably known hunger, maybe had to complete with other dogs for food, bless her. She’s probably never had toys or a bed. She’s a lovely dog, well done for giving her a home and a new chance 💕
Thank you so much! Definitely. We're very lucky she doesn't have any guarding issues with food or sleeping areas as she's quite a shy dog. She does eat everything and anything though so we have to keep our food safe! She's making small improvements each day
She's doing so well looking good at the video. It's only been a couple of months and look how far you have come. Time and patience. Slowly get her used to he car by giving treats by the car all sit outside then by the open door with treats then slowly all sit in the car with out it moving. Try not to use your voice when doing this. Have positive thoughts and she will pick up on this you know the car is safe she just needs to get the idea from you.
You have a life time with her ❤ All the best
Lovely vid very informative thankyou ,
We've just got a Romanian rescue five weeks ago, it really is a learning curve, at times one step forward two steps back.
This is our first dog and at first thought it would be easy but after the first two weeks Skye has become a lot more challenging, he's now 7.5 months old and probably the first 5 were on the streets.
So he has a lot going on!
He has started to react badly to certain dogs and people where previously he had been great with everyone.maybe a sign he's more confident,
He is now booked in for a 10 week training session.
Adopting a rescue is very challenging but will be so rewarding given time.
At first I asked every passing dog walker there advice on food , meal times , walk times ,walk lengths.
bed times etc ,
One thing that really stood out to me, everyone does it differently ,every dog and owners circumstance are different , it can be hard because you care but don't overthink it as I have.
Thinks will take time and patience and lots of love,
Good luck
Have you tried those doggie, johnson's ginger root travel tablets? Only cheap. 4 years my two shook and threw up in the car, struggling to get them in and just down the road and the puking started, even on empty stomachs. I tried things but nothing worked. They are medium size. I gave them 4 tablets each and took them on a long journey, then gave 4 more to travel back the same day. They slept and relaxed, no sickness all the way there and back. I've used them ever since, but less of them and I've even forgotten, and both of them are fine. The tablets are pure ginger root. Brilliant things. No harm in giving any extra.
I admire your very caring, kindness, and doing all you can to help her. She has a beautiful face. Lovely eyes.
zoomies are a sign that she's less anxious and happy, she has energy and spunk she needs to let out! ur making good progress.
if u have a friend with a well-behaved, calm dog, try to go on walks with them together. this will help her realise that other dogs are not a threat and she'll learn to relax over time. having a dog friend she can look forward to seeing will be such a positive thing.
with the car thing, "DESENSITISING" will help her not associate the car with a threat. leaving the car door open and putting treats around the edges is the first step. this will get her used to the presence of the car. make sure you let her be, let her smell, put her head in, give her space and quiet to make her feel less overwhelmed. do this frequently until she gets more relaxed.
next, slowly put treats inside the car, on the edge, next to the seats on top of the seats to get her more with how the inside looks. when she understands it's not threatening, she might feel curious enough to look inside.
the reason she won't get in the car is because stray or chained and abused dogs feel really restricted in spaces where there are no exits and where they don't have space to back away. the whole idea is to make her feel like she has personal space and is not trapped.
sitting in the car with both (back) doors open, with her present, maybe a squeaky toy in hand - something to spark interest or make the interior more inviting - and letting her get curious, slowly making her WANT to come in and explore is kind of the last step. She's got a negative association with the car, so u need to replace these with new GOOD memories. say you're sitting in the middle seat at the back, both doors open and she started to poke her head in. u need to treat her instantly and give praise. just for showing interest in coming in, she gets rewarded - good association.
keep persevering, when she shows interest, instantly reward (use a clicker too if u have one). it's going to be difficult but slowly it might work. u can start calling her in and closing one door, treating, and opening it again so she doesn't feel so threatened. then incorporating having her on a lead and so on. then maybe adding doggy beds, letting her sit alone in the back with someone in the front, adding toys, making it more inviting.
on the first few trips with her, you should make short stops where you let her off to let her know shes not trapped, and then getting her back in again.
im not a dog trainer or expert of any kind. i have a lot of knowledge on this topic though and i befriended a feral dog and i know from that small experience, trying to put an anti flea colar on, trying to pet him, trying to introduce him to toys, its so so hard to let them know youre not a threat. they can be so skittish and afraid of being close to u, or with u in a small area. but from these new positive memories, they understand that these scary things are actually harmless.
i hope some of my advice might help! good luck!
Thank you so much for this! It's really helpful and I will definitely take this on board. We're still working with a dog trainer in helping build her confidence. We did manage to get all four paws in the car this week which was a huge achievement! She jumped straight back out but it's all about baby steps.
I really appreciate the advice, thank you!
@@Ruth_forever_rambling anything to help!
Our family is just embarking (No pun intended!) on the journey that you have had ...... we are very nervous about the fact that the first meeting will be on our doorstep !! What if she doesnt like us ? what has her journey been like ? how do we de-stress her and settle her into a new life ? these are all things that keep bouncing around my head. I know this is not going to be a fairy tale walk in the park but I`m 100% sure we can offer her a better life. I am recently retired so I can spend unlimited time with her and hopefully this will help with settling her in. Part of me wants to know how her journey was but then the other half thinks lets just see where we are when she arrives and pick up the pieces and move on. Wish us luck xxx
Thank you for being honest !!! I wish the rescues in Romania and other countries would be more upfront about behavioral issues
Maybe she was different with them, especially as it was a completely different environment and experience for her. Perhaps she's never been in car. I can imagine how scary it might be. She probably needs a lot more time.
Thank you for your comment 😊
It does seem we had different experiences compared to the foster carer. I just really want people to be aware of the hard work it takes to train a foreign dog. It definitely hasn't been easy
How old was she when you rehomed her please xx
My son adopted a hound dog from USA, he was large and now is 122 pounds. He was 5 months old chewed our base boards in home, chewed up a couch, pooped on floors, pee, he was ready to give up and take the dog back, keep in mind it was crated and he was working a lot of hours, not good I would say for dog. So he asked me to babysit the dog, I found the dog to be quite friendly and what he really needed was some sort of a schedule, I took him out on walks, potty trips, got him toys, fed him on a schedule, that was 12 years ago, I take him with me on errands now and have to help him in my car, he is my best buddy so please do not give up the humor in this is my son learned most important to have a schedule set for the dog, and spend time with the pet. This by the way was a dog no one wanted. So please do not give up I babysit a dog 12 years later that is smart, intelligent, and caring, love to have him around, he is an old dog now, told my son would not change anything about this dog, please give yours a schedule and time with you on walks, play with him or her and get it toys, most of all do not give up, keep in mind it is a pet not a human and enjoy all the misadventures you have with the wonderful dog, and you saved a life one that matters, a dog. Your dog.
Thank you for this. We definitely won't give up on her. Although I admit there were times I wanted to give up, she's changed so much over the past few months and compared to some dogs she's as good as gold. She's become part of the family x
Hi Ruth,
Lovely to hear about Sue, I may have some advice for you as I have 2 Romanian rescue dogs and have been a volunteer for a Romanian charity before.
Compared to some dogs Sue has done so well, you started to get her to walk outside in 3 days. It took my 1st Romanian rescue dog (Dixie) 1 month to come out of the house.
For the Car… make it as comfortable as possible. Maybe put her bed in there? And blankets. I know you want to give her time and don’t want to pick her up. But, we’ve had our second Romanian rescue (Apple) a week now, she was terrified of the car. We picked her up and put her In there and she is smiling now. She does get sick occasionally but they grow out of that.
Take your time with the secure field because after learning about Sue today, I think if she hears a loud bang etc she will be gone In a second and you don’t get them back.
A lot of Rommies don’t like squirrels etc, it’s because in Romania they may of had to survive on animals like that!
It’s Crazy….. Give Sue a cuddle from me!
x Florentine x
I've had a lot of animals who have had problems adjusting.its amazing what love time + patience can achieve. Bless you all animals need good people like you pity there wasn't more.x
Thank you so much for doing this - found the video last night and there were soooo many similarities between Sue and our dog, Millie! She came through a different agency, but same issues and behaviours. I've had dogs my whole life, I did my research on rescues and thought I knew what to expect, but for the first week she refused to even allow my partner in the same room. I think that the charity are naïve rather than wilfully misleading, but there were so many things we were told that aren't true (including the fear of cars - I specifically said that we intended to take her to Scotland with us on holiday, but at no point did they say that fear of cars was a trait with RR dogs). We got her a week before Xmas so it's still early days, but it's been tough. I saw loads of posts on Facebook from people who had such happy positive experiences and I just wish they had more honest. I probably would have still gone ahead, but at least I would have had an idea what to watch out for. I love her to bits and she is growing more confident every day, but I still feel that we have a long road ahead of us.
Thank you so much for your comment! I'm sorry to hear it's been tough for you as well. We had the same problem. We really wanted a dog that was comfortable with travelling in the car as we do go hiking a lot but they dropped a bombshell on the day we had her about her not being car trained and it's the one thing we're still really struggling with 4 months on. I have met a few people recently with Romanian dogs who started off with bad experiences and the charities lied to them about the issues but, they have turned out to be lovely dogs. It's all going to take time. Our Susu is also growing in confidence slowly everyday but I reckon it'll take at least a year for things to finally settle. Good luck! I really hope it all goes well for you x
Great to see such an honest account. I love how you still recognise all the positives despite it clearly having been really tough at times.
I would love to see this work out well - you two are clearly brilliant with her and I'm sure that in no time she'll come to realise that she's safe now and that you're always going to be around to look after her and she looks like a real character.
I'd love to see an update in another few weeks to see how everything is especially with the car issue - that will be a brilliant one to resolve and then the adventures can really start. In the meantime, thanks for posting the video and more so - GOOD LUCK!
Thank you so much! That really means a lot❤️ I am considering doing an update video soon as I've had such a positive response from my video and I think it would be good to show everyone how my rommie is getting on. She's making progress but we've still got a long way to go! We've been incredibly patient as well as getting help from a dog trainer. Her confidence is growing slowly and address showing her cheeky side 😂
Hi we have had our rescue dog Foxy for a month now. We too did our research before getting him and thought we would be prepared for his coming. How wrong we were. It is so uplifting to see your video and know we are not alone. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your message! ☺️ I totally agree! You just don't know what to expect and what issues your dog will come with as my dog was apparently different to when she was living with a foster carer for 6 months. They say it takes 3 months for then to settle but I think it may take at least a year at this rate for our dog! 😂
Keep going! You will notice changes even if they're really small and it could be a slow process.
Good luck! x
Brilliant insight,we get our rescue in a few weeks and this is an excellent other side of the perfect rescue setting in
@@petebartlett2229 Thank you! ☺️ I hope it goes well. We've had a our rescue for 4 years now and I wouldn't change her foot the world. In fact, we adopted another rescue last year and it was the best thing we did 💚
Thank you for posting and thank you for giving her this chance!
Thank you so much! That means a lot!
What helped with our rescue is to put the car on our porch and just open all the doors and let him explore on his own while we were around the car and put little treats in it. First on the edges and then deeper in the car. I wish you the best of luck! ❤️
Thank you! She's making good progress. Slow, but she's getting there. We started letting our dog roam the car on her own terms with the doors open and without the lead and it seems to have settled her slightly.
I found this video informative and honest so thank you. I have a Romanian rescue arriving tomorrow and I’m excited and anxious! I have been told he was put into the shelter when his family’s circumstances changed. He was then rescued from the shelter. I’m told he is house trained and lead trained but other than that I’ve no idea what to expect. He’s said to be fine with other dogs, cats and children so fingers crossed he’ll be easy to train!! Thanks again for your insight xxx💕
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I hope it's going well with your Romanian rescue! xxx
Thank you for saving her! It’s going to be hard for you but think how hard it is for her! My latest rescue is terrified of riding in my truck and gets carsick. I think she is scared of being abandoned but who knows really. I think you have to realize that your dog probably will never be like a dog who was raised in better conditions, how could she be? Please do the best you can and love her for who she is.
I have a Romanian rescue dog arriving this weekend and I’m glad you’ve been so honest x
Thank you so much! I hope it goes well for you. It is tough but very rewarding x
How is it going?
I have a Romanian street dog I have had her three months now and I am struggling, she is so lovely and loyal and looks quite similar to yours but she won’t let people in the house she has nipped four people she is very anxious and fearful even though I was told she was good with people and dogs, thank you for being so honest I feel like I’m not alone as it’s hard work and I have had to book her into training , if that don’t work I’m unsure what to do 😞
I'm so sorry to hear that! Honestly, getting a trainer involved was the best thing we did. We believe it's money well spent as our dog is making small improvements each day. Some days she'll have setbacks and then it's like having to start all over again but you need to keep working on it. It's only recently that our dog has started learning to play with dogs so it does take time. We still struggle now and again and we've only had her for nearly 3 months. You're definitely not alone! I felt the same but I felt I had to each out. I ended up getting in touch with the charity we adopted from and asking for help so they put us in touch with their behavioural therapist.
I hope the training goes well. Good luck!
I am hoping to adopt a dog from Romania and the bio says she is good with dogs and people. I was a bit skeptical because all the bios I looked at said that. However, if you look on RSPCA and Dogs Trust sites, very few dogs were described this way. It is really useful to hear your experience so that I can be careful and well prepared.
@@deborahcustance2754 Yes, it's best to take the bios with a pinch of salt as it doesn't always turn out this way! My mother-in-law adopted two dogs from Cyprus and they were advertised as being good in the car when in fact both of them suffer with severe travel sickness! I don't believe the shelters really get to know a dog until it's in a home.
@@deborahcustance2754 British rescues, especially the 'Big' ones, RSPCA/Dog's Trust are far more honest...as they don't want 'Bouncebacks'.. it is not good for the dog, so they really assess the dog properly, and know the type of home that the dog will suit {eg, only dog, no cats, needs to live in quiet countryside, older kids only, needs other dog &c} They also check out the potential home well.
Regarding the car problem (applies to any new situation really). Try even smaller steps: for days just take her near the car and give her high value treats _only_ near the car. When she's ok with that, open the door with her close and give her treats only with the door open. Then for a few days maybe leave the treats on the seat, so she takes them from there. It might take days/weeks for her to be ready to go in the car at that pace, but you will get there. If you can do this daily and after exercising her it'll go much faster. I foster Romanian dogs, btw. It's all about tiiiny baby steps. It's so unfortunate you were paired up with a difficult case, most are quite ok. But she's a lovely girl and it shows you love her: you've got this :)
11 minutes in and I still haven't seen the dog yet haha.
I've got 2 Rommies, both girls. I love 'em to bits and they're getting more relaxed every day.
I hope it's still going well and you're seeing a lot of improvement. You'll feel really good about yourself when she's settled and you'll love her all the more for the challenge it was. Good luck.
Hi, thank you for adopting this beautiful girl. My last 3 dogs were rescues. All of them had fear of cars. It's not that they are afraid of the car, they are rather afraid of being taken somewhere and abandon again. So, the good thing is, she already bonded with you and loves you and she just doesn't want to leave your house. All dogs are different. My Dalmatian mix overcame her fear after couple of months, my black pitbull would put up a fight every time we tried to put him in the car and then was so anxious that he would throw up. It took him much longer to overcome it. 6 months ago, we adopted a type of hunting dog from the local high-kill shelter. We don't hunt, so we've been dealing with her super high energy and kind of wildness since then. She overcame her fear of the cars within the first maybe two months. We realized that since she was afraid of leaving the house in the car, we need to take her for a short walk to some parking lot, where we parked our car. To come back home, she needed to jump in the car. Once she did, we would drive straight home. This way, she associated the ride in the car with coming home. After doing it few times, we took her for a short ride somewhere else, where we hiked and then rode back home. She definitely was more willing to jump back into the car to come back. But do it close to your home, so you can walk with her in case she refuses to jump in the car. You mentioned that she played with another dog. If that dog is OK with the car rides, maybe take them both for a ride. My Sky overcame her fears also because she saw my other dog jumping happily in the car (the pitbull, who previously hated the car rides). So, it just takes time. My Sky has a lot of issues and I can say this - they are a pack animals, meaning you and your partner need to be an Alpha leader to her. I realized that if I'm firm with Sky, when she does something bad, she listens and obeys me. Also, teach her how to walk on the leash. Sky pulled terribly. I taught her to "heel" - go by my leg, but also I give her the release commend "free dog", when I'm OK with her to explore and sniff. I heard from some trainer that it's important to have the release commend for the dog. Having Sky for 6 months as well as having rescues previously, I can tell you that it does get better. My previous girl (a Dalmatian, who passed away 6 months ago) was terrified of men. It took her few months to overcome it. Sky was terrified of different sounds. Passing cars scared her and she reacted by jumping towards them. Now, she learned not to do it. So, it just takes time. They are like a bit older kids, who never were told how to behave, so they need to learn everything. Sorry for the long text. I understand your struggles. It will get better, I promise. I really think, you and your partner are doing a fantastic job with her. She seems very happy with you guys.
Thank you so much for your advice! I really appreciate it! I will bear all of that in mind as I agree I think she's terrified of being abandoned again as that what she associates with cars. I do think that is a good idea about driving somewhere local and encouraging her to get back in the car to go home. I would like to try that when lockdown is over and the trainer feels it's okay to. We've had her for 3 months now and we're still working on getting her in the car. We still have a dog trainer who comes to the house once a week with her own dog to help Sue overcome her fear and she did manage to get all four paws in last week! We've now started unclipping her and letting her explore the car in her own time. I do think it's helping build her confidence each week. Thank you! I really do hope it gets better.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling
Being transported all that way with others for sale/''adoption'' probably frightened her more than anything else.
It's a very long journey especially for a dog who has unlikely ever been in a vehicle before then.
Glad you posted this. It definitely will take time. Sending you good thoughts !!
-- James
Love your determined creative approach to training.😄 A professional dog trainer once told me that dogs w/ high prey drive cannot always differentiate between a small child and other small prey. It’s unlikely, but slow supervised introductions are best.
Thanks! We're quite lucky she seems to be good with children. She lived with a toddler in her foster carer so introductions with my niece were a lot easier! She still has a high prey drive but we've managed to train her to stop chasing if we notice she's about to run.
Wow, she's amazing! Thank you for being honest. You did a noble thing by giving her a loving home. Seven weeks is early days, and she's already come a long way - especially given where she came from. I think by the end of the year she'll be fine in a car. Have you thought of asking Victoria Stilwell for help in this regard? 🐾 🦴
Thank you very much! 🥰 I really hope so. I would love to be able to drive her to beautiful places for a walk! Each day we see slight improvements but she's come a long way. It would be a dream to get advice from Victoria Stilwell!
Really loved the ending...I've had my Romanian rescue for 3 months now, he looks very similair to your dog. I had a DNA test done and he's 72% German Shepherd plus chihuahua, Transylvanian Hound, poodle, Segugio Italiano ...love him :)
Thank you! We've had her for over a year now! I can't believe how quickly time flies. Oh that's amazing! I really would love to do a DNA test on Sue, they're quite expensive though 😔
I am hoping to adopt a dog from Romania. This was super helpful. I want to know what to expect.
Thank you! I really hope it goes well. It is hard work but very rewarding.
1st of all thank you for sharing We've just adopted a Romanian dog..some of what you said we had the same issue but not as harsh as what you have experienced....we have to pick him up to get him in the car as he is petrified of them but once in he's settled...walking on a lead is a struggle I made a mistake of using a collar and lead bad mistake he slipped it several times fortunately he came back to me.....so he now has a harness....toliet training is working progress how ever he won't wee or poop in public only in the garden.... It's going to be a long journey....but we're prepared to put in the work... we're lucky as it's a soft friendly dog...I guess it's pot luck what personality the dog you adopt...but I've enjoyed hearing your experience.... she is lovely looking dog you have she's lucky to have to loving owners ....I guess the words with these type of rescue dogs is Love & Patience I wish you best of luck with your lovely dog
Thank you so much for your comment! That means a lot! Our dog had the same issue with going to the toilet. She refused to go in public until eventually she learned to go when we took her for a really long walk and now she very rarely goes in the garden! She doesn't let us know when she needs the toilet so we have to guess or look for signs. Unfortunately we can't pick up our dog as she really doesn't like it and the trainer advised this could lead to aggression if we force her into the car. Although she's a sweet and friendly dog, she has recently bared her teeth and snapped at another dog recently so we know she is capable of turning aggressive when pushed which did scare me a bit. The harness I feel is the best way to go. My dog absolutely hated the slip lead but she's learned that the harness means walks which she really enjoys. We let her off lead for the first time a couple of months ago and she was as good as gold. If you do try this I recommend the long training lead! Good luck! I really hope it goes well and would love to know the progress!
Well done for persevering! How is Suzie now ? We are potentially adopting a young Romi, he’s beautiful . I hope he’s gonna work. He did sit in command when I saw him, so feel he may be workable. He also can to call. Fingers and toes crossed
I’m one week in, and mine girl is doing amazing. But definitely hard work I’m struggling with leaving her home for 30mins at the moment.
Glad to hear your dog is doing well :) We struggled at first to leave Sue on her own, but we gradually built it up over a few months and made sure to leave games and chewy treats at home to keep her occupied for a while. The longest we've left her alone at home is 5 hours and she was absolutely fine. It's not something we do regularly though.
We had a similar issue with my old rescue dog on walks. Her main issue was that she was so high energy and being on lead wouldn't be enough, no matter how far! Her recall was awful due to huge prey drive and would chase anything for 30mins before returning if loose (we live near a massive nature area). Shame she isn't too engaged in toys for tiring out, I think you are right in looking into enclosed areas to let her run and maybe engage in play. They might also love agility training as is so smart. You might like it too! Otherwise if someone loves running, they might be a great partner. All the best, you sound like a great dog mum x
Agility is definitely something we're going to look into! I think our dog would really enjoy it as she just loves running up and down steep banks and she's jumped across riverbanks! Yes, unfortunately Susu's recall isn't great when she's off chasing a squirrel! We've bought a tracker for her as she does love wandering off into the woods. We don't mind too much as she always comes back, we just need to be wary of what's around us. I wouldn't trust her off lead near sheep though! Thank you so much! x
I have a Romanian rescue and she's sick when I take her in the car due to stress bless her. My suggestion is to feed yours high value treats in the car without the engine switched on. After she's ok with that, try with the engine on but not driving anywhere. Desensitization takes a lot of time and patience. We've had the same problems with lack of playing with toys. I've got a lotus toy with food hidden inside velcro flaps that I throw to her and she's slowly learning. She loves hunting for smells and food though.
We have a fearful dog and I’ve hired a recommended dog trainer who approaches dogs with positive reinforcement. The first visit ended up with my dog falling asleep at my feet. ❤️ It’s a shame you don’t have access to a fenced in field- she probably wants to run. ❤️
Aww that's really sweet. We're still working with a trainer for her anxiety but it has been a slow process. Thankfully we're at a stage now where we can let her off lead for a run so a fenced in field isn't necessary anymore as she comes straight back to us x
Omg your experience is almost word for word the same as mine ! From the charity issues to the behaviour issues, the stress has been unreal . We got our Romanian rescue 4 weeks ago. I would love you have a chat to you so we can share our experience. It’s so relieving knowing I am not the only one struggling and would be nice to support each other ❤️ x
I see a lot of the comments are agreeing with your experience too ! We should create a little support group haha 😂
@@nikkidocherty9048 Of course! I'm no dog expert but you're more than welcome to message me for any advice. The best thing we did was get a dog trainer involved. To be honest, I feel the same! It's a relief knowing that I'm not the only one. I wasn't expecting such a positive response to my video! I am considering doing an update video as we've made some progress but still a long way to go! They say it takes 3 months for things to settle down but I think it'll be a year for me at this rate! 😂
Keep going and give it time! I hope it all goes well for you 💚 x
@@Ruth_forever_rambling oh I would absolutely love to see an update video ! Even if things havnt processed as far as your hoped :) that is the unfortunate reality for some rescues. Time and patience. He has made some progress since last week too ! But also some set backs. It’s such a rollercoaster honestly. Some days it’s amazing and you are so happy about your decision to rescue, then a day later your back to feeling that thought of “what have I done, I can’t do this” i just keep the hope that it will be all the sweeter once he finally settles. I also got a behaviourist in for my guys aggression problems and I must say the difference is staggering. Stay strong 💪🏻 I know we will make it worth it in the end xxx
P.s You and your partner look and seem so similar to myself and Matthew 😂 it’s like we are living parallel lives lmao
Nikki and Ruth omg we should have a what’s app ground for support. We got our rommie rescue from pptf 7 weeks ago and also going through a lot! Let’s support one another
Lovely Ruth
Thank you 😊
Great job🙏
Have you tried crating her in the boot ,? both mine are anxious in the car unless crated as then they feel safe and I shove a stuffed long or something in there too to keep them occupied and make it a positive experience.
Yes we did try her with a crate. I was a bit reluctant to at first but the dog trainer we hired had crates in her van and our dog hated it! We had a bit of breakthrough this week though as our dog managed to get four paws into the crate and then jumped straight back out again! It was only small progress but still a huge achievement. I think we will try putting her blanket in there next time so she feels a bit more at ease.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling slow crate training ... lure her in with a high reward food like chicken , then feed it through the open door to her once in and slowly shut door and feed through the gaps. ...might help?
These videos have been so interesting! Definitely appreciate the honesty, it’s important to see that it’s not all sunshine and roses. We’re on the final stage of adoption for our Romanian pup... the home check! What questions did they ask you?
Thank you so much! Definitely, I want people to be prepared for adopting a dog especially a foreign rescue as well as learning from other people's experience as I want the training to be done properly. They basically asked how would we deal with certain situations and scenarios such as dog reactivity, guarding issues, anxiety and separation issues, will we take the dog to training classes and, if so, where will we take them. They also asked who will look after the dog when we're away, how to stop the dog from escaping the house/garden, toilet training, where will the dog sleep, what dogs will it most likely interact with. It took an hour and a half so make sure you have answers prepared as well!
Good luck! :)
This was a great video. I found there were so few videos prior to adopting our girl through PPTF in November 2020. We will have had our girl 3 months this Sunday (Valentine's Day).
I intend to do a video detailing our experience as it has been similar to yours. We are coming out the other side but can say, hand on heart, we went into this blind and struggled. We spent a good few days utterly distraught thinking we were over our heads and whether we were making the right decision.
Thankful that we pushed through as she is the most loving dog. She has her problems but sometimes I worry if we will ever get over them, such as dog reactivity, but we have to stay positive.
You will get there!
Thank you!
Thank you for your video! She looks so like our Romanian Rescue and we have just reached our 7th week too. I can totally relate to some of the feelings that you are having but I am sure you will get there as you guys sound like awesome owners :) Do you think she might be part Shepherd? If so, you should check out the Sheep Ball game if you haven't already. Our trainer recommended it as our pooch showed zero interest in fetch (she chased the ball but had no idea what to do with it after catching). It is such a fun game, completely tires her out and we can play it whilst still on lead (works well using her normal lead or her 5m training line). Wonder if it might work for you :)
Thank you so much for your comment! ☺️ That's very kind of you. How are you getting on with your Romanian Rescue?
We do reckon she is a cross between a German shepherd and Greyhound/Whippet/Lurcher as she's got quite a high prey drive and runs really quickly! She's also latched onto my partner more than me and it's apparently normal for GSD's to only form an attachment with one owner.
I've not heard of the Sheep Ball game! Thank you for recommending that! I'll look into it as our dog doesn't seem to know how to play at all! She will run after a stick but then drops it and runs away.
She's making slow progress but her confidence is definitely growing ☺️
@@Ruth_forever_rambling We absolutely love her! Like your pup, it is slow progress but huge when compared to the first day we brought her home. Do we have the same dog? I swear you have just described our Pepsi :) I hope it works for you guys. Let me know if you find anything else that works because our dogs seem to be very similar :D
she is a lovely dog
Thank you! :)
I wonder if she would benefit from a Thunder Shirt? Good Luck Hun, it'll get better, you sound as though you are doing all the right things. Don't let people who think they're experts make you feel you're doing it all wrong. XXX
Oooh I've never heard of a Thunder Shirt! Thanks for letting me know, I'll look into this! I'm happy to give it a go
Thank you so much
You are doing great though, I'm sure all will be well.
It seems like the E. European stray dogs are mostly 2nd or 3rd generation street dogs. They are treated horribly there (and in many other countries around the world), so her experience with humans might have always been bad. I wonder if dogs like Sue even want to be inside. I really admire what you are doing and hope your training pays off. It's a good sign that she has bonded with your partner, so that shows she is capable of it.
Funnily enough, I actually mentioned that to my partner about whether she even wants to be inside! Sometimes I get the impression she would rather be outside, although she does look very content when she's curled up on the sofa. She hates confined spaces so it's even taken her months to get used to our kitchen as it's quite small. I wish we knew her history as even our dog trainer has said she's been the most difficult dog she's come across in terms of her anxiety and fear. Thank you so much! I do love seeing that she has bonded with my partner as frustrating as it is sometimes!
@@Ruth_forever_rambling It just occured to me that she's like adopted kids who have Attachment Disorder. They've learned not to trust anyone because all adults in their lives have let them down. Anyway, even though she's a difficult girl and it might take a couple of years for her to let her guard down, you're doing everything right for her! 🌼
Thanks for being honest, I’ve got a rommie dog coming in in about a weeks time and I’m incredibly nervous. Very excited, don’t get me wrong, but nervous as hell too. A lot of people have had issues with pawprints 2 freedom and apparently they illegally brought a load of dogs in without proper vaccines and have misinformed people about dogs issues, so I do think there is a likelihood they lied to you about the dogs issues. So please don’t beat yourself up!
Oh wow. Please could you include any links that you found about this information? Where are you getting your dog from? All the best with him/her.
S W of course! There’s a Facebook group called uncovered - pawprints2freedom which annoyingly I can’t link as I’m on an ipad and I did see somewhere a veterinary journal saying how dangerous they were as they brought in a load of dogs with improper rabies vaccines so that’s dodgy as hell. A rescue called Pennypaws, they’re local to me which is nice and didn’t turn me down immediately on the grounds of I live in a showmans wagon and not a house. Thanks! And if I find that veterinary article I’ll link it on here :)
Thank you for letting me know! I will check that out. I always felt something wasn't quite right with the charity. I also forgot to mention that the passport doesn't match the date of birth they gave me and is different to what she's microchipped with. It was really odd. I hope it all goes for you adopting your rommie! 😊
@@Ruth_forever_rambling same as me
I'd love to know how this is going for you!! Pupdates please!!
We have a 1 year old Romanian rescue dog, had her since she was 6 months old. We’re still having problems with visitors coming over and she gets very scared. Do you have any tips?
I'm sorry to hear that 😔 That's got to be a tough one! I actually followed a lot of Victoria Stilwell's training techniques for dog training as it's about positive reinforcement. Our dog was incredibly nervous (but not aggressive) with people approaching her. She's never barked, but she would only approach on her terms. We found that giving visitors treats when they entered the house really helped with putting our dog at ease as she's so food orientated. She's not keen with too many people wandering around either, so getting everyone to sit down and not making a fuss helped. I do recommend taking a look at Victoria Stilwell on UA-cam or getting a dog trainer involved. We hired a dog trainer to come round once a week to help build her confidence. Hope that helps! Good luck!
with the car thing, i think you may be asking too much of her. Try to find out where her boundries are (where she starts to get anxious - is it when you are 10meters from the car? is it when you are next to it? maybe its when you touch the car/open the door? frind out where exactly her line is and then just stop - shower her with treats and comfort, and then go back inside and let her go. maybe do it a couple times a day, but never more than once in a row. slowly you will be ably to get closer to the car before she starts to panic( but sometimes you may also find that you arent getting as far, and thats okay, dont try and force her) with time she will begin to associate the car with something good, and you may be able to get her in. if you do DO NOT DRIVE ANYWHERE. Just really take baby steps all the way and eventually you'll be able to close the dor behind her, or turn the engine on ect.
Thank you for your advice
@@Ruth_forever_rambling yeah, its a pretty big thing to leave out if you do travel alot by car... i have heard some not-so-great things about shelters leaving out info about bad behaviours so that the dogs are adopted easier, which doesn't really help anyone. It definetly is a hard job to adopt a dog with a rough background - probably more so than i thought. Sounds like you are doing a great job with her though, and i am sure she deeply aprichiates all you do for her!
My Romanian dog is due to arrive in a few days 😮
have you tried the same thing as you did with the night time problem, just sit in the back of the car and read just ignore her and maybe she will just jump in
I have rescued a Romanian dog he is 6 and has some nasty scars and has had a very hard life I am struggling to train him just the simple commands didn’t know if you or anyone have any tips ?
Hi. I’m looking at Romanian rescue centres, and I can see there’s a lot to consider. How old was the pup when you adopted? And if you don’t mind me asking, what was the name of the rescue centre? Thanks 🙏🏻
We're not sure really as we were told she was 4 years old, but her passport says she's 6! We adopted her from Pawprints to Freedom, but I wouldn't necessarily consider them. I found the whole process a little dodgy and later found out that many others who had adopted from them said the same. We've had Sue for over a year now and I wouldn't change her for the world as she has turned out to be a fantastic dog. Just please be aware that Romanian dogs are likely to come over with serious issues i.e. anxiety, guarding, aggressive etc due to their traumatic backgrounds. It took our roughly 9 months until we started seeing real progress with Sue.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling thanks for the info! I’m struggling to adopt from RSPCA, Battersea, Dogs trust, etc.. they require me to have a garden, even tho I’m in a big flat next to the park and beach.. these European rescue centres seem like a good option as they make the exception to the garden rule, but I suspect they often play down the issues of the pups. I live alone, and work part time, and I’ll be relying on a mate walking my dog 4 nights a week while I’m out, so a pup with behavioural issues could be tricky 😕
I think I should accept defeat and just get a pup from a reputable Breeder. If the lack of garden is a deal breaker, then I don’t really have a choice 🥺
I’m a volunteer for Pawprints to freedom, my main role is a kennel volunteer. So I volunteer at our Cheshire kennels as we really do have some amazing dogs, im sorry to see you had a bad experience Ruth. I have two Romanian rescues, one of which was like a wild fox and I never encountered any of these problems 😔 I really hope she’s better now.
Plenty of UK dogs that need rescuing!
I am aware of that, although I clearly stated 2 mins into the video that we didn't have any luck adopting any dogs in the UK. Please bear in mind that this video is over 2 years old now and we tried to adopt a dog during the pandemic. However, no UK shelters would accept my application either because they were inundated with applicants, I hadn't owned a dog for a very long time, so they wouldn't choose us due to lack of experience and our garden fence was too short. Pawprints to Freedom was the only charity that gave us a chance as long as we had a 6ft fence built, so we did. I wouldn't change my dog for the world, and if we were to adopt again I would of course apply to a UK charity now that we have the experience as I'm aware UK shelters are bursting at the seams with dogs due to the demand from the pandemic and because of irresponsible breeding. Anyway, all dogs deserve a chance regardless of what country they come from.
I believe she just need more time to adapt. The fact that she chasing other animals might be the fact that she is insecure. Give her more time and keep the reinforcing training because it appears to be something simple on the UA-cam episodes but it takes a looooot of effort and repetition. With the car try spending time with her around it and gradually open the doors e move inside (take as much time as needed as she has shown anxiety related to it). Good luck and don't feel bad for adopting a dog.
Thank you for your comment! ☺️ It had been a very great process getting her used to the car. She's finally getting her front paws in but still not able to drive anywhere yet but we'll definitely go at her pace incase it sets her back. That's interesting! I never considered it may be down to insecurity chasing animals. She does seem to do that a lot more since we first had her. They say it takes 3 months to settle by I do think it could take at least a year at this rate! We're taking baby steps ☺️
We’ve had our Romanian rescue from PPTF 8 weeks would love to chat about our experience too, if you wanna get in touch
Of course!
Have you tried putting a large box in the front seat , cut out the side that faces you , so she only sees you and not the other three views. Pop her fav blanket in and just sit in the car with her , next day start engine, turn off , repeat . Do everything in small doses. I'm fostering one at the mo . Look up Meesha Masters, she's our patron of the charity, excellent with rommies
At the moment she's working with a trainer who uses crates to help her overcome her fear with the car Unfortunately, our Susu is still not comfortable getting in the crate even with her favourite blanket :( We bought her a new crate the other day and she ran a mile terrified! She's getting better at jumping in the car for treats but then still jumps straight back out again. It's still a low process after 4 months, but she's getting a little better. Thank you so much for the recommendation! I will definitely look into Mesha Masters! :)
Where did you get the dog from ?
Pawprints to Freedom, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend them
@@Ruth_forever_rambling cool two people had said paw prints but won’t recommend them but it’s because I got a dog from last chance rescue Romania so you choose a dog or more and they pick the best one out of them and I get my sion in a week they went really fast
How old was your dog when you adopted?
The charity said she was around 4 but her passport says 6!
I have hier 7 Romenie street dog's ❤❤❤❤❤
She will have carpathian Shepard in her who guard sheep. So it’s instinct
It seems her Partner should make it clear to the dog, that in the Pack order, she is above above the dog.
My partner has taken a step back and I've stepped forward with more responsibility and although she still has a bond with my partner, she knows I have authority as well. It's taken months of training but she has warmed to me a lot more now.
What happened to the previous rescue dog? The 'vicious' one.
He was quite old when we adopted him. The rescue said he was approximately 8 years old and we had him for 7 more years before the vet suggested he be euthanised due to ill health. He ended up having a few strokes, diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of balance, eye sight was going, struggled to walk.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling 15 years is quite an old age, especially if he was a bigger dog. Your new rescue is adorable. :-)
@@blondecat666 Thank you ☺️
Yes, he was getting on a bit bless him. He was a small cross breed but having been found as a stray he was quite a difficult dog to look after. He did have a sweet side but his biggest issue was guarding things and he also bit a lot which we were unaware of when we adopted him.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling I does happen, and kudos to you not to have given up on him. I also have a rescue, fortunately she is the sweetest ever... She was kept in a kennel (rather a bigger cage in the middle of a yard with a little doghouse). She was fed every 3 days and never let out. There were no people living in the house, her only companion were 2 cats. She's been with me for 6 months now and she is a real Velcro dog. :-) A little separation anxiety, but it's understandable. She is a lurcher-lab mix.
There seems to be an epidemic of cruelty to dogs in that country. There's literally an industry here in the UK that's built up around rescuing dogs from that specific country lol. No soul
Apparently when the Russians controlled the country they built a number of high rises and stuff. People weren’t allowed to take their dogs so they ended up on the street. From that a massive street dog population boomed so now Romania has a massive issue with stray/street dogs. Their solution to this is to round them up, stick them in kill pounds with the intention of putting them down. So numerous charities now try to rescue them.
I got a Romanian rescue pup in December and he’s been the most challenging dog I have ever had. It’s caused me a lot of stress and definitely wrecked havoc with my mental health. But despite the resource guarding, separation anxiety, reactivity to other dogs when out and being bitten a few times I still couldn’t part with him now. He looks very similar to suesue. But with a curly husky like tail.
CBD oil can help with anxiety I believe.
Thanks! I shall look into this. We've currently got her on anti-anxiety tablets but I'm willing to try a different approach.
Dogs who appear to be terrified about getting in the car need more of a confident body language from you. My daughter couldn't get her Romanian rescue in the car and after a week I visited and took the lead and she walked to the car with me and hopped in like she had always been in it. Its not the dog, it's you. She doesn't have as many issues as you might think, she needs YOU to learn the art of communicating confidence to an insecure dog. Please, PLEASE contact James Penrith and he'll point you to a local trainer who can help you.
Hi Allie, we have actually managed to get Sue in the car for the last 3 months so the car isn't really an issue anymore. I did upload a recent update video about how she's doing. We have been working with an experienced dog trainer for the last 9 months and it wasn't because of what we were doing was wrong, it's because she was terrified of being taken away again having travelled from Romania and from when we took her from the foster carer. We had to resort to picking her up to put her in the car ourselves but, when she learned she was coming home again, she started jumping in herself anyway.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling @Ruth Giblett it's a shame it's taken a trainer 9 MONTHS to help her, and it's so frustrating that trainers are still humanising dogs and claiming they are 'terrified of being taken away again' having travelled.....dogs don't have thought processes like that. Those are human fears. She was just anxious about being in a confined space because she has been in them before and not been let out for a long time, that's all, and may have learned travel sickness. Picking her up and putting her in - was that the trainer's idea?? If so, your trainer has no idea about how to give a dog self confidence. Picking dogs up leaves them helpless and can worsen fears, you have to help them do it then when they see they can, you praise galore and they feel like they just won the World Cup. Getting them up onto high things is also really good for confidence, getting her to jump up onto walls and other raised surfaces so she feels tall. It's really helpful.
Is she reliable off lead yet? If not, your trainer is not capable of getting a recall on her and if you want her to have a free and fulfilling life, please contact a balanced trainer. My most recent addition (number 6 in my pack) is a Romanian dog found emaciated and exhausted on a main road - I spent the first 3 weeks letting her decompress and not demanding anything of her, just bonding and hand feeding to encourage her to see me as relevant, then we went to work on training. She was just over a year old, a malinois/husky/hound cross, but she had 100% recall within 2 WEEKS and comes back with a tail like a windmill and with such enthusiasm it makes you laugh. Don't be fooled if your trainer tells you she will never be trustworthy off lead, or makes excuses about how she had to find her own food and that's why she runs off hunting. It is 100% possible to have PERFECTLY RELIABLE recall despite distractions and anyone that can't get a recall on her isn't worth their salt as a trainer. It's up to you, obviously, you can choose to confine her to a flexi lead for life or you can embrace her genetics and give her freedom to run like the dog she was born to be, without risking wildlife, sheep or Sue herself. You just have to be ready to learn and not taken in by the rubbish spouted about what balanced training involves by gullible people who have no idea what it involves! Larry Krohn, Tyler Muto, James Penrith, they're all balanced trainers and they all get actual results. It shouldn't take 9 months to train any dog, Ruth. By that time I'd expect it to be capable of making dinner! You are being fleeced there. I have six foreign rescue dogs and my pack are well mannered and get 2 hours off lead together a day, romping through the countryside and swimming in rivers, exploring the woods, walking politely to heel past dogs, sheep, cattle, strangers...and we have overcome pretty much every issue dogs can present with . It is VERY possible ;)
@@ragdollyally We have actually had Sue reliably off lead since January so, again, no issue there. Please bear in mind that this video was very recently after we adopted her so, a lot has changed since then. This was just my experience at the time and Sue's confidence has grown incredibly. We don't actually have a dog trainer anymore as we've recently just moved away. And, no, it was my idea to pick her up to put her in the car with the consent from the dog trainer and it actually helped her confidence. Sue was already jumping in and out of the car for months prior to picking her up, it was just we wanted her to be comfortable during the journey. She's a totally different dog now jumping in the car herself and lying down in the car. Sue actually gets 2-3 hours a day off lead as well as exploring woods and swimming in rivers. Plus she's incredibly friendly towards other dogs, doesn't chase cats and listens to my command if I can see she's about to chase a squirrel.
Oh dear, the charity should have warned you the rule of three. You shouldn't walk the dog in the first three days while they decompress, sometimes for the first week. But sounds like you need to muzzle train her potentially. I wouldn't recommend a flexi lead, they can break, try a long training lead like a 10 metre one that you rap up yourself. The lunging sounds like anxiety more than excitement.
Sounds like you are doing a good job but I would potentially suggest a behaviourist instead of a trainer. Because I bet she is super clever but she probably had a shed load of anxiety. Look at adding camomile or passion flower etc. To her diet that should relax her. A behaviourist will be able to perscribe anti anxiety meds as well.
Romanian rescues have huge pray drives because they will have been used to hunting for food. So any cat intro would need to be very very careful.
I promise you things will get better, as a owner of the biggest arse hole Romanian rescue, it will get better. Just keep at the good work. Sending love xxxx
We couldn't walk her in the first few days anyway as she was petrified of the harness and lead. I think it was around day 4 my partner managed to walk her out the front door and back in and then day 5 was around the block. I still want to muzzle train her just in case but we've somehow managed to train her to stop chasing as long as we notice she's about to run as soon as possible. She's getting a lot better at responding to the command "leave it". We actually gave up on the flexi in the end and went for a short springy lead instead which has worked a lot better. She's now brilliant off lead and comes back to us. Thanks for the tip! I will look into adding camomile to her diet. We've currently got her on anti-anxiety meds but I want to ween her off them. We did try a behaviourist that was working with the charity, but I didn't find it helpful as it was all done over Facebook messenger and I found most of what she sent was copied and pasted from in the internet...
Thank you! I hope so. She is doing brilliantly and has come such a long way. We're still having setbacks but she's improved so much xxxx
Pawprints to Greedom have an appalling reputation .
It's highly lucrative selling ''Mutts'' to British buyers.
Far better to get a dog from RSPCA or Dog's Trust where they are honestly described and assessed.
I have since heard about PPTF's bad reputation and I personally wouldn't recommend them in future. In all honesty, I never intended on adopting from a foreign rescue. We tried for ages to adopt from UK dog shelters and I lost count on how many dogs I applied for, but we were either getting ignored, our garden didn't meet the criteria or the demand was just too high and dogs were getting snapped up straight away due to lockdown demand. In the end I came across Sue on PPTF and she was already in a foster home near me in Wales for 6 months and was on the urgent adoption list. I chose her because I thought she was suitable for us and it meant she was already in the UK rather than me adopting her straight from Romania. I personally wouldn't adopt a foreign dog again purely because of the stress the travelling puts the dogs under and the background is unknown, but I don't regret adopting Sue and we've had her for nearly a year now and I wouldn't change her for the world. With the right training, she's turned out to be brilliant dog regardless of her background.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling You have done really well with Sue..But many haven't had such a success story.
The journey is awful for the poor dogs, days in an airless, stinking van, awash with vomit, diahorrea and urine.
The fact that there are no prior introductions isn't good...Just choosing a dog from an image, and having no idea if the dog and you will 'Click' or not.
Meeting a dog really helps give an idea as to how the two of you will get along.
The UK charities have really strict criteria for the animal's sake.. Nothing is worse for an animal than to be returned as 'Unsuitable'... so they tend to ask that a person visits the animal several times beforehand, and they want to see all the family, and do a home check &c.
They are really strict, sadly because they have been lied to in the past about people's circumstances.
If you actually turn up at the premises, and speak to the staff face to face, you are far more likely to be lucky :)
I was fobbed off over the phone, but upon turning up, found the staff to be very helpful.
I wanted an adult dog, and the manageress said 'I think I have a dog that is suitable for you'...and showed me an emaciated 16 week approx puppy, a stray Lurcher.
I said ''But puppies get homes too easily..She replied, ones like this don't''... so every day for 10 days I visited her til she was well enough to come home {she was very unwell and full of parasites when they picked her up}
So by that time, she knew me a little bit.
Her only ''issue'' was separation anxiety, apart from that she was wonderful.
She also suffered from car sickness, {but not bus sickness!}
I expect your poor girl has been put off vehicles because of her gruelling journey in that stinking van.
You could maybe try another vehicle?
I'm sure you will overcome her fear of vehicles, maybe have an open window, but keep her restrained so she can't jump out in a panic.
There are some very sweet Romanian dogs locally, one a complete charmer who ''High fives'' for treats. {A large fluffy herding type}
Her people have done very well with her, but I'm not sure where she came from.
@@Ruth_forever_rambling Ps, Sue has a lovely face. A very sweet dog.