Romanian Rescue Dog Problems

Written By OUR Dog Foundation

Rescuing a Romanian rescue dog can be an extremely rewarding experience and give you a fantastic new, lifelong family member, but it’s not always plain sailing! Here at OUR, we offer all our adopters ongoing behavioural support for the lifetime of your new pet and, if needed, full rescue backup in the UK.

In this blog, Summer Coleman, our OUR Dog Foundation behaviourist, takes you through some of the most common Romanian rescue dog problems and how with love, time and patience that they can be overcome….

No dog will ever be perfect, and we shouldn't expect them to be! But there are a few behaviours that are fairly typical in the dog world that people often have an issue with. It's important to note that all these behaviours are perfectly natural on the part of the dog. They do not make them “bad” or “stubborn”. Dogs simply do not understand what is “good” and what is “bad” behaviour. It's up to us to teach them what we expect from them. 

House Training

Many of the dogs who come over from Romania are not house trained. They likely have never had to live in a house before! So this is a common issue when bringing them into your home. The best approach to house training is to start with a schedule, letting your dog outside frequently, especially around food time. Do not leave food out for your dog all day and pick up water bowls overnight to prevent them excessively drinking and then going to the toilet all over the floor as a result. 

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In the event of your dog doing an accident inside the house, the best way to handle this is to gently lead the dog outside and clean up the mess - make note of any behaviours you noticed before they started doing their business as this may be helpful in preempting them in future. Yelling at, making loud noises or in any way punishing your dog if caught will only make them less likely to go to the toilet in front of you in future as they dont have the ability to associate the punishment with the specific action of going to the toilet inside. They will instead be more likely to associate the act of them going to the toilet with the act of you becoming angry. 

When your dog does go outside, calm and gentle praise and even a treat will help them learn that is what you want them to do in future. 

Recall

The issue of off-lead walking is a difficult one when it comes to Romanian rescues, as they often have a high prey drive and will want to chase things that move or simply to wander. Although it is possible to eventually have them off lead, it's important to begin with teaching them an effective recall. For this, you may want to employ the use of a long line or training lead which you can buy easily online and at many pet stores in various lengths. The longest length will enable your dog to roam in open spaces but still keep them safe from running off. 

A long line will help you begin to work on recall and also help you gauge how well your dog listens to you from a distance whilst ensuring their safety. Training recall will be an ongoing process. It is always best to begin at short distances inside the home or garden where there are likely less distractions. Offer lots of praise and reward to begin with and this can be phased out slowly over time. Make sure that even if it takes your dog a while to come back to you or they seem to refuse to listen as soon as they eventually return you give them lots of praise and rewards. They will be less likely to come back to you in future if they believe you are going to punish them. 

Issues Around Food

Another common training issue with street dogs is surrounding food. As many have had to steal or potentially persuade humans to hand over their meal and this is fairly normal when a dog is living on the streets for any length of time. This coupled with having never been expected not to beg or take things or often these dogs can begin by counter-surfing to steal anything left on the side or attempt to beg and sometimes steal the food you may be eating. It's important to note that this is normal behaviour for them. 

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Counter surfing in particular is an issue of management. You should not be leaving food unattended on the side with the dog in the same room. Each time they are given the opportunity to steal they are only reinforcing to themselves that this is a rewarding and good thing to do. You will find by doing this that overtime they do not think to search the counter tops for scraps. 

For begging, the best way to combat this is to teach them behaviours such as leave it or to go to their bed on command. For example, each time they keep coming over to the table to beg or bother you, simply lead them to their bed. Randomly reward them with treats for staying in their bed. Eventually, with enough persistence, your dog will learn that begging at the table gets them nothing and that their bed is the best place to be. It is very important not to feed your dog scraps from your plate. This will only make begging and stealing behaviours worse. 

Many dogs are also noted as having issues with guarding their food. To avoid this becoming an issue, the best bet is simply to not touch your dog's food and leave them alone whilst they are eating. If you persistently fiddle with or interrupt your dog's meal to attempt to add or take things away you will only make the situation stressful and increase their anxiety. In the beginning, it is worth not giving your dogs anything they could potentially guard such as high value items like bones. When they are fed, leave them alone and give them space. Eventually they will learn that you are not a threat to their meal. 

If you have multiple dogs in the household and one is guarding food over the others, always feed the dogs separately to avoid issues.

Mental Enrichment

Many people are greatly concerned about ensuring their dog has enough physical exercise but miss out on the importance of also giving your dog enough mental exercise. A lot of unwanted training issues and some behavioural issues can be resolved or greatly lessened by working on keeping your dogs mind busy and tired. Things like stuffed kong toys, puzzle toys, games and general training can make a huge difference to your dogs quality of life and behaviour. 

Activities that encourage licking and sniffing are naturally calming and giving your dog an activity to do by themselves will promote both calmness, confidence and help with any anxieties about being without you for short periods. There are plenty of inexpensive and low effort ways to provide your dog with mental enrichment. It could be as simple as ditching their usual bowl and placing their meals instead into a dispenser or toy or simply scattering it on the floor. You can find out more about Mental Enrichment and get some ideas from the Canine Enrichment Ideas facebook group that will be linked in resources below. 

Behavioural Issues

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Your dog has likely been through a lot before they have come to you so some behavioural issues are to be expected. Whilst many dogs settle and learn to live with you without issue occasionally you may come across something that you may struggle with. O.U.R Dog Foundation has an online facebook group where you can share your issues and get help from other owners or a member of our team who is experienced and qualified in dog behaviour.

It's important to remember that with time and patience your dog can learn to live happily alongside you. If you struggle at any point with specific behavioural issues, the O.U.R Dog Team will endeavour to give advice and support where appropriate and can help to recommend trainers in your area. 

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Helpful Resources

OUR Dog Foundation
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