Things To Note Before Applying To Adopt A Dog
We are so pleased that you are considering adopting from us, rescue dogs often make the most loyal, loving companions! Before you jump in and decide on an available dog from one of our profiles, we would like you to be aware of the commitment you are making.
We clearly state on all our social media and the website that we rescue dogs from traumatic situations such as kill-shelters, rubbish tips, abuse on the streets, and unsuitable living conditions. These environments can range from being neglected and starved all the way up to the dog suffering severe physical injury.
We often have puppies and young dogs available, these are also from stressful backgrounds, and although they are still young they have gone through trauma too.
These past experiences (and also the long journey to the UK) can mean that a rescue dog is ‘closed off’. They have shut down their personality simply for survival. We always dog test, social test, (cat test on request), and we ask the vet for their opinion too before we post about a dog’s temperament on the website profile. Dogs are quarantined for 14 days under assessment and some live at the shelter for months before adoption – so we have plenty of time to monitor them as they are walked at least once a day by experienced dog handlers and carers.
Any warning signs of behavioural issues and the dog is restricted from adoption. In extreme circumstances, if they cannot be rehabilitated, we will keep them at the shelter permanently in Hungary as our ‘Fur-ever Friends’ under the virtual adoption scheme.
When your dog arrives in the UK it will be tired, unsure of it’s surroundings, and trying to process how it should behave. We include information in your welcome pack about the milestones and timescales for a dog to fully acclimatise to it’s new home.
During these days, weeks and months you may begin to see behaviours emerge such as guarding food, more dominance, testing boundaries, extra barking, over-excitement, perceived aggression towards other dogs (in the form of lunging to assert dominance)… these are behaviours that must be addressed as soon as they appear. We stipulate in the adoption agreement that you must enrol your new pet in dog obendience training classes so they are correctly socialised.
Rescue dogs make great pets, but you MUST put in the daily effort and training. We understand that watching rescue videos where celebrities and animal lovers find stray animals, nurse them back to health and post Instagram-worthy pics of family days out can seem very enticing… However, the reality is that you will need to deal with toileting accidents, nervous animals, food scavenging, lead and recall training, and daily trust building exercises. These aren’t shown in many rescue videos as it’s a long, and sometimes messy process!
You simply cannot expect a dog who has been left for dead on a chain, or forced to guard their territory / food to suddenly open up in the space of a week or month and become the perfect pet. You can ask our adopters; they all love their dogs to the moon and back, but it comes as a learning curve for both humans and animals as each dog has different needs.
We do not recommend most adult rescue dogs as first time pets for these reasons. It is not fair on the dogs who need confident and experienced owners, and it is upsetting for the new adopter who doesn’t understand why their dog is displaying certain behaviours. Often a cheeky, challenging dog’s attitude can be misunderstood.
Important things to take into consideration regarding all rescue dogs:
•They aren’t a ready made ‘perfect’ creature – you will have to put effort in training and settling them into their new home.
•Patience and acceptance is very much needed – appreciate the fact that they are trying their best to navigate a new environment.
•Only rescue a dog if you willing to put some effort in, and join a dog training course/ classes. This is non-negotiable.
•Dogs have feelings too, they just can’t speak ‘human’ – please understand that if you give up your rescue dog after it has lived with you for several weeks or months you are destroying their trust in people yet again, and they may never fully recover.
•Responsibility is the key before considering adoption – if you are not ready for a full-time, full-cost, new member of your family who is included in every activity, then maybe you should seek out another type of pet.
If you believe that you have the necessary previous doggy experience along with a calm, structured household that will meet a rescue dog’s needs… then we believe we have the right dog for you!
Please read our adoption process and once you are happy with how it all works, you can browse our dogs, then we will be in touch regarding a home check.
Here are just a few of our fantastic adopters, and their happy, settled dogs… some have even adopted two or more from us! It is worth the time, patience and effort because saving a life is one of the best things you will ever do.
