Callie – 1 year old female Romanian Shepherd Dog

Callie is a 1 year old female Romanian Shepherd Dog. She is fostered in South Shields. She came to us from the Botosani public shelter in Romania where she had spent all of her life up to that point.

She was massively under socialised in her puppyhood, she met very few people and interactions with people were very limited.

She’s a very sweet and gentle girl, she is still quite timid around strangers, but she loves the people she knows, she asks for fuss and will nose bump or paw you if you stop and loves to climb up on the sofa to be next to you. She loves her walks and walks beautifully on a lead.

She still can be shy in new situations, so she needs a confident adopter who will be happy to continue with her socialisation and build her confidence.

She loves the other dogs in the foster home, she loves to play but also loves to snuggle up with them, she must live with another confident dog as she looks to them for guidance and ideally someone who will play with her.

She had not been cat tested and could live with children over 12. When you adopt a Safe Rescue dog, you MUST use a slip lead. This will keep your dog safe: your new dog will be nervous and will not trust you, and you will not know which situations might upset your dog.

If your dog panics, then a slip lead is the only way to prevent your dog from escaping (many dogs can escape from a collar and/or harness).

It will take AT LEAST 3-6 months for your dog to settle in and for you to know your dog fully (longer for nervous dogs).

The slip lead must ALWAYS be used during this settling-in period. Even after your dog is settled, it is safest to use the slip lead in situations where your dog may become scared (e.g. visiting new places, around unfamiliar people, at the vet), and in situations where unexpected triggers might happen (e.g. around bonfire night).

Nervous dogs may always need to wear a slip-lead as a backup safety measure. The slip lead is a safety device and must NEVER be used as a training tool.

Using the lead to apply pressure to the dog’s neck is damaging. If your dog pulls on the lead, then we can advise you on training methods that avoid harm.

Once your dog is settled, you may want to consider using a harness (together with the slip lead) if your dog is comfortable with being handled when it is fitted.

Most harnesses are not escape-proof, but harnesses with a strap behind the ribcage (e.g. Ruffwear Webmaster or Perfect Fit Harnesses) are safer. Retractable/extendable leads must never be used on our dogs. Adopted dogs must be collected from the rescue and transported straight home in a crate.