Date of intake:: 11/6/2024

Spay/Neuter status:: No

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner Surrender

Previously lived with:: 3 adults and children. age 2 months

Behavior toward strangers:: Maxi is playful and friendly

Behavior toward children:: No experience

Behavior toward dogs:: Maxi is friendly with familiar dogs on and off leash

Behavior toward cats:: No experience

Resource guarding:: None reported

Bite history:: None reported

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: High

Other Notes:: Maxi's previous owner describers her as a social and affectionate dog that spends most of her time where her people are. She may know the cues sit and stay.

Date of assessment:: 11/7/2024

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Hard Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: None Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Highly social Call over: Approaches readily Sociability comments: Receptive to treats Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Accepts contact Comments: Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler readily neutral body Knock Knock comments: Approaches handler readily Toy Toy comments: Sniffs, No reaction

Summary:: 12/7/24: Maxi greets another dog with a neutral body initially. She then becomes tense and hard barks.

Summary (5):: 12/08/24 (Trainer Note): Maxi is at the front of kennel hard barking as handler approaches. She accepts treats through the bars and is easily leashed. As she is removed from kennel / room, she is intensely kennel fighting and attempts to redirect onto handlers legs / thighs as she is walked out of the room. She head whipped and attempted to grab with an open mouth. In the pens she is highly engaged, receptive, and motivated to train with handler. She remains loose, occasionally jumping on handler socially. She takes turns engaged with the LATTE items laid out, and handler introduced hand targeting. She is recalled from the snuffle matt and cued to "touch" handlers hands, this is repeated a couple of times, successfully, every time. She is hesitant to be leashed without a treat, but is returned to kennel with no issue besides the kennel fighting. 12/8/24: While exiting out of her room, an ACS reported Maxi, while reacting and pulling towards dogs in kennel, redirected onto handler. Maxi lunged toward handlers chest and grabbed onto their jacket and pulled before releasing. Then when passing another dog room while the door was open, she again redirected onto handler, lunging and grabbing their lanyard and pulling before letting go again. It is also reported that about one week prior she attempted to lunge toward another ACS around their chest area but was straight armed away.

Summary (6):: 12/5/2024 (Trainer Note): Maxi is at the front of kennel, with her front paws on the kennel door and hard barking as handler approaches. When leash is presented, she ceases barking and becomes loose and wiggly. She is removed from kennel, and she pulls very hard out of the room, handler body blocks her from kennel fighting. She is taken out to the yard where she is put on a drag leash. Handler begins a pattern game where treats are tossed onto a snuffle mat, Maxi chases them, and returns her attention back to handler, handler presents their hand and Maxi lightly touches it with her nose. She is rewarded. This exercise is repeated multiple times and Maxi remains engaged and receptive. Her body becomes very loose and wiggly as she bounces back and forth from snuffle mat, back to handler. She is easily leashed and returned to kennel. Handler gives Maxi a snuffle matt for additional in kennel enrichment. 12/2/24- When the handler arrived to take Maxi on their AM walk it was noted that the bottom plastic tray was chewed up with some missing and was partially pushed out from under the kennel. Maxi was easily walked and did not kennel fight while entering or exiting the room. When the handler bent down to pick up Maxi's poop they began to jump up and leash bite. At one point Maxi's front leg got tangled in the leash but when Maxi saw treats being offered they sat down. The handler threw treats on the ground and was able to untangle the leash as Maxi ate the treats. During the remainder of the walk Maxi would pull hard while walking but otherwise was easy to handle. They were returned to their kennel without issue. 11/29/24: Maxi is at the front of the kennel with a loose body and wagging tail. She jumps up on the kennel bars while barking. Handler offers a treat to lure her down. She is leashed easily using the treats as a lure. Treats are tossed on the ground ahead of Maxi to move her forward and out of the room. She follows the treats and does not attempt to cage fight. She is exuberant walking out of the building, darting back and forth but will follow treats when tossed. In the driveway, she relieves herself then immediately jumps up onto handler, grabbing the leash in her mouth, letting go, jumping up again and grabbing the leash. Handler squeaks a toy and Maxi stops. Handler offers her treats and continues to toss treats until they get across the street. Maxi makes an attempt to leash bite in the same manner, jumping up, paws on handler grabbing the leash letting go then jumping up again. Treats and a squeaker distract her from this and she begins to walk ahead of handler, looking around. She will stop and look in the direction of noises before walking again. At one point she jumps onto handler placing paws on torso accepting pets. She then leash bites. Handler tossed treats and she stops and walks back to the care center without issue.

Summary (7):: 11/29/24 (late entry): It was reported by staff that Maxi cage fights immediately exiting kennel as well as leash bites on her way out of the shelter. There was a instance with a staff member was trying to keep Maxi against the wall when she was cage fighting. Maxi hard barked the entire way out and turned towards the handler attempting to mouth handler straight armed her out of kennel. Maxi is more manageable in the street with her leash biting, where she would just bite and release. However, when she sees dogs she hard barks, growls and pulls hard towards them. 11/15/24- It was reported by staff that Maxi, got socially aroused when Staff was picking up his poop. Where he then began to leash bite and wasn't able to be redirected with treats. 11/9/24- ACS reported Maxi to excessively jumping on handlers. 11/7/24: Maxi is standing in the front of her kennel as handler approaches. When leashing Maxi she attempts to vigorously paw at and scratch her kennel door as well as push her head out of the kennel door. She is leashed after multiple attempts and brought to the street for her walk. During her walk she pulls hard but does not react to people or dogs passing by her. She is neutral bodied throughout the walk and doesn't stop to sniff or use the bathroom during her walk. She is then brought to the behavior office for her assessment. During her assessment she is collared but moves her head multiple times before allowing handlers to successfully collar her, this is the same when handlers attempt to pet her, especially around the legs. She is releashed and brought back to kennel where she baulks but is coaxed into kennel and returned.

Date of intake:: 11/6/2024

Summary:: Neutral relaxed body, wagging tail

Date of initial:: 11/6/2024

Summary:: Allows all handling

ENERGY LEVEL:: Maxi is described as active and enthusiastic. They will need daily mental and physical activity to keep them engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct their energy and enthusiasm. We recommend feeding with puzzle feeders and food-dispensing toys. And we recommend using force-free, reward-based training techniques for Maxi.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Recommend no dog parks,Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to lack of basic manners and the potential for redirection we recommend an adult only home. No Dog Parks: Due to hard barking and lunging towards unfamiliar dogs and the potential for redirection we feel that Maxi should not visit dog parks. We recommend that they be socialized in a more controlled setting until their behavior towards other dogs can be further addressed. Reward based, force free training can be utilized to help Maxi associate dogs with things they enjoy such as toys or treats. We recommend placement with a New Hope rescue partner who is able to provide an experienced, adult-only foster home. Force-free, reward based training and/or consultation with a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended.

Potential challenges: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting,Strength/leash pulling,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Basic Manners: Maxi has been observed to jump up on handlers frequently. It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Sit" and "Off" are reinforced to substitute any frustration and teach them to control their impulses instead of simply reacting; proper management is also advised. Force-free, reward-based training only is recommended. Please see handout on Basic Manners. On Leash Reactivity: Maxi has been observed to hard bark and lunge towards dogs in the kennel room. While reacting to dogs Maxi has been observed to jump towards handlers biting their jacket and their lanyard. They will need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach them to look at you rather than other dogs. Please see handout on On Leash Reactivity and Barrier frustration. Leash Pulling: Maxi has been observed to pull hard while on leash. Their adopter must be prepared and able to handle a dog of this size and strength. It is recommended that they be walked on a front clip harness or head halter, which will help diminish their strength through leverage, and that they be trained using positive reinforcement, reward based training to not pull on leash. Please see handout on Leash Manners. Arousal/Leash Biting: Maxi has been observed to become over aroused easily. While a staff member was picking up her poop, Maxi begane jumping up and biting the leash. This behavior was not able to be redirected using treats. We recommend walking them with a toy to dissuade them from grabbing the leash. We also recommend rewarding Maxi when they are calm. Please see handout on Arousal. Please see handout on Leash Manners.