Date of intake:: 3/31/2025

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner Surrender( 3 years since a puppy)

Previously lived with:: 2 adults

Behavior toward strangers:: friendly and playful, will alert bark when strangers approach the door/yard

Behavior toward children:: Unknown

Behavior toward dogs:: tolerant with unfamiliar dogs and is friendly and outgoing with familiar dogs

Behavior toward cats:: unknown

Resource guarding:: she has a tense body/hovers over her food, treats and toys when touched

Bite history:: no known bite history

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: Lady is reported to have a high energy level.

Other Notes:: She pulls really hard on leash, is fearful of loud noises and will bark when she sees squirrels and birds. She isn't bothered when she is held/restrained, disturbed when sleeping, push/pulled off furniture, feet/paws are touched or when her collar is grabbed, she is fearful when startled.She likes to be where people are and allows her family to bathe and brush her.

Date of assessment:: 4/1/2025

Summary:: 4/1/25: Lady was taken to the behavior office for a handling assessment. She began to jump up and mouth the leash, but was able to be redirected with treats. She took treats from the handler's hands roughly and was having difficulty settling. Due to being overaroused, a handling assessment is not conducted at this time. There were reports by staff of Lady being difficult when being returned to the kennel. When the handlers put her back into her kennel, she began to leash bite, thrash, and pull away from the handlers.

Summary:: According to Lady's previous owner(s), she is tolerant with unfamiliar dogs and is friendly and outgoing with familiar dogs. 04/04/25 When off leash at the Care Center Lady is introduced to a greeter female dog. At the gate Lady approaches with a stiff frame and hackles displayed. Both dos scent one another through the gate. When Lady scents the greeter female she will display paw raises before quickly escalating from low growling to snarling. Lady will look away from the the greeter female and check in with the handler before returning to snarling. Both dogs are separated, thus concluding the interaction. 04/02/25 Lady is introduced at the gate to male greeter dog while off leash at the care center. Lady's interaction could not be conducted due to her lack of focus and arousal. She will jump onto the handler present excessively while being mouthy. She is returned to kennel. Lady will be revisited at a later date.

Summary (5):: 04/15/25: Lady is sitting on her kuranda bed with a soft frame as handler approaches. She comes to the front of kennel and is leashed with ease. Lady slowly exits kennel but plants herself once stepping over the threshold of the room and will not move forward. Multiple handlers kneel down and speak to her in soft tones to encourage her forward but she remains planted, lightly panting and displaying whale eye. Handler uses directional leash pressure to guide Lady forward but she continues to plant herself. Handlers decide to return her to kennel. She returns to kennel safely. 04/15:(AM) Handler is walking Lady towards the building exit to go for her walk. Handler 2 approaches and offers assistance. Lady ignores treats but perks up for squeaky toys. Handler 2 takes the leash and turns back the way they originally walked and Lady easily follows loose and wiggly. Lady walks through main adoptions past the dogs in kennel with no issues. As soon as she notices we are back in the exit hallway this time half way further she pancakes. She allows for a secondary leash to be placed as a sling. Handler tries to do an assisted walk with the sling but Lady bares her weight down and refuses to move forward. Handler takes her back through main adoptions back towards her kennel and Lady again walks with no issue. Handler quickly walks her pass the room her kennel is in towards the exit but once Lady notices she again pancakes. To reduce placing any further stress on her handler brings her back to her kennel where Lady gladly enters. Handler gives her the toy and treats which she starts to interact with right away once in kennel.

Summary (6):: 4/9/25: Lady was resting on kuranda bed when handler approached. She was leashed with ease and walked to the yard on a loose leash. Lady was clipped to a drag leash and relieved herself outside. Lady did not eat freeze-dried liver treats but was highly toy motivated. She preferred to play with her soft squeaker toy independently and hovered over it with one paw when she dropped it. Lady backed away when handler approached with slip leash. She quickly picked up her toy when handler leaned towards it and was leashed while she had it in her mouth. She dropped the toy on her own before exiting the pen. Handler unclipped drag leash and she walked back to kennel where some frozen edible enrichment was waiting for her. Handler removed leash without issue. 04/04/25: Lady is standing at the front of kennel with a neutral frame as handler approaches. She becomes bouncy, jumping up onto kennel door as handler unlocks it. She is leashed with ease and walks to the Live Room where she immediately begins exploring the space. Lady is social with handler throughout her time in the room, jumping up on them to solicit attention, but is easily redirected with tossed treats. She maintains a loose frame throughout her time in the room. Lady walks on a loose lead on the way back to kennel, and will briefly pause outside of the kennel room, but is easily guided forward with light directional leash pressure. She returns to kennel safely.

Summary (7):: 4/3/25 (AM): Lady's behavior was the same as previously noted while in kennel, being removed from kennel, and in the BA room. Lady showed a significant improvement when returning to kennel. She was placed back on a slip leash with ease and exited the room without hesitation. She walked confidently down the hall with handlers 1 and 2. Handler 2 was on standby with cheese slices, which were ultimately not needed. Handler clipped leash to a figure 8 without issue. Lady walked into kennel room and straight into kennel willingly. Slip leash was removed without issue. 4/2/24: Lady greeted handler at front of kennel with a wagging tail. She briefly climbed on kennel door before being leashed with ease. She walked to the BA room where she was clipped to a drag leash. Lady immediately began jumping up on handler 2 and became mouthy. Lady panted heavily throughout interaction. She played with various toys and after a few minutes lay down at handler's feet and chewed her tennis ball. Lady frequently lay down around the room with her legs stretched out behind her. She played with a large soft toy that she would prance around with and shake. Lady approached handler seated on couch and lay down at their feet, resting one hind leg on their shoe. She accepted scratches on her lower back. Lady displayed FAS by jumping up on handlers while mouthing whenever she seemed uncertain/aroused. She was able to be redirected with toys. Lady ate many pieces of chicken and swatted a frozen treat across the room. When it was time to leave the room, Lady pulled back hard on leash. Handler used directional leash pressure to move her through the doorway and she walked the rest of the way without stopping. Handler presented leash clip for her to see before securing it to a figure 8. A second handler tossed her stuffed toy into kennel and she walked straight in. 04/01/25: (1) Lady is standing at the front of her kennel with dilated pupils and was pawing at the kennel door. She was easily leashed and pulled to get out of her kennel. She walked to the behavior office for her assessment. When in the room, she was heavily panting and her pupils remained dilated. She began to jump up and mouth the leash, but was able to be redirected with treats. She took treats from the handler's hands roughly and was having difficulty settling. Due to being overaroused, the assessor decided not to proceed any further. Handler attempted to leave the room with Lady, but she put on the breaks and wasn't interested in treats. Other staff members left the room and Lady followed. When in front of her kennel, Lady put on the breaks and would not budge for treats or with leash pressure. (2) The secondary handler takes the leash which lady begins to pull the breaks and thrash on the lead. Lady is run into her kennel where she pulls away and placed inside.

Date of intake:: 3/31/2025

Summary:: loose wiggly body, allowed staff to remove harness and pulled hard into kennel

Date of initial:: 3/31/2025

Summary:: - friendly, solicits pets and belly rubs, allowed for handling and tasks with pets and food as a dis

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),No cats,Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Lady's behavior challenges, we recommend she goes to a home with adults only at this time. No cats: It was noted in her prior home that Lady would bark when she sees squirrels and birds. We recommend she is placed in a home without small animals. Place with a New Hope partner: Lady was surrendered to the care center as an owner surrender due to her owner moving. She is described as social, affectionate, quiet, and very active and playful. She is crate trained, and knows the cues for crate, food, stop, and play when she sees a toy. She likes to go on long walks, car rides, and allows bathing and brushing. In care Lady has not acclimated well to the shelter environment and has made it difficult for handlers to place her back due to leash biting, putting on the breaks, and thrashing. We recommend placement with a New Hope partner who can provide any necessary behavior modification (force-free, positive reinforcement-based) and re-evaluate behavior in a stable home environment before placement into a permanent home.

Potential challenges: : Resource guarding,Basic manners/poor impulse control,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Handling/touch sensitivity,Fearful,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting,Strength/leash pulling

Potential challenges comments:: Resource guarding: Lady's previous owner notes that she has a tense body/hovers over her food, treats and toys when touched. We recommend that Lady be left alone while eating, and that food guarding behavior modification steps be utilized if this behavior is problematic in her future home. Nothing should ever be taken directly out of Lady's mouth, and any time something is removed she should be rewarded with a high value treat or toy. She should be taught the "drop" cue and trade-up games. Please see handout on "resource guarding" Barrier frustration: Lady's previous owner notes that Lady will alert bark when strangers approach the door/yard. This reaction is likely due to excitement and frustration. She will need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach her to look at you rather than strangers. Please see handout on "barrier frustration" Basic manners/poor impulse control: It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Leave it", "Sit/Stay", "Down" are reinforced to substitute any frustration and teach her to control her impulses instead of simply reacting; proper management is also advised. Force-free, reward based training only is recommended. Please see handout on "basic manners/poor impulse control" Leash-biting: During Lady's behavior assessment, she began to jump up, mouth the leash, and began to thrash. Positive reinforcement, force-free training is advised to teach her to focus on you rather than grabbing the leash. Please see handout on "leash-biting" Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition: Lady has been noted to mouth the leash, and take treats roughly. This is a behavior that should be extinguished through training alternate behaviors and lack of reward. Please see handout on "mouthiness/poor bite inhibition" Handling/touch sensitivity: It is important to always go slow and give Lady the option to walk away from any social interaction. Lady should never be forced to approach anything that she is uncomfortable with or to submit to petting or handling. It should always be Lady’s choice to approach a new person or thing. Lady may do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to her new surroundings. Please see handout on "handling/touch sensitivity" Strength/leash pulling: Lady is a very large, strong dog with the capability to pull over an average adopter. Her adopter must be prepared and able to handle a dog of this size and strength. It is recommended that she be walked on a front clip harness or head halter, which help diminish her strength through leverage, and that she be trained using positive reinforcement, reward based training to not pull on leash.