Date of intake:: 8/6/2024

Spay/Neuter status:: No

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray, No known history

Date of assessment:: 8/8/2024

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Moderate Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: Mild Leash walking comments: Tense when seeing other dogs easily redirectable Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Highly social Call over: Approaches readily Sociability comments: Initially barked when handler stood up from chair, warmed up quickly with treats Soft handling: Seeks contact Exuberant handling: Seeks contact Comments: Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler readily Knock Knock comments: Approaches handler readily Toy Toy comments: Grips light relinquishes, loose wiggly body, play bows

Summary:: 9/4/24: Bart greets another dog at the gate with tense body. He watches the other dog tensely and then begins to paw at the gate while vocalizing.

Summary (2):: 4/2/25: Bart is laying down on his bed with a neutral body as handler #2 enters the room. The drag leash is picked up by handler #1, already in the office. As handler #2 moves closer to the desk, Bart is fixated and begins to hard bark at familiar handler (#2). Handler #1 holds him back with the drag leash and handler #2 exits the room. 04/02/25: (AM) Handler enters and Bart wakes up. He is excited to see handler greets with a loose body. Handler easily leashes Bart and while walking out he starts to mildly bite the leash which he lets go for a treat. Once out the driveway he doesn't try to grab the leash and goes for his walk. Two small dogs ended up behind Bart & handler. They were barking towards Bart & handler from several feet away. Bart would walk sideways trying to stare at the dogs. Handler unable to interupt focus with treats or squeaky until visual is completely broken with turning the corner. The remaining walk to the park Bart does very well and is brought back towards the care center. Bart is allowed to be loose in the office with handler. Handler cleans his crate and Bart is running back and forth from his crate to his dog bed. Handler ignores him and starts working on the computer. Bart keeps himself entertained playing with his toys and sleeping on his back belly up. When handler goes to take video/photos if given extended attention Bart does jump up and gets excited. To avoid him getting overly excited handler give minimal physical touch/vocal cues and redirects with treat scatter. Bart is given his AM behavior medication at this point and is placed back into his crate after being out for over a hour due to shelter activity picking up and staff needing to come in and out of the office.

Summary (3):: 3/31/25: Bart was easily leashed and taken out for an interaction. He pulls mildly to the back yard, but is able to be redirected around staff in the busy hallway. Once entering the back yard, he quickly climbs to the top of the stairs and immediately begins to chew on a hose that was resting on the ground. He is not able to be redirected using treat scatters, squeaky noises, or tossing toys. Additional staff are called and the leash is handed to an OPS supervisor. The hose is removed and bart is able to be returned to his pop-up crate without further issue. 3/31/25 (AM): Bart is at the front of his crate, frantically pawing at it and vocalizing as handler approaches. He attempts to leash bite, but handler utilizes a treat as a lure. He bolts out of his crate and begins to mouth the leash intensely, shaking it. Handler is able to redirect him using a verbal correction and treats. He pulls very hard to the yard and he quickly runs to the stop of the staircase and latches on to the hose. His eyes are red, pupils dilated, he is in a state of very high arousal, and he continues to shake the hose. Handler is unable to pull him off, and is unable to redirect him using high value treats and squeakers. Bart is unreceptive to the pet corrector, and handler has to use the air horn. Air horn had to be pressed 3 times before Bart was receptive and let go of the hose. Handler takes him into the pen for a training session, however, he is past the threshold for arousal were training would be effective. Handler attempts to get Bart to simply engage with his environment, but he continues to zoom around the pen, jumping up very high, and at one point mouthing handlers sleeve. As handler attempts to pick up the drag, he begins to leash bite, as handler attempts to leash, he jumps towards handler, begins to bite the kennel rope and handler lets go. Handler has to pull him away using muscle, use very high value treats to trade, and quickly grab the kennel rope to toss over the fence. Bart then rushed to the fence and began intensely digging under to try and get to it. Handler decided to return him to pop-up crate on a drag leash.

Summary (4):: 03/31/25: (AM) Bart is awake and wiggling his whole body very excitedly in crate when handler turns on the lights and enters the room. Handler has met Bart a few times (1x/wk) over the span of 4-6wks. Bart begins to excitedly pant and whine while pawing at the cage door. Handler opens cage door and Bart leaps with all 4 paws off the ground repeatedly in excitement. Handler grabs leash and attempts to place but Bart immediately begins to leash bite so, handler lets go of leash and Bart excitedly takes leash into his kennel and thrashes his head in state of excited play. Handler grabs one of Bart's squeeze toys and tosses it into middle of the room which makes Bart let go of leash. Handler stands up right and turns body away from Bart to disengage from state of play. Bart switches between jumping up on handlers body to jumping with all fours in excitement. After a few moments Bart sits with tail wagging which handler takes as cue to leash and as soon as handler goes to leash, Bart resumes the behaviors. The ignoring is repeated and Bart is successfully leashed. Bart begins to leash bite so handler squeaks the same toy and trades it with Bart to exit it to the street. Bart walks panting and pulling, dropping toy when he becomes distracted. After relieving himself and continuing the walk, handler and Bart are passing a neighbor who drops a hose on the sidewalk to briefly enter their home, Bart immediately grabs it and tugs and thrashes his head in state of arousal. Handler quickly squeaks the toy which distracts Bart enough to pull Bart away with increased leash pressure. The walk continues and while on the return to the shelter, Bart sees the neighbor with the hose across the street and remains fixated on them. The walk continues and Bart is returned to the office where he is housed without further issue.

Summary (5):: 03/31/25: (con'td) Handler begins working on computer (nobody else in office) while Bart is loose in the office with a drag leash. Bart is on his bed playing with his toys and ignoring the handler. A medical team member enters the room to speak with the same handler. Bart becomes aroused and very excited wanting to jump on the medical employee. Bart is not responding to cues so handler stands to pull the drag leash and Bart start leash biting and moves to mouthing and holding hand then forearm of the same handler with moderate pressure. Bart begins growling while mouthing the handler's arm so handler quickly shoves Bart into the crate and shuts the door. Bart remains in state of excitement with leash still clipped. Handler gives Bart a moment then opens crate door enough to unclip the leash. Bart remains overly excited and barking/panting to be let out of crate. Handler ignores Bart. Note - Bart had not yet received any behavioral meds prior to the above interaction. 03/26/25: (AM) Bart is awake in his crate and stands up when handler enters. He is loose, wiggly, and greets handler with a soft body as leash is placed. Bart is taken outside to the street with no issues. He easily is walked for a few blocks, exploring the streets, grass, and passing by the normal morning activity of the neighborhood. During the walk handler calls Bart in excited tone and marks his acknowledgement with a treat. Handler goes to continue the walk and Bart jumps up/bounces off handlers body in excitement. Handler directs the leash away from body and Bart repeats the behavior two more times. Handler continues to move Bart away from their body using the leash and continues to move forward on their walk. When Bart has all four paws on the ground handler rewards him with a treat but doesn't use any excited verbal cues. Bart takes the treat gently and continues on the walk. Bart is brought back to the care center with no further issues and he is allowed to roam the office freely while his crate is reset for the day with fresh linens, toys, and water.

Summary (6):: 03/25/25: (AM) Bart wakes up and greets handler is loose wiggly body in crate. Bart is easily leashed and removed from the office. Handler takes Bart outside to the street and they go a for a walk. Bart explores and sniffs the ground, ignoring general morning activity of the neighborhood. When returning back towards the care center a dog appeared on the same side of the street and due to location Bart/handler were unable to make more distance. Bart became stiff and was hard staring towards the other dog while the member of the public crossed the street. Handler tried to break his focus using vocal cue, treats, and toy squeaker but he wouldn't disengaged even with the dogs distance increasing. Handler had to apply some leash pressure to phyically move him around the corner. Bart tried to continue to turn around to look for the dog until a small flock of pigeons were in front of him and he gently bounced towards them. When they flew away Bart continue on the walk with no issues and entered back into the office with no concerns. 3/24/25: Bart is at the front of his crate, barking, and pawing at the door as handler approaches. He attempts to leash bite but handler aborts attempts and uses a treat as a lure to leash. He bolts out of his crate and attempts to leash bite once more. Handler keeps him straight armed and gives him a large treat to hold and chew as he is removed from the care centers. He is taken to the PAC interaction room for a training session. He is past the threshold for arousal for any training to be effective, handler aborts. Handler tosses treats on the floor but he is uninterested. He picks up both LATTE items, the licki matt and the snuffle mat, and takes turns intensely shaking them, ripping them, and tossing them in the air. He does not trade for other treats. Handler attempts to remove the items from the room but Bart is hyper focused and will jump up very high attempting to grab them. Handler aborts and tosses items to the floor. Bart continues this behavior. When handler attempts to leash, he head whips and begins to leash bite intensely. Handler tosses treats but is unable to redirect him. Handler grabs snuffle matt and Bart redirects onto it, shaking it and dropping it before he exits the room. Handler attempts to play a patter game on leash, in the driveway, but after one trial he begins to leash bite again. He is returned to his crate without further escalation or issue.

Summary (7):: 3/23/25: Bart was tapping at his crate door when the handler approaches. Bart is easily leashed and taken through the staircase exit to avoid any passing stimuli and is easily taken to the street. Throughout the walk to the street, Bart would remained soft-bodied with a wagging tail, which continues throughout his walk. Bart will begin to pull moderately towards various spots to sniff but doesn’t relieve himself. Handler would randomly try to engage with Bart and would say “Look” and Bart would look and was rewarded with a treat afterwards. This goes on multiple times throughout the walk, almost successful each time. When handler calls Bart’s name, he would socially jump on the handler soliciting pets. Once handler makes it to the park with Bart he would constantly jump up on the bench and would sit down. He was easily taken off the bench with a slight tug and in a high-pitched voice “Good boy!” following a treat afterwards. Bart then spots a dog in passing and would fixate on the dog with a tense body. Treats were tossed to help break Bart’s focus which wasn’t successful. Handler would then attempt a squeaker toy, which made Bart look at the toy with a head tilt and was able to continue the walk. He then comes social again with the handler and a much softer body. Later on, Bart spots another dog and the same thing was attempted which doesn’t work. Handler has to then tug on Bart’s leash to pull him away. However, Bart would still attempt to look in the dog’s direction while walking sideways further away. After this interaction, Bart would then begin to walk by the handlers side and was rewarded with treats. He was then taken back inside of the shelter and was taken through the garage door and ignored any stimuli (the hose, toys & dogs) and was easily returned back to his crate. Bart immediately went to his water bucket, began to pant but was then given an ice block enrichment which he engaged with. Interaction was shortly ended. *Older enrichment notes in GAN upon request.*

Date of intake:: 8/6/2024

Summary:: Loose wiggly body

Date of initial:: 8/7/2024

Summary:: Wiggly and allows

ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on Bart so we cannot be certain of their behavior in a home environment. However, they will need daily mental and physical activity to stay 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.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No young children (under 13): Due to on leash reactivity and a low threshold for arousal we recommend an adult only home. Single-pet home/Recommend no dog parks: Due to the concerning behaviors that Bart has shown during playgroup (see DOG-DOG SUMMARY), we feel that Bart should not visit dog parks. The Behavior Department recommends that he be socialized in a more controlled setting until his behavior toward other dogs can be further addressed. Reward-based, force-free training can be utilized to help Bart associate dogs with things he enjoys like 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,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Basic Manners/ Mouthiness: Bart has been observed to jump up on handlers and mouth them. Bart has been observed to mouth handlers and their clothes, such as their sleeves, hoodie pocket and treat pouch. 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. We also recommend never playing with bare hands, always with a toy, and ending play or attention whenever Bart puts teeth on skin. They should be rewarded with attention and treats when they stop and/or when they are seeking attention in alternate ways. Please see handout on Basic Manners. Please see handout on Mouthiness. Fearful Defensive: Bart was observed to bark at a handler when they turned around and stood up from their chair. Bart quickly became loose and wiggly after being offered treats. It is important to move slowly with Bart, to build positive associations (treats/toys/praise), and to allow them to initiate interactions with new people. They should never be forced to greet or to interact if they are not comfortable and soliciting attention. Please see handout on Fearful and Defensive Aggression. On Leash Reactivity: Bart has been observed to pull hard and vocalise at other dogs in the kennel room. Bart will need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach them to look at you rather than other dogs. We recommend a front clip harness to help manage this behavior. Please see handout on On Leash Reactivity and Barrier Frustration. Leash Biting: Bart has been observed to bite the leash in kennel. We recommend walking them with a toy to dissuade them from grabbing the leash. Positive reinforcement, force-free training is advised to teach them to focus on you rather than grabbing the leash. Please see handout on Leash Manners. Low Threshold Arousal: Bart has been observed to quickly become aroused during his stay in the care center. Noted to fixate, vocalize, and bite the hose. This behavior is not able to be redirected. bart should be rewarded with treats when calm. If they escalate to jumping or mouthing, people should immediately walk away from and separate themselves from DOG. Please see handout on Arousal.