Date of intake:: 9/13/2026

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

Previously lived with:: 3 adults, 2 dogs

Behavior toward strangers:: Friendly and outgoing, playful, tolerant.

Behavior toward children:: Friendly and outgoing, playful, tolerant.

Behavior toward dogs:: Barks/growls, lunges, snaps

Behavior toward cats:: no experience

Resource guarding:: Has tense body and hovers over food and toys, growls/barks, snaps

Bite history:: No known reports of a bite history.

Housetrained:: No

Energy level/descriptors:: Sandy is noted to have a very high energy level in the prior home.

Other Notes:: Sandy tends to be mouthy/take treats rough and jump up often or non-stop. She is generally anxious and pulls hard on the leash. Sandy is anxious when left alone and has destructive tendencies. She tends to bark or jump at people and animals she sees on walks. She is unbothered by physical stimuli but does bark/growl when startled. Sandy is a very active and playful dog! She is a vocal gal who is social and affectionate. She has experience in a crate and on car rides. She pulls hard on the leash. *Previous assessments can be given upon request*

Date of assessment:: 10/8/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: None Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: None Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Fearful Call over: Approaches handler with coaxing Sociability comments: Tucked tail and lowers body to the ground, after collar is placed Sandy begins seeking exit and pacing around the room in a frantic manner Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Accepts contact Comments: Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler readily Knock Knock comments: Approaches handler readily Toy Toy comments: Sniffs, No reaction

Summary:: According to Sandy's previous owner(s), Sandy barks/growls, lunges, and snaps towards other dogs. She also is noted to have attempted to play with 2 resident dogs but they snapped at her. 9/24/26: Sandy is introduced to a novel intact male and tenses when spotting the other dog through the fence with a square forward leaning posture and high flagged tail. The other jumps greeting his handler, not facing the fence, and Sandy stands on her hind legs and shakes her tail, beginning to hard growl while hard staring at the other dog. She remains fixated on the other dog as she is pulled away, guttural growling with increasing volume and baring teeth.

Summary (4):: 11/10/26 (Late Entry): Sandy is at the front of her kennel as handler approaches, she barks and whines at handler as they unlock the kennel door, she is leashed while distracted with treats and is taken to the street for her walk. She pulls moderately outside and whines until handler gives her a tennis ball from one of the play yards and engages in fetch with handler exuberantly. She chases the tennis balls thrown and relieves herself outside, after playing for a while she accepts treats before being leashed and returning to kennel while pulling moderately.

Summary (5):: 11/3/26: Sandy is reported to be very kennel reactive and snarls at the crate outside the room. 11/01/26: Sandy is at the front of her kennel as handler approaches, she whines and jumps at the kennel door excitedly and is offered a treat but shows no interest in it. She becomes progressively more anxious and excited and begins to intensely vocalize as she is leashed and exits kennel, once outside of the room she shakes off and pulls forward toward the backyard, the pulling becomes more frantic the closer she gets to the yard, she will attempt to push off of walls and other objects in an attempt to pull forward. She is eventually brought to the yard and waits for handler to open the toy box, handler grabs a few tennis balls and brings Sandy into the play yard. She walks over to the bench and allows handler to place her on a drag leash. She plays fetch with handler and allows handler to gently kick the ball toward them away from Sandy to pick it up and throw again. She engages exuberantly with handler and after a while is brought back inside and returns with a tennis ball in her mouth. 10/28/26: Sandy is at the front of her kennel, pacing back and forth when handler approaches. She starts vocalizing while handler is unlocking the kennel. She is not receptive to treats but allows leashing and readily exits the kennel. She attempts to pull with tense body toward pop-up crates out of the rooms but handler is able to pull her away. Once in elevator she attempts to jump up onto the handler but stops by her own. Sandy is taken to the yard where she relieves herself and is placed on the drag-line after. She starts running around the perimeter, briefly sniffing certain areas and relieving herself few more times. She engages herself with a tennis ball for some time but after few minutes disengages. She is briefly responsive with handler but quickly goes away after handler starts petting her. Sandy has no reaction to any stimuli in the yard. Upon return handler clips the leash and brings Sandy back into her kennel with ease.

Summary (6):: 10/21/26: Sandy is observed and reported to be reactive to dogs as they walk past her crate. She hard barks until the dogs are out of sight 10/19/26: Sandy is observed to be panting heavily and barking repeatedly in a high pitched tone while in her pop up in the hallway. 10/18: Volunteer Note - Sandy was easily leashed and transitioned in and out of her pop-up crate without issue. She really enjoyed playing fetch, enthusiastically chasing tennis balls repeatedly. When someone entered the adjacent pen, she appeared slightly anxious and kept watching them, but remained close to the handler without approaching the fence. She was playful, sitting next to the handler for gentle pets. While she seemed happy and engaged during play, she occasionally paused to observe her surroundings. However, she was easily redirected back to play when another ball was tossed. 10/16/26: Sandy is at the front of her kennel with a neutral body where she is easily leashed and pulled from kennel. While walking Sandy maintains a neutral body and walks next to handler with a slack leash. She accepts treats with a soft mouth. When being petted she would lean into handler. Sandy stops a few times to sniff and investigate her surroundings. Sandy is returned to her kennel with no issue. 10/08/26: [reassessment]: Sandy is lying down at the front of her kennel when handler approaches. She is easily leashed and taken out of the kennel. She follows the handler in the hallways with no reaction to pop-up dogs or staff members. Once outside Sandy walks next to the handler with no leash tension. She has no reaction to any stimuli on the street. She is not receptive to treats but allows petting and looks back at the handler when called. Once walk is done, Sandy is taken to the Canine Behavior office for the reassessment (see notes). During return, handler clips the leash and brings Sandy back into the kennel with no issues. 10/3/26: Sandy is at the front of her kennel with a soft body; she is easily leashed and brought out the room. When the handler attempts to bring Sandy inside the elevator, she baulks, so the handler walks her down the stairs with ease. Sandy is walked in the driveway; she provides mild to no leash tension and no reactivity to staff and dogs. The handler practices clicker training with Sandy, in which she is attentive to. She'll sit without command, and the handler will click and reward. Whenever she turns her attention to a bird or other stimuli, as the handler calls her name, Sandy quickly looks at them with soft eyes and receives her reward. Sandy also allows pets; she attempts to pull towards another pigeon as they enter the building. After climbing the stairs, Sandy begins to walk behind the handler; as they approach the room, she baulks. The handler jogs Sandy into the room, and she enters her kennel.

Summary (7):: 9/28/26: Staff reported that Sandy is lunging towards passing dogs in her pop-up crate. She has also been observed to be vocalizing and whining in her crate. 9/24/26 (D2D): Sandy is at the front of her crate with a loose body; as the handler attempts to leash her, she squeezes out the crate and tries to run, but the handler closes their legs onto her. They quickly leash her and bring her out the room. Sandy is brought to the yard for playgroup (see notes); afterwards, she is brought to her crate, but she refuses to enter, as she moves away from it. when leash pressure is applied, Sandy stays in place, so the handler opens the side gate of the crate, and Sandy walks in; the leash is removed with ease. 9/18/26 [assessment]: Sandy is at the front of her kennel hard barking and vocalizing when handler approaches. She muzzle-punches the bottom of the kennel door, trying to break out when the door slightly opens. She is not receptive to treats, but the handler distracts her with a squeaker toy and puts the leash on. Sandy exits her kennel and pulls hard out of the room and through the hallways all the way outside. Once she gets to the driveway, she immediately relieves herself. Sandy continues pulling hard ahead of the handler, making herself pant and choke. She has no reaction to other dogs. When she sees another person passing by, she will pull hard toward them with a tense body. She is not receptive to treats or squeakers, so the handler has to pull her away with leash pressure. Sandy notices another person down the block (long distance) and changes direction, attempting to pull toward them. The handler redirects her again and takes her back to the shelter. After the walk, Sandy is taken to the Canine Behavior office for the assessment (see notes). During return, handler is able to pre-clip the leash; Sandy balks in front of the room, and after approaching the kennel, and has to be muscled inside. Handler is able to get leash back after with no further issues. 9/16/26: Sandy is reported to need the sling when being returned to kennel as she baulks outside the room; she did this the night prior

Date of intake:: 9/13/2026

Summary:: social and friendly but highly anxious. She was stress panting and high-pitched vocalizing.

Date of initial:: 9/14/2026

Summary:: Nervous but tolerant, leans into pets

ENERGY LEVEL:: Sandy is described as very high energy dog. She will need daily mental and physical activity to keep her engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in addition to physical exercise, to positively direct her energy and enthusiasm. We recommend feeding with puzzle feeders and food-dispensing toys. And we recommend only force-free, reward-based training techniques for Sandy.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: Level 4

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Single-pet home,Recommend no dog parks

Recommendations comments:: No Children: Due to Sandy's reactivity to people, we recommend an adult-only home. Single-Pet Home/Recommend No Dog Parks: Due to the concerning behaviors that Sandy has shown during playgroup (see DOG-DOG SUMMARY), we feel that she should not visit dog parks and be the only resident dog. The Behavior Department recommends that she be socialized in a more controlled setting until her behavior towards other dogs can be further addressed. Reward-based, force-free training can be utilized to help Sandy associate dogs with things she enjoys like toys or treats.

Potential challenges: : Resource guarding,Destructive behavior,Basic manners/poor impulse control,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Separation anxiety,Anxiety,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Strength/leash pulling

Potential challenges comments:: Resource guarding: Sandy's finder reports that Sandy gets tense and hovers over food and toys and will growl or bark or snap. We recommend that Sandy be left alone while eating and that food guarding behavior modification steps be utilized if this behavior is problematic in his future home. Nothing should ever be taken directly out of Sandy'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 the handout on resource guarding. Separation Anxiety/Destructive Behavior: Sandy is reported to show destructive behavior in the home when left alone. She is noted to be very anxious when left alone. We are unaware of what, if any, attempts were made to remedy this behavior but we suggest to future adopters that Sandy will need to be provided with physical and mental stimulation and with a variety of appropriate and engaging chew toys so she can engage in necessary chewing behavior without damage to human objects. Please see hand out on Destruyctive Behavior. Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition: Sandy is noted to take treats hard this is a behavior that should be extinguished through training alternate behaviors and lack of reward. Please see hand out on Mouthiness. Anxiety: Sandy's finder notes that Sandy is generally anxious. If Sandy displays anxious behavior in her future home, we recommend puzzle toys, long walks, and giving her other things to focus on to alleviate her anxiety. Positive reinforcement and force-free training only should be used. Please see the handout on Anxiety. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: Sandy has been observed to react to other dogs on leash, barking, growling, lunging, and snapping. Sandy may need positive reinforcement and reward-based training to teach her to look at you rather than other dogs. We recommend a front clip harness or head halter to help manage this behavior. Please see hand out on On Leash Reactivity Strength/leash pulling: Sandy has been noted by her finder and by staff to pull very hard on leash. Her adopter must be prepared and able to handle a dog of this 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 and reward-based training to not pull on leash. Please see hand out on Leash Manners.