Date of intake:: 12/18/2025

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner surrender( 2 week with)

Previously lived with:: adults, children, other dogs

Behavior toward strangers:: Friendly and outgoing.

Behavior toward children:: Playful.

Behavior toward dogs:: Playful with familiar dogs, unsure of behavior with unfamiliar dogs.

Behavior toward cats:: No known experience.

Resource guarding:: Considers food and treats items of value but the client has never attempted to take the items from him.

Bite history:: No known reported bite history.

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: Kota is noted to display a Low (mostly lays around) energy level.

Other Notes:: Is mouthy when taking treats. Fearful when held, restrained, startled, moved from furniture and when his paws are touched. Unbothered by being disturbed while sleeping or when having his collar grabbed. He is known to be a quiet, social, and affectionate couch potato who likes to be where people are. He allows bathing and brushing, knows the cues sit, stay, come and no, does not pull on his leash and loves going for a car ride and cuddling. He is still learning how to play and gets a little scared when he's approached to quickly but he has proven to be a very loving and gentle dog.

Date of assessment:: 12/24/2025

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Mild Reactivity to humans: N/a Reactivity to dogs: N/a Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Social with familiar handlers, mouthy Call over: Readilt aapproaches- loose body, wagging tail Sociability comments: seeks attention from familiar handlers Handling Soft handling: Allowed-leans into touch, wiggly Exuberant handling: Allowed- leans into touch, wiggly Handling comments: Arousal Jog: Follow- natural body Arousal comments: Knock: No repsonse Knock Comments: Toy: Grips walks away Toy comments: 12/20/25: Kota is taken to the behavior office for a handling assessment, but displays fearful behavior, such as a tucked tail, and begins to pace. Due to this, a handling assessment will not be condcuted at this time. 12/19/25: Kota is taken to the behavior office for a handling assessment. He does take treats from the handlers, but remains fearful and avoidant of touch. He is given more time to decompress.

Summary:: 1/7/2025: Kota greets a novel female dog, and approaches the gate, remaining loose bodied with a mid level tail wag. Kota will remain loose, whine and continue to wag his tail as the female remain at the gate. They are separated at the gate and Kota will go back to seeking attention from the staff member handling him.

Summary (6):: 1/7/25: Kota is at the back of his kennel laying down, is easily leashed by a staff member and brought out into the yard, where he leans into petting and continues to lean into contact staying near the staff member petting them. Kota will greet another dog, remain loose/wiggly, and is returned to kennel. The staff member clips his leash, he growls, hard barks and snaps towards the handler hand, not making contact. Kota is put back into kennel with no issue after that.

Summary (7):: 12/29/25: Kota is reported to be whale eyeing, growling, and hard staring on walks. He is also reported to be difficult to remove from crate. Behavior handler attempts to leash him in crate and he will whale eye and growl with a tense frame. Handler attempts to coax him to the front but he shows no interest in toys or treats. Handler leaves and returns about an hour later and Kota is at the front of the crate. He is leashed with ease and walks on a loose leash to the Canine Behavior Office where he is soft bodied and social with familiar handlers, leaning into petting. After his session, he is moved to a kennel safely. 12/26/25: Kota is at the front of his kennel with a tense body and whale eyes as handler approaches. He begins to wag his tail and the handler is then able to clip his collar with ease. He is then taken to the behavior room. In the room, he becomes comfortable approaching the handlers with a loose wagging tail and would lean in to receive pets and treats. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 12/21/25: Kota is standing at the front of his kennel and will slowly wag his tail though remaining slightly tense as the handler approaches and crouches down at the door. The handler tosses some treats into the back of the kennel and puts their leash on the floor in a loop, placing a dollop of spray cheese in the middle of the loop for Kota to lick. The handler will slowly lift the leash ring over Kota's head and gently tighten the slip leash, waiting for Kota to finish licking the cheese so he can exit the kennel on his own. On the walk, he will walk with the handler on a loose leash up the block, sniffing carefully. He will become slightly scared with loud noises but will recover quickly. When the handler clips the ring at the Care Center entrance, he will whale eye briefly but loosens as they continue walking. He is returned to his kennel with no issue. 12/19/25: Kota is standing in his kennel with a tense body while whale eyeing as handler approaches. He is able to be slowly leashed and he is then taken to the behavior room for his assessment. In the room, he has a tense body, low body frame and tucked tail. He would whale eye at the handler and back away as they try to interreact with him. Due to fearfulness, his assessment is unable to be completed. He is able to be slowly taken back to his kennel with no issues.

Date of intake:: 12/18/2025

Summary:: nervous but slowly warmed up to staff. He was good walking on the leash but did not allow staff to

Date of initial:: 12/18/2025

Summary:: able to leash out of the kennel, timid, stood like statue

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): We recommend Lota be placed in an adult-only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Kota came into the care center as an owner surrenders he was found by his owners and they kept him for 2 weeks. They noted he is known to be a quiet, social, and affectionate couch potato who likes to be where people are. He allows bathing and brushing, knows the cues sit, stay, come and no, does not pull on his leash and loves going for a car ride and cuddling. He is still learning how to play and gets a little scared when he's approached to quickly but he has proven to be a very loving and gentle dog. Due to his fearfulness shown in the care cneter Kota would benefit from a quiet, patient placement that can provide decompression, predictable routines, and gradual, low-pressure desensitization to handling. Kota is available for rescue through one of our new hope partners.

Potential challenges: : Resource guarding,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Fearful

Potential challenges comments:: Resource guarding: Kota considers food and treats valuable, though the client has never attempted to take these items from him. Recommended interventions include avoiding removal of items without a trade, implementing trade-up exercises, and feeding in a low-stress environment to prevent guarding behavior. Please see the handout on Resource guarding. Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition: Kota is mouthy when taking treats, indicating poor bite inhibition. To address this, teach a “gentle” cue during treat delivery, offer treats on an open palm or with a spoon, and reinforce calm, soft-mouth behavior consistently. Please see the handout on Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition. Fearful: Kota shows fearfulness when held, restrained, startled, moved from furniture, or when his paws are touched. Recommended interventions include avoiding forced handling, using slow, positive approaches, and pairing touch with high-value treats. Gradual desensitization to handling and collar touches can help build trust and reduce stress. Please see the handout on the decompression period.