Date of intake:: 7/12/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray, history unkown

Date of assessment:: 7/14/2025

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Moderate- pulls towards paces she wants to go Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: Mild Leash walking comments: Pulls hard towards dogs with a tense body Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Distracted Call over: No approach Sociability comments: Sniffing around the room Handling Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Accepts contact Handling comments: Neutral body Arousal Jog: Follows handler with coaxing Arousal comments: Baulks intermittently Knock: Knock Comments: Approaches handler Toy: Toy comments: Sniffs, No reaction

Summary:: 8/9/25: James greets another dog at the gate with a neutral body, slow wagging tail. Off leash, James lip licks when greeting then jumps on the other dogs back. 10/1/25: James is allowed off leash with a decoy dog. She run up to the 'dog' tense body. She knocks the 'dog' over and stands over it sniffing and pushing her nose into it. A handler makes the decoy dog move and James begins to lay her body onto the 'dog' and mouths various parts of its body (legs, neck).

Summary (4):: 10/1/25: James is at the front of the kennel loose and wiggly. She jumps up on the door as handler is unlocking it. She is leashed using a treat as a lure. Treats are tossed on the ground out of the kennel and James pursues those out of the kennel room and into the hall. She is walked on the street where she pulls hard ahead of handler. She will come to handler when called, sitting for treats. At times she will jump up towards the leash without making contact and can be redirected with treats. She does focus on handlers treat pouch and hands for treats jumping towards them. She is easily returned to kennel. 9/29/25: James is jumping up on the kennel door as the handler approaches. The handler uses a treat and is easily able to leash James. In the hallway the handler attempts to clip to James' harness. She begins jumping up high and biting the leash. The handler tossess treats and James is not receptive. James is taken to the street where she pulls hard. Half way through the walk James began to fixate on the handlers hands. The handler tosses treats and James is receptive. James then jumps up and bites the handlers treat bag. The handler tosses more treats. James then begins jumping up high and biting the leash. This behavior is not able to be redirected and James continues to bite the leash until they reenter the building. The handler is able to clip their leash and James is returned to kennel with no further issue. 09/28/25: James is at the center of her kennel as handler approaches. She is leashed while distracted with treats and walked out to the hallway, once out of kennel handler squeaks a toy and tosses it to James who grabs it and begins walking with it in her mouth. James walks down the stairs with handler and out to the street, while outside she walks in front of handler pulling moderately. She will occasionally drop her toy to relieve herself or to investigate/sniff a spot but will hold it again when handler tosses it back at her. James sees dogs from afar and shows minimal interest in them, she walks with handler for a while and finishes relieving herself before being brought back to the care centers. Her leash is clipped and she is returned to kennel without issue. 9/27/25 (Late entry): James was observed to be leash biting intensely and was not able to be redirected with toys or treats. As James was leash biting she almost caught the handlers hand.

Summary (5):: 09/22/25: James is reported to be 'refusing to be pre-clipped'. 9/17/25: It was reported on the behavior board that James leash bit for the entire walk. Nothing worked to redirect her. 9/7/25: James is at the front of the kennel with a loose and wiggly body and wagging tail. She is easily leashed and taken out of the room. James is brought to the street where she walks ahead with mild pulling. She sees a dog and looks towards them with a tense body and a forward posture, James is called over and fed treats. She focuses on handler for brief while before looking back to the dog. During the walk James will try to jump up exuberantly onto handler for treats, she is given treats when 4 paws are on the ground. Handler tries sit with her and she does not respond as well, handler says "sit" in Spanish and she follows the command immediately and is given a treat. James is walked back towards the shelter where she is returned to her kennel without issue. 8/30/25: James is reported to repeatedly jump up and leash bite with staff and was not easily redirected. 8/28/25: James is reported to jump up very high to leash bite. 8/25/25: James is at the front of the kennel with a loose and wiggly body and wagging tail. Handler easily leashes her and takes her out of the room. She is taken towards the backyard where she is placed on a drag leash. She walks around the yard and jumps on the handler in a social manner. Handler is able to harness James with ease, and tolerated handler fitting it on her. Handler used few harnesses and James was able to be harness. After, handler goes to clip the leash to her harness, James begins to mouth the handler's hands with light pressure and begins mouthing the leash. She is redirected with treats and brought the street where she walks ahead of the handler with mild pulling. She relieves herself and is walked back to the shelter. James is easily transferred to the slip lead and is returned to kennel without issue. 8/24/25: James is at the front of the kennel with a loose and wiggly body and fast wagging tail. She is easily leashed and pulls moderately out of the room. James is brought out to the street. As they are about to cross she spots two small dogs who pull towards her, handler tries to distract James with treats but it is unsuccessful. She bows down and pulls towards the dogs. James is kept away and they cross the street. James walks on the street and pulls moderately to hard. She checks in with handler and takes treats gently. When she jumps up on the handler, handler directs her down with a treat and she sits. She is then walked back towards the shelter and brought to the backyard where she is placed on a drag leash. James walks around the yard before engaging with the handler. She jumps up on the handler and allows petting on her head and back. After some time outside, she is easily re-leashed and returned to kennel without issue.

Summary (6):: 8/23/25: James was on drag leash with staff, running around and social with staff and familiar handler. When James is re-leashed she begins jumping up and grabbing the leash. A handler outside of the pen uses a squeaker and it is not as successful. She eventually stops leash biting on her own without redirection and is brought back upstairs. 8/22/25: James is reported to be leash biting. 8/20/25: James is reported to be leash biting. 8/16/25: James is lying down in kennel when handler approaches. She comes towards the front with a loose wiggly body and wagging tail. She is easily leashed and taken out of the room. James walks with a loose leash besides the handler out of the building. She is taken to the street where she walks with the handler checking in regularly for treats. She passes by a dog and pulls towards the dog with a tense body and forward posture, at the same time a person approaches quickly and they are bouncing a basketball. James tries to go after the basketball but is kept away. When at a distance from both the dog and the ball, James returns to walking with a loose leash by the handler. She is then walked back to the shelter and returned to the kennel without issue 8/14/25: It is reported that James, after going down the stairs from LDA began to jump up and bite the leash. This behavior was able to be redirected using squeaky sounds. 08/08/25: James is initially neutral body when handler approaches and takes treats. When handler begins to unlock door, James barks with wiggly body and jumps a few times exuberantly. He is easily leashed, pulls with consistent moderate pulling. On elevator he understands sit commands, but is impatient and jumps softly toward hand with treats. James does eventually hold the sit for a couple seconds and takes treats. James maintains neutral body on sidewalk, walks with minimal pulling. James sees MMB approximately 25 feet away, he tenses a bit and walks slowly, he is redirected verbally and takes treats. James is social with handler, allows petting. James walks back to MACC, re-enters kennel without issue.

Summary (7):: 8/2/25: James is at the front of the kennel jumping up and down with a wiggly body and wagging tail. She is easily leashed and pulls moderately out of the room and to the street. She pulls ahead of the handler. Handler stops, scatters treats and a leash harness is placed on her. She walks beside the handler pulling hard towards various things that catch her interest. She sniffs them before relieving herself a few times. As handler waits to cross the street, they interact with James. She allows petting and leans into the handler's hands. James rolls over with her belly up and allows a brief belly rub. She gets up and is walked back to the shelter. The leash harness is removed without issue as they enter the building. As they exit the elevator, there is a dog standing off to the side. James is tense as she pulls towards the dog. James is kept away and is returned to her kennel without issue. 7/26/25: James is at the front of the kennel with a loose wiggly body and a wagging tail. She is easily leashed and pulls moderately out of the room. Treats are tossed into the elevator and she follows pulling moderately to hard. James is taken to the street where she relieves herself and pulls moderately. James is then walked back to the shelter and she is returned to kennel without issue. 7/21/25: James is easily leashed and brought into the behavior office for a brief interaction. At first she is very loose and wiggly, but with an open mouth and sometimes head whipping. She is treat motivated but will often jump up very high attempt to grab them from your hand. Second handler in room briefly riles her up and James's behavior starts to intensify. She is jumping up very high in handlers face, head whipping, and then grabs the drag leash with her mouth, bites, holds, and shakes it. When original handler goes to re-leash, she jumps up towards handlers face with an open mouth. Second handler uses treats to distract and lure while original handler is ablet to leash her and return her to her crate. 7/14/25- James was laying down at the middle of her kennel when handler approached, when handler leashed her she backed up. She came slowly out of kennel and was taken for a street walk. She had a moderate pull at times, when exiting the drive way she sees another dog. Her body was tense and she pulled hard towards them with no vocalization. Handler used a squeaker which caught her attention for a moment then she would stare back at the dog. Handler tugged her away while using the squeaker and was able to cross the street. She walks on a loose leash with moderate pull towards various spots to sniff. When walking back to the building, she walks very slowly back. Handler tosses treats but she just sniffs them, handler held them out and she followed them. She was taken for her assessment where a treat lure was used to collar her. She explored the room and was easily releashed. She was returned to her kennel without issue.

Date of intake:: 7/12/2025

Summary:: Barking and growling while in crate, treat motivated (chicken)

Date of initial:: 7/14/2025

Summary:: Soft body for exam

ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on James so we cannot be certain of his behavior in a home environment. However, he will need daily mental and physical activity to keep him engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct his energy and enthusiasm

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No young children (under 13): Due to her social hyperarousal, we recommend an adult only home. Single-pet home/Recommend no dog parks: Due to the concerning behaviors that James has shown during playgroup (see DOG-DOG SUMMARY), we feel that James 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 toward other dogs can be further addressed. 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: : Social hyperarousal,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting

Potential challenges comments:: Social Hyperarousal: James quickly becomes over aroused in the presence of people, jumping up on handlers with an open mouth and attempting to bite the leash. Positive reinforcement, force-free training should be used to teach James to remain calm when people and other exciting things are around. James should be rewarded with treats when calm. If they escalate to jumping or mouthing, people should immediately walk away from and separate themselves from James. Please see handout on Arousal. Fearful Defensive: During intake James was observed to be barking and growling during intake while he was in a crate. While in care James has been observed to baulk while on leash. It is important to move slowly with James, 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: James has been observed to pull hard towards dogs with a tense body. This behavior is able to be redirected using squeakie sounds. James 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: James has been observed to jump up and bite the leash. This behavior is not always able to be redirected. During one instance James almost caught the handlers hand. 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.