Date of intake:: 8/1/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray; history unknown

Bite history:: Yes, Axel bit a staff member who grabbed their slipped lead near Axel's neck when he was barking at the gate, and Axel redirected and bit their hand. There was no broken skin, only red marks and raised skin.

Date of assessment:: 8/3/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: mild pulling Reactivity to humans: ignores Reactivity to dogs: did not pass Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): loose body, checks in with handlers, explores room Call over: approaches with coaxing Sociability comments: easily distracted; occasionally mouths finger - no pressure Handling Soft handling: conflicted - leans in, tenses, body stills Exuberant handling: lip lick, begins to shift away Handling comments: Arousal Jog: jumps up, mouth open Arousal comments: does this on each pass Knock: no response Knock Comments: Toy: grips, moves away Toy comments: mouths hand lightly - no pressure

Summary:: Due to entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-dog history recorded. 08/12/26 Axel is introduced to a novel female while off leash. He approaches the gate with a loose, bouncy frame and will solicit play from the female. When meeting face to face, Axel approaches exuberantly and will run and bounce around the female, soliciting play. Both engage in loose bouncy play with body contact for several minutes.

Summary (6):: 08/25/26 (Trainer Note): Axel is standing at the front of his crate with a loose body as handler approaches. He is easily leashed, as he is removed from his rate he heavily pulls towards the other dogs in crates. He is taken to the community room for a training session. Axel remains loose and wiggly throughout interaction, heavily leaning in for pets. He readily participates in training as well. Handler continues working on the "place" cue. Axel is able to remain in a "sit" and fully engaged with handler for several seconds, handler is also able to take a couple steps back in different directions. Staff member walks into the room and Axel fixates on them with a wagging tail, but will orient himself back to handler without being prompted, he remains on the mat as well. Handler introduces the verbal cue with a hand signal. Axel will bounce onto the mat and gently mouth handlers hand before sitting. Handler is able to re leash him using treats and return him to kennel without issue. 08/21/26 (Trainer Note): Axel is standing at the front of his kennel with a neutral to loose body. He is leashed with a treat lure and brought into the training room. In the training room he is lured with treats to step up on a planform in front of the slat mill. He gets two feet on the slat mill and is lured with treats. He stepped back out of the slat mill and opted to sniff around the room and engage with enrichment instead. He is returned to kennel with no issue.

Summary (7):: 08/18/26 (Trainer Note): Axel is standing at the front of his crate with a neutral body as handler approaches. He is easily leashed and brought the community room for a training session. When pet he heavily leans in, and throughout interaction remains engaged. Handler works on 123 and Axel readily participates. Handler moves on to working on a relaxation protocol "Relax on Mat," and Axel continues to participate and engage. Axel remains seated on the mat on the floor for several seconds, and handler is able to take a couple steps back. Handler uses the "Ok" as a release word off the mat. Axel engages with two plush toys before being returned to his crate without issue. 8/13/26: As a staff member was grabbing Axel's leash from his neck area to move him away from the gate when barking at another dog, Axel turns, vocalizes and bites the handlers hand, leaving red marks and raised skin but not breaking skin. Axel is moved away after the other dog leaves the yard and is able to move his focus away from the gate. 08/12/26 (Trainer Note): Axel is standing in the middle of his crate with a loose body as handler approaches. He is easily leashed and taken to the community room for a training session. He remains loose bodied in room, but when spotting a fake dog in the room, he fixates, pulls towards it, and is tense. Second handler removes the dog from the room and Axel is able to focus on handler. Axel readily participates and works on the 123 game and the "touch" cue. He is treat motivated and social with handler, heavily leaning in for pets. When working on "touch" he would consistently attempt and mouth handlers closed fist. Sometimes becoming more frustrated and pawing at hand, towards the end of the session he was readily touching his nose to handlers fist. He would jump up on handler and often tangle himself in his leash due to his jumping. He is returned to his crate without issue. 8/3/26 (BA): Axel is at the front of his kennel as the handler approaches. He is leashed with ease and brought out to the behavior office where he is social with the handlers in the room; taking treats from them and occasionally jumping onto them. (see Assessment for more info) He is then returned to his crate with no issue

Date of intake:: 8/1/2026

Summary:: social, outgoing, allowed intake tasks

Date of initial:: 8/1/2026

Summary:: Able to examine, very friendly, active,

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Axel's conflicting body language and discomfort, and his low threshold for arousal, we recommend a home without children under 13. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to Axel's behavior concerns in the care center, we recommend he is placed with one of our New Hope Partners.

Potential challenges: : Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Fearful,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Low threshold for arousal,Bite history (human)

Potential challenges comments:: Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition: Axel was noted to become mouthy when interacting with handlers. Little pressure is applied, but this is a behavior that should be extinguished through training alternate behaviors and lack of reward (ex., walking away whenever Axel's teeth make contact with skin). Please see handout on Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition. Fearful: During the petting portion of his assessment, Axel became conflicted. He initially leaned in, but his body would tense, and he would start to move away as it became more exuberant. Axel managed his discomfort well by walking away, but it is important to give him that option and move at his pace during interactions and when being introduced to novel stimuli. Please see handout on decompression period. Low threshold for arousal: During the jog, Axel becomes slightly aroused, jumping up with his mouth open on each pass. He was able to settle on his own after. Please see handout on Arousal. Bite history (human)/Barrier frustration: As a staff member was grabbing Axel's leash from his neck area to move him away from the gate when barking at another dog, Axel turns, vocalizes and bites the handlers hand, leaving red marks and raised skin but not breaking skin