Date of intake:: 8/29/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray (No Known History)

Other Notes:: *Previous assessments can be given upon request*

Date of assessment:: 9/28/2025

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Mild Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: None Leash walking comments: Jumps up on handler often Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Moderately social Call over: Approaches handler readily Sociability comments: Stays near handler seeking treats Soft handling: Fearful Exuberant handling: Fearful Comments: Becomes tense, head whips, shows whale eye Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler readily Knock Knock comments: No approach, stands neutral Toy Toy comments: Grips firm and engages with the toy, neutral body and soft wagging tail

Summary:: 9/5/25: Muffin greets another dog at the gate with a soft body. Off leash, he is more tense with forward leaning body and lip licking.

Summary (6):: 9/27/25- Muffin is at the front of the gate with a neutral body, he is easily leashed and pulls hard exiting the building. He is taken for a street walk, he walks on a loose leash. He check ins with handler, gently taking treats from their hand. When people pass Muffin just stares at them with a neutral body. Handler calls to him, presents a treat and he follows them. Occasionally when handler presents a treat he jumps on them, they turn their body hold a treat down and he jumps down. He automatically sits and takes treats. He sees a dog and just stares again with a neutral body. Handler calls to him presents a treat and he follows them. He follows the command to sit and give paw. He then sits more upright and wraps both of his front paws around handler's arms. He just holds their hands and stays seated. He then jumps on handler after, they turn their body and he jumps down gently taking more treats. He is easily clipped and returned to kennel without issue. 9/20/21: Noted on the board that he hard barking and growling at people on the streets and reactive to pop up crates. 9/20/25: Muffin is sitting at the front of the kennel upon the handler approaching. As the handler unlocks the kennel, Muffin stands up and jumps on the door. He is leashed with ease and brought out of his kennel. Another handler and dog walk out of the elevator, but Muffin does not react. During the elevator ride, the handler speaks to Muffin and Muffin excitedly jumps on them. The leash gets tangle on his body, and he allows the leash to be untangle. Coming out the elevator, Muffin watches everyone that he walks past. During the street walk, Muffin would walk ahead of the handler with no tension, and then walk next to the handler when the handler would shorten the leash. This is done when the handler and Muffin would walk past people; due to previous notes, Muffin would be reactive to people on the street. The handler also shortens the leash when Muffin is watching people from a distance before they walk past. When entering the building, Muffin sniffs a staff member. When riding the elevator, the handler clips their leash. Muffin begins to pull towards the elevator door and paw at it. When exiting the elevator, Muffin pulls towards his kennel and enters, allowing the handler to remove the leash with ease. 9/15/25: It is reported on the behavior board that Muffin is hard barking and growling at people on the street. He is also reactive to the dogs in the pop up crates

Summary (7):: 9/13/25: Muffin is laying down in his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to come forward for treats and is leashed with ease. He is then taken for a walk outside. In the hallway, he would have tense body and would hard stare at people. On the walk, he continued to have a tense body and hard stare at people. He would pull hard towards people as they passed by. He is able to be redirected when the handler tossed treats on the ground. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 09/05/25: (For dog-dog interaction) Muffin is standing with neutral soft body as handler approaches. He is at front of kennel however is head-snout is in low position making it somewhat difficult to leash. He is leashed on 2nd attempt with treat lure to get him to raise his head. He walks out of kennel with loose leash,. soft body. He walks out into the play-yard issue without issue. See dog-dog interaction for details. After completing the interaction Muffin sits with low-head to be re-leashed from drag-leash. Walks back to kennel and re-enters without issue. 8/31/25: Muffin is laying down in his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to come forward for treats and is leashed with ease. He is then taken for a walk outside. In the hallway, he would have tense body and would hard stare people as he tried to pull towards them. On the walk, he continued to have a tense body and hard stare at people. He would pull hard towards people as they passed by. He would hard stare at dogs and people across the street. He is able to be redirected when the handler tossed treats on the ground. He is then taken to the behavior room for his assessment. Along the way, he tried to pull towards a handler in the hallway and and began to thrash on lead. He would pull backwards and try to pull towards the handler again. While in the room, he would approach the handlers with a tense body for treats and then would back away. He would try to seek exit and jump at the door. He was able to sit for treats and his eyes would widened when petted. Please see behavior assessment notes for more details. He begins to thrash and back away on lead when returning to kennel and had to be muscled inside.

Date of intake:: 8/29/2025

Summary:: Avoids leashed, thrashes walking into kennel room

Date of initial:: 8/30/2025

Summary:: Easily leashed, tense but occasional tail wag, very food motivated

ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on Muffin 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:: Level 4

Recommendations:: No children (under 13)

Recommendations comments:: No Children: Due to Muffins fearful disposition and need for contact on his own terms, we recommend a home with no children.

Potential challenges: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Fearful,Anxiety,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration

Potential challenges comments:: Basic Manners: Muffins has been observed to jump up on handlers ofen. 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. Please see handout on Basic Manners. Fearful: Since arriving at the care centers Muffins has been reported to become fearful and thrash on leash while walking. During his assessment Muffin was observed to head whip and show whale eye. It is important to always go slow and give Muffin the option to walk away from any social interaction. Muffin should never be forced to approach anything that he is uncomfortable with or to submit to petting or handling. It should always be Muffin’s choice to approach a new person or thing. Muffin would do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to his new surroundings. Please see handout on Decompression Period. Anxiety: During his assessment Muffin was observed to frequently whine paw and jump at the office door seeking exit. If this behavior presents itself in a future home we recommend puzzle toys, long walks, and giving him other things to focus on to alleviate her anxiety. Positive reinforcement, force-free training only should be used. Please see handout on Generalized Anxiety. On Leash Reactivity: Muffin is observed to pull towards people and dogs with a tense body. This behavior is able to be redirected easily with treats. Throughout his stay Muffin has become increasingly more reactive while on leash. Noted to hard bark and growl towards people on the street. Muffin 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.