Date of intake:: 12/22/2024

Spay/Neuter status:: No

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

Previously lived with:: 2 adults, 1 child

Behavior toward strangers:: Bella is social and outgoing

Behavior toward children:: Bella is gentle and playful

Behavior toward dogs:: Bella will hard bark,lunge, hard stare and attempt to bite while off leash

Behavior toward cats:: Bella

Resource guarding:: None reported

Bite history:: None reported

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: Medium

Other Notes:: Bella's previous owner describes her as a sweet dog that loves being near people. Owner states she enjoys socializing with reptiles.

Date of assessment:: 12/24/2024

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: None Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: Noen Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Distracted Call over: Approaches readily Sociability comments: Sniffing around the room Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Accepts contact Comments: Neutral body Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler readily Knock Knock comments: Approaches with coaxing Toy Toy comments: Grips light, relinquishes

Summary:: 12/27/24: Bella greets another dog at the gate with slightly tense body. Her tail is straight out, wagging. She whines and presses her snoot through the fence links. When the other dog moves away, she follows along the fence line. 1/18/25: Bella greets another dog at the gate with a tense face and neutral body. She then looks at handler and sits for treats.

Summary (6):: 1/27/25:It was reported on the behavior board that Bella bit a handler's sweater close to their leg. 1/26/25: ACS staff have reported Bella has been cage fighting when exiting kennel. 1/25/25: Bella is barking at the front of her kennel when handler approaches. She stops and is leashed using treats as a lure. She attempts to cage fight (pulling towards them, standing on her back legs) on the way out of the room, turning back into the room to get to the other dogs even when out in the hall. She grabs handlers treat pouch in her mouth but releases immediately. Treats are tossed on the ground to get her to move forward. She is walked on the street where she is hyperfocused on treats. She will walk alongside handler turning her head towards handler looking at their hands. She will sit fore treats and allow brief petting under her chin. She attempts to cage fight on the way back to her kennel and has to be muscled in due to attempting to get to the other dogs. 1/21/25: Bella is observed to continuously bury her water bowl under her linens, as well as her feces. She has a bloody snout from it. 01/07/25: Bella is at the front of the kennel sitting when handler approaches. As handler begins unlocking kennel, she begins vocalizing and jumping softly. She is fed treats through the bars of the kennel and is easily leashed and taken out of kennel. She pulls hard towards her neighboring dog, but is muscled away and led out of the room. She pulls towards other dogs in pop-up crates and is guided away with light leash pressure. She is led outside where she relieves herself immediately. Once out on the street, she continuously checks in with handler - which is rewarded with treats each time. She continues engaging with both her surroundings - and checking in with handler. She sits on command, is given a treat, and is led back inside the building. She again pulls towards the pop-up crates in the hallway - and pulls hard towards the neighboring dog in her room - but is led into her kennel with no issue. Interaction is ended.

Summary (7):: 1/4/25: Bella is at the front of her kennel as handler approaches. She is leashed without issue while being offered treats which she takes. She is brought out of kennel and pulls moderately towards the dogs she passes while exiting the room. She is then brought to the street for her walk. While on the street Bella uses the bathroom almost immediately and walks past people on the street without issue. Bella accepts treats while outside and will stare briefly at dogs she sees on the street and pull towards them but is kept away. Bella is walked for a bit before being brought back to the building and back to kennel, she is returned without issue. 1/2/25: ACS report that Bella bit the handlers hand when they were attempting to leash her. This bite did not break skin and did not draw blood. When the handler attempted to leash Bella again, she began to leash bite and lunge towards the handlers hand. 12/27/24: Bella has been barking constantly today and yesterday and will occasionally whine. She will sometimes stop barking/whining for short periods of time (about 15 minutes) but otherwise she is typically at the front of her kennel barking. This behavior continues when she is out of her kennel as well, and she seems unable to settle. As of this morning she has begun to wrap her front legs around staff members and mount them, sometimes humping them and sometimes just mounting. Enrichment will distract her for about 10-20 minutes but she then returns to barking. 12/24/24- Bella was laying down sleeping when handler approached her kennel, she slowly got up and came to the front with soft body. She was easily leashed and taken for a street walk. She walks on a loose leash and does check ins with handler. She is rewarded with treats and takes them gently from their hand. She has no reaction to any stimuli besides pigeons, which she just perks up her head but has no vocalization nor pulling towards them with a soft body. She is social with handler and allows them to pet her head, chin and back. She is taken for her assessment where she remains soft bodied and social with handlers. She is easily releashed and returned to kennel without issue.

Date of intake:: 12/22/2024

Summary:: Aloof, allowed all handling

Date of initial:: 12/22/2024

Summary:: Tense body for exam

ENERGY LEVEL:: Bella is described as medium energy. They will need daily mental and physical activity to keep them engaged and exercised. And we recommend using force-free, reward-based training techniques for them.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: Level 4

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

Recommendations comments:: No young children (under 13): Due to low threshold for arousal and snapping towards handlers we recommend a home with no children. No cats: Due to behavior reported we recommend a home with no cats. Single Pet Home/ No Dog Parks: Due to becoming tense, hard barking, lunging, and attempting to bite other dogs we recommend a single pet home with no trips to the dog park.

Potential challenges: : Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Leash-biting,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Mouthiness/Poor Bite Inhibition: Bella has been observed to snap towards handlers hands when they attempt to leash her. This is a behavior that should be extinguished through training alternate behaviors and lack of reward, such as walking away whenever Bella's teeth make contact with skin. Please see handout on Mouthiness. Leash Biting: Bella has been observed to bite the leash when handlers are attempting to leash her. 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. Low Threshold Arousal: Bell has been observed to easily become over aroused; jumping up on handlers attempting to mount and hump them. Positive reinforcement, force-free training should be used to teach Bella to remain calm when people are around. Bella should be rewarded with treats when calm. If they escalate to mounting, people should immediately walk away from and separate themselves from Bella. Please see handout on Arousal.