Date of intake:: 6/16/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner Surrender (4 years)

Previously lived with:: Adults

Behavior toward strangers:: friendly with new people but prefers contact on his own terms

Behavior toward children:: gentle, tolerant, if the children are calm

Behavior toward dogs:: unknown

Behavior toward cats:: unknown

Resource guarding:: none reported

Bite history:: none reported

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: Brownie is reported to have a medium enegy level.

Other Notes:: During a recent Straycation, the foster reported that Brownie had become overaroused and bitten the top of their partner's shoe three times. In a separate incident, when a guest entered the home, Brownie again became overaroused and began biting the guest's feet and lower leg repeatedly, breaking the skin in some instances. Brownie is known to have separation anxiety and will cry/bark for long hours when left alone in the home. He prefers contact on his own terms with new people.

Date of assessment:: 6/18/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: mild pulling Reactivity to humans: none - ignores Reactivity to dogs: did not pass Leash walking comments: uncomfortable with leashing, would dodge attempts Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): nervous (hunched body, low tail), but takes treats Call over: approaches coaxing Sociability comments: initially presses head into assessor's lap, but quickly becomes overwhelmed Handling Soft handling: tense body, tolerates contact Exuberant handling: tense body, tolerates contact Handling comments: Arousal Jog: follows on first pass, but balks, low body, hunched on last Arousal comments: Knock: no response Knock Comments: Toy: no response Toy comments:

Summary:: According to Brownie's previous owner(s), he does not have much experience with other dogs. 08/23/26 Brownie is introduced to a novel female while off leash. He approaches and his frame tenses slightly, but he walks away. Brownie will reapproach several times and sniff the female.

Summary (4):: 9/22: Brownie is sitting on his bed when a novel handler approaches. He slowly rises and comes to the front of the kennel. Brownie readily accepts chicken breast but backs away when the handler attempts to clip his collar. It takes a few minutes and some spray cheese for the handler to clip his collar. He is then taken to the play yard where he wanders the pen. Brownie intermittently checks in with the handler, takes treats, and then wanders away again. He returns to kennel without issue.

Summary (5):: 9/21/26: Brownie is standing at the front of is kennel door as handler approaches. He is able to be clipped to his collar while being distracted with treats and is then taken to the yard. In the yard, he is able to be transferred to a drag leash and would explore around with sniffing. He is comfortable approaching the handler with a loose body and would run around in circles with a loose body. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 9/19/26: Brownie is standing up at his kennel door as handler approaches. He is able to be clipped to his collar while being distracted with treats and is then taken to the yard. In the yard, he is able to be transferred to a drag leash and would explore around. He is comfortable approaching the handler with a loose body and would take treats that the handler would offer him. He barks at a dog passing by the pen and is able to be redirected with treats. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 9/18/26: Brownie is standing up at his kennel door as handler approaches. He is able to be clipped to his collar while being distracted with treats and is then taken to the yard. In the yard, he is able to be transferred to a drag leash and would explore around with sniffing. He is comfortable approaching the handler with a loose body and would chase around treats that the handler would toss on the ground. He would catch the zoomies and run around the yard in circles with a loose body. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 09/16/26: Brownie is standing at the front of kennel with a neutral body as handler approaches. Handler uses treats to lure him to the front and is able to clip his collar. He is removed and taken to the street for a walk. He remains neutral bodied throughout walk, accepting pets and treats. Once in the yard, he is clipped to a drag leash as he sniffs around the yard. Handler plays a brief game of trade before Brownie gets the zoomies. He is easily leashed and taken back to his kennel without issue. 09/08/26: Brownie is sitting at the front of kennel as handler approaches. When they open the kennel door, he appears a bit wary and will retreat. Handler kneels down and coaxes him forward with a soft tone and slowly clips his collar. Brownie readily exits kennel and walks to the Canine Behavior Office. He engages with the handler, accepting treats and petting with a neutral frame. After his session, he is walked back to kennel and once inside, allows handler to slowly unclip their leash

Summary (6):: 8/20/26: Brownie is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He retreats to the back of his kennel when the handler opens the door and presents their leash. He would lower his head and step forward to eat treats that the handler kept tossing inside but would then constantly back away as the leash got closer to him. He is able to be lassoed when he remains keeping his head low to the ground. He is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he has a loose body frame as he walks next to the handler. He would stare at dogs that would pass by and is comfortable taking treats. He would run forward with a loose body when he got exited. He is comfortable approaching the handler and sits for treats. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 07/31/26: Brownie is in the middle of his kennel as the handler approaches. He retreats further into the kennel when the handler puts the leash in, but comes forward again for treats. Eventually, the handler has to lean in and toss the leash over Brownie's head, after which, Brownie exits the kennel and walks without issue. Outside, Brownie startles at loud noises, but recovers quickly. He walks in front of the handler and checks in from time to time. Brownie does not pull, even when startled. After his walk, he is returned to the building without issue. 7/24/26: Brownie is standing at the back of his kennel as handler approaches. He approaches the front when the handler tosses treats inside and he then eats them while the handler unlocks the door. He then retreats to the back of his kennel as the handler opens the door and presents their leash. He would lower his head and step forward to eat treats that the handler kept tossing inside but would then constantly shake the leash off. He begins to bark as the handler closes the door to fix their leash. He is then able to be leashed as the handler quickly gets the loop over his head as he eats treats again. He is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he has a neutral body frame as he walks next to the handler. He would stare at dogs that would pass by and is comfortable taking treats. He pulls on the way back to his kennel and attempts to pull towards a dog in kennel next to his with a tense body and grumbles before being quickly placed inside of his kennel.

Summary (7):: 7/16/26: It is reported via the whiteboard that Brownie is becoming kennel reactive towards other dogs. 06/27/26: It's noted on the whiteboard that Brownie will duck his head when attempting to leash, and he doesn't have interest in treats while leashing. 06/26/26: Brownie is laying on his bed as the handler approaches. He is leashed and brought outside for a walk. Brownie walks slowly and with his tail tucked the entire time. He is indifferent to the handler, only occasionally looking back, and does not show any interest in treats. He is brought back inside and returned to his kennel without issue. 6/18/26 (Assessment): Brownie was lying on his bed at back of kennel. Handler tried a couple of times of lassoing Brownie before they were successful. Handler had to apply a little leash pressure to get Brownie to exit kennel. He displayed no reactivity to people or dogs that he saw in the hall. During his assessment Brownie was aloof and would take cheese. Please see assessment notes for details. After the assessment Brownie was hesitant to leave the behavior room and handler had to apply leash pressure to get Brownie to start walking. He was returned to his kennel with no further issue. 6/18/26: Brownie is laying down on his bed at the back of his kennel with a tense body as handler approaches. He remains laying down as the handler unlocks the door and when they attempt to leash him. The handler is able to lasso him and he still remains tense while laying down. The handler then closes the door and returns back to retrieve the leash with a hook. The handler is able to retrieve the leash with no issues and then closes and locks the door and ends the interaction.

Date of intake:: 6/16/2026

Summary:: nervous but allowed handling

Date of initial:: 6/17/2026

Summary:: nitially timid, warmed up with handling, allowed for handling and tasks

ENERGY LEVEL:: Brownie's previous owners reported that he is a medium energy dog. 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),Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to how uncomfortable Brownie is currently with touch and novel stimuli, and his low threshold for arousal and resulting bite history, we feel that an adult-only home would be most beneficial at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Brownie has a history of biting when in high arousal situations. While the bites have not typically caused serious injury, they indicate a low threshold for arousal that can escalate quickly. We recommend that Brownie be placed with a New Hope placement partner who can provide any necessary behavior modification (force-free, positive reinforcement-based) and re-evaluate behavior in an experienced, stable adult-only home environment before placement into a permanent home.

Potential challenges: : Fearful,Multiple-bite history/risk of future aggression,Separation anxiety,Low threshold for arousal,Bite history (human)

Potential challenges comments:: Bite history (human) and multiple-bite history/risk of future aggression: Brownie has escalated to biting in high arousal situations, biting the shoes of his foster and repeatedly biting the feet and lower legs of a guest who entered his foster family's home. While these bites have not caused significant injury, this behavior will need careful management and positive reinforcement training to work toward reducing triggers and lowering Brownie's arousal. Please see handout on Bite History and Potential for Future Aggression. Fearful: Brownie has been fearful at the care center. It is important to always go slow and give him the option to walk away from any social interaction. Brownie should never be forced to approach anything that he is uncomfortable with or to submit to petting or handling. It should always be Brownie’s choice to approach a new person or thing. He would do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to his new surroundings. Please see the handout on the decompression period. Separation anxiety: Brownie is reported to cry and bark for long hours when left alone in the home. We recommend that potential adopters feel comfortable with separation anxiety behaviors and be prepared to manage and positively modify them should they appear in a home environment. He would do best in a home where a person is at home for a large part of the day or with a plan so he is not alone for long periods of time. Please see the handout on Separation anxiety Low threshold for arousal | Bite history (human): Brownie has shown a low threshold for arousal in a home environment, becoming over aroused in the presence of guests entering the home, resulting in repeated biting. Brownie needs careful management and guidance to learn how to appropriately channel his arousal when he becomes overstimulated. He will need daily mental and physical stimulation and exercise, and force-free, positive reinforcement-based training may help him to learn impulse control and to train desirable behaviors that can be rewarded. Please see handout on Arousal.