Date of intake:: 7/26/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray; in finder's home for 2 weeks

Previously lived with:: 1 adult

Behavior toward strangers:: hard bark and growl

Behavior toward children:: Unknown

Behavior toward dogs:: Unknown

Behavior toward cats:: Unknown

Resource guarding:: None reported

Bite history:: None reported

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: Kiara's reported to have a low energy level.

Other Notes:: Kiara's finder reported she prefers contact on her own terms. She was noted to go on one to two walks a day for 20 minutes each with hard pulling. During walks she is reported to hard park and growl at bicycles, stranger that approach her or her home. She will hard bark when held/restrained. Kiara is unbothered when disturbed while sleeping, startled, pushed off furniture, touched by her paws and collar.

Date of assessment:: 7/30/2026

Summary:: Kiara remains highly fearful and is only allowing handling from select handlers at this time. During walks, she has escalated to hard barking, growling, and lunging at strangers and does not readily recover. Due to these concerns and handling assessment is unable to be conducted.

Summary:: According to Kiara's finder(s), she has no experience with other dogs. 08/10/26 Kiara is introduced to a novel male while off leash. She approaches the gate with a tense frame and will hard stare at the male before jumping up onto the gate. She tenses further, will run away from gate and reapproaches and will tense again, muzzle pressed against the gate and began vocalizing.

Summary (6):: 08/10/26( PG Note): Kiara is standing at the front of her kennel, jumping up on her hind legs, and allows handler to leash her with ease. She is then brought to the play yard to meet a male playmate. Once inside the yard, a drag leash is placed on her. Kiara socializes and interacts with handlers. Once her playmate arrives, she approaches the gate for a nose to nose greeting. She begins stiffening her playmate's nose and tracking her playmate and hard barking at him. For more information, see Dog to Dog Assessment. 8/8/26: Kiara is at the front of the kennel jumping onto the kennel door and barking and is leashed as she eats some spray cheese. She will continue to lick the spray cheese as the door is opened so the handler waits for her to finish. She is then brought out to the hallway where she will hard stare at another behavior handler who is about 10 feet behind them but is able to be redirected with no issue. Once in the office, she is offered some cheese and will lick it off of the couch. She is slightly hypervigilant in the room but will continue to lick the cheese when directed to it. She is returned to kennel with no issue and secured safely. 8/6/26: Kiara was at back of kennel with a tense body. Handler had to lasso to leash and step to the side to allow her to exit. Coming out kennel she pulled hard and was taken to the back yard for a walk. She had no interest in treats and pulled hard during her walk. When returning she kept turning away from handler as they tried to clip her leash. She was returned to kennel with no issue. 8/2/26: Kiara is standing at the front of her kennel whimpering as handler approaches. She is able to be leashed with ease and she pulls hard on the way to the behavior room. In the room, she would pace around while heavy panting and would constantly jump up on all the handlers to receive pets. She would then constantly re-approach the door to seek exit. She is comfortable approaching the handler to receive high value cheese. She then pulls on the way back to her kennel and is able to enter with no issues. 7/31/26: Kiara is sitting at the front of her kennel as handler approaches. She is able to be leashed with ease and is then slowly taken outside for a walk. Along the way outside, she would constantly stare at handlers in the hallway and try to pull towards them. She is then taken to the yard. In the yard, she would begin to pace around while whimpering and constantly jump up on the handler while heavy panting. She would lunge for pigeons and would pace back-and-forth at the gate as she sees people and dogs walking by on the sidewalk. She then pulls hard on the way back to her kennel and would try to pull towards dogs and people that were nearby before entering the building. She is able to enter her kennel with no issues.

Summary (7):: 7/30/26: Kiara is lying down in her kennel with a tense body as the handler approaches. She remains lying down with a tense body when the handler speaks to her and tosses treats inside the kennel. She has no interest in eating the treats, and she continues to lay down with a tense body. She begins to slide away as the handler slowly unlocks the door. She allows the handler to slowly leash her with no issue, but she remains lying down and refuses to exit the kennel. The handler then opens the door wide open, backs away and gives her space while trying to coax her forward with praise. The handler then closes the door and goes to get some high-value cheese. When the handler returns, she is now sitting up at the door, and the handler tosses in cheese that she only sniffs. The handler then continues to speak to her as they open the door and backs away again to allow her to come forward. The handler then shows her a toy and begins to squeak it to motivate her. She then slowly exits the kennel. She is then slowly taken outside for a walk. On the walk, she has a tense body and low tail as she pulls hard ahead. She tries to pull towards dogs that were nearby while hard staring at them with a tense body. She is able to be taken to the yard, and she slowly explores around with a tense body and would constantly stare at dogs that would pass by. She pulls hard on her way back to her kennel and is able to enter with no issues. 7/27 (late entry): Kiara was at the front of her kennel when a handler approached. She quickly scoots to the back, growling with her tail tucked. The handler offers her chicken breast and sliced cheese first before unlocking the door. Kiara slowly begins to smell before eating. The handler is able to create a trail of treats to the front of her kennel. The kennel door is moved slowly, and the handler places their lead in. She flinches back at the sight of the lead, but the handler slowly lures her through the lead a few times before attempting to secure it. Once on, Kiara slowly exits the kennel and is brought to the behavior office, where it is quiet. She begins pacing and whining before she finally relieves herself. Kiara takes a few pieces of cheese, but then resumes pacing and whining. The handler returns her to the kennel to reduce any further stress.

Date of intake:: 7/26/2026

Summary:: Escalating to hard barking and lunging at staff while in the car, stiff body, lightly thrashed

Date of initial:: 7/29/2026

Summary:: timid, whale eyes, staff able to leash and bring to squeeze gate, sedated as precaution

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Kiara's potential for defensive escalations, we recommend an adult-only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Kiara has not acclimated well to the kennel environment and has allowed only minimal handling since intake. We recommend placement with a New Hope partner who can provide any necessary behavior modification (force-free, positive reinforcement-based) and re-evaluate behavior in a stable home environment before placement into a permanent home. Recommend No Dog Parks: Due to the concerning behaviors that Kiara has shown during playgroup (see DOG-DOG SUMMARY), we feel that she should not visit dog parks. The Behavior Department recommends that she be socialized in a more controlled setting until her behavior towards other dogs can be further addressed. Reward-based, force-free training can be utilized to help Kiara associate dogs with things she enjoys like toys or treats.

Potential challenges: : Handling/touch sensitivity,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration

Potential challenges comments:: Handling/touch sensitivity: Kiara is reported to hard bark when held or restrained. Please see hand out on Handling/touch sensitivity. Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: Kiara has escalated to growling and lunging on multiple occasions, both at intake and during her time in the care center. Her signs of discomfort must be respected; Kiara should never be forced to interact; she should always be allowed to walk away from situations or people she finds uncomfortable. We recommend a slow approach, and we recommend ONLY force-free, reward-based training methods for Kiara. More aversive techniques are likely to increase fear, increase the risk of aggression, and decrease Kiara's quality of life. Please see handout on Fearful/potential for defensive aggression. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: Kiara's previous finder reported she hard barks and growls at bicycles and strangers that approach her on walks. During her stay in care, she has been observed to hard bark, growl, and lunge at strangers and does not readily recover. Please see him now on On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration.