Date of intake:: 4/22/2026

Spay/Neuter status:: Yes

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

Previously lived with:: 2 adults, 2 dogs

Behavior toward strangers:: Bentley is friendly, outgoing, and playful around strangers

Behavior toward children:: Bentley is friendly, outgoing, and playful around children

Behavior toward dogs:: Bentley will growl/hard bark at dogs

Behavior toward cats:: No experience

Resource guarding:: It is reported that Bentley will shows a tense body around toys, food, and treats.

Bite history:: No bite history

Housetrained:: Partially

Energy level/descriptors:: Medium Energy

Other Notes:: His former owners report that Bentley has general anxiety and can pull very hard on leash. He is reported to be reactive to dogs by growling and hard barking.

Date of assessment:: 5/1/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Hard Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: Mild Leash walking comments: Pulls hard while walking, stares at dog he sees in driveway. Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Distracted Call over: Does not approach Sociability comments: Walks around the room, jumping on furniture and rummaging through office, accepts treats by quickly jumping toward hand with light pressure, allows all handling. Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Accepts contact Comments: Accepts contact with neutral body Arousal Jog comments: Follows exuberantly Knock Knock comments: Approaches readily Toy Toy comments: Grips, disengages

Summary:: 5/8/26: Bentley greets another dog at the gate with a tense body and high raoidly wagging tail. He then snaps towards the other dog at the gate.

Summary (6):: 5/13/26: Bentley is at the front of his kennel demand barking at the handler; the handler feeds him treats which he takes with hard pressure. As they leash him, Bentley hard barks at the direction of the neighboring dog; the handler places their hand full of treats in front of him, and Bentley focuses on that instead. The handler first drops treats on the ground and then allows him to exit; Bentley eats some of them, but then he darts to the remaining kennels. The handler straight arms Bentley out the room, and he turns around towards them but does nothing; he jumps and places his front paws on an empty crate, but the handler pulls him off. In the elevator, the handler tosses treats and Bentley eats. While exiting, Bentley fixates on a dog standing outside of the elevator, the handler pulls him away while he still fixates, and he stops once they're around the corner. The handler walks Bentley in the driveway; there, he pulls hard on and off. He doesn't react to dogs when seeing them; he does, however, slightly fixates on staffers walking past with a neutral body. bentley engages with the handler by allowing pets and sitting when commanded; the handler tosses him treats as a reward. Upon entry, Bentley pulls towards a familiar handler; when the handler pulls him away, he remains fixated on them until they enter the hallway. The handler clips their leash and returns Bentley to his kennel. 5/12/26: (PM WALKS) Bentley is at the front of the kennel with a tense body and a soft wagging tail. He is jumping up and pressing his snout against the kennel bars. Handler leashes Bentley with a treat lure and scatters treats on the ground in a trail in front of him. Bentley is then leashed and pulls hard out of the kennel. He eats the treats trail out of the room. He pulls hard towards a person in the hall and is brought to the elevator. Bentley is taken downstairs towards the street where he continues to pull hard. Handler places him in a leash harness and he continues to pull hard. When Bentley observes dogs, he tries to pull towards them with a forward posture and a tense body. Handler is unable to redirect him with treats or calling to him. Handler redirects Bentley by placing a treat in front of his nose. He follows the treat and turns to the handler. Bentley sits and takes treats from the handler firmly. Bentley then pulls hard back towards the shelter. A treat trail is used to coax him back to kennel and he is returned without issue.

Summary (7):: 5/12/26: It is reported that Bentley is cage fighting intensely and that he is difficult to manage. It was also reported that he almost caught the dog in the neighboring kennel. 5/9/26: Bentley is reported to be pulling very hard and visually fixating on kennels during exit and re-entry 5/8/26: (for dog-dog) Bentley is at front of kennel with loose body as handler approaches, he takes a treat offered through kennel bars and allows easy leashing. Bentley pulls moderately but persistently when exiting kennel room, on elevator he takes treats offered. Bentley is walked to play-yard, he is walked to another yard while waiting his turn for gate-greet. He allows all petting from handler with loose body, he relieves himself. He pulls hard intermittently towards areas of interest to sniff/investigate. Bentley is walked into vestibule of another yard to gate greet another dog. (see dog-dog notes). After the interaction Bentley is walked back to his kennel and pauses briefly outside of kennel, hard stares at neighboring kennel but follows treats into his kennel without issue. 5/1/26 (Assessment): Bentley is at front of kennel with a neutral body when handler approached. He was easily leashed and pulled from kennel. Out of kennel Bentley pulled very hard, and for duration of walk he kept the hard pulling. While on a street walk Bentley paid little attention to other dogs and people on the sidewalk. When returning to shelter handler had to pause Bentley in the hallway while another dog was being weighed at the end of the hall. Bentley stared at the other dog, but maintained a neutral body. Bentley was escorted to the behavior room for his assessment. He was returned to kennel with no issue. 4/24/26: Bentley is noted to pull very hard on walks. While in the yard, he is observed to fixate and pull hard towards dogs walking past him in the pen. He is also a bit jumpy on the handler

Date of intake:: 4/22/2026

Summary:: friendly and allowed all pets

Date of initial:: 5/22/2026

Summary:: loose body, allows all handling for exam and is social , tense with muzzle, distracted with food

ENERGY LEVEL:: Bentley is described as active and enthusiastic. They will need daily mental and physical activity to keep them engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct their energy and enthusiasm. We recommend feeding with puzzle feeders and food-dispensing toys. And we recommend only force-free, reward-based training techniques for Bentley.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No Children (Under 13): Due to his size and lack of impulse control, we recommend a home with no children for Bentley. Single Pet Home/No Dog Parks: Due to Bentley's reported reactivity toward dogs we recommend a single pet home and that Bentley stay away from dog parks. We recommend placement with a New Hope rescue partner who is able to provide an experienced, adult-only foster home. Force-free, reward based training and/or consultation with a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended.

Potential challenges: : Resource guarding,Basic manners/poor impulse control,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Strength/leash pulling

Potential challenges comments:: Resource Guarding: Bentley's former owners report that he will show a tense body around toys, food, and treats. Nothing should ever be taken directly out of Bentley's mouth, and any time something is removed he should be rewarded with a high value treat or toy. He should be taught the "drop" cue and trade-up game. Please see handout on Resource Guarding. Basic Manners/Poor Impulse Control: During his assessment it was observed that Bentley would jump on furniture or on handlers exuberantly. It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Leave it", "Sit/Stay", "Down" are reinforced to substitute any frustration and teach him to control his impulses instead of simply reacting; proper management is also advised. Force-free, reward based training only is recommended. Please see handout on Basic Manners and Poor Impulse Control. On-Leash Reactivity/Barrier Frustration: Bentley's former owners report he will pull toward dogs he sees and will hard bark/growl at them. Bentley may need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach him to look at you rather than other dogs. We recommend a front clip harness or head halter to help manage this behavior. Please see handout on On-Leash Reactivity and Barrier Frustration. Strength/Leash Pulling: Staff have reported that Bentley will pull hard when walking on leash and is difficult to manage at times. It is recommended that he be walked on a front clip harness or head halter, which help diminish his strength through leverage, and that he be trained using positive reinforcement, reward based training to not pull on leash. Please see handout on Leash Manners.