Date of intake:: 7/15/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray; history unknown

Date of assessment:: 7/19/2026

Summary:: Oreo Firecracker has not acclimated well to the shelter environment and has only been allowing for minimal handling. He has growled at handlers when approached in kennel, and remains tense and avoidant of interaction once out of the kennel. Due to these concerns, a handling assessment has not been conducted.

Summary:: Due to entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-dog history recorded. 07/25/26 Oreo Firecracker is introduced to a novel female while off leash. He approaches with a slightly tense frame, tucked tail, and will briefly sniff in the direction of the female. He will offer slight, low tail wags but appears a bit conflicted throughout.

Summary (4):: 07/30/2026 (Trainer Note): Oreo is standing on his hind legs at the front of kennel while barking and frantically pawing at the kennel door as handler approaches. Handler attempts using treats, squeakers, and toys but he is uninterested. When attempting to leash him from the top, he tries to leash bite but continues frantically pawing at the kennel door on his hind legs. Handler is able to remove him and takes him to the yard for a walk. He sniffs around and will take treats. Handler continues rewarding him for a "sit". He pulls hard as he is returned to kennel. Handler uses consistent leash pressure and he darts in his kennel but quickly bolts out, lunges at a second handler with an open mouth towards their hand, treats are tossed but he is unreceptive, he is muscled in but bolts out once again, both handlers have to muscle him in and slam the kennel door shut. 07/30/2026: Oreo Firecracker is standing on his hind legs at the front of kennel while barking and excessively pawing at the door as handler approaches. He is not interested in treats and does not respond to the squeaker, he continues barking and pawing at the door. Handler is able to leash him over his head, removes him from kennel, and is taken to the behavior office. He engages with a snuffle matt on the floor and will occasionally dart towards other staff in the room. He is returned to his kennel, right before entering he retreats but with consistent leash pressure goes in without an issue.

Summary (5):: 7/29/26: Oreo Firecracker is at the front of his kennel and alarm barks with a tense body and high wagging tail. Treats are tossed and he does not redirect his attention. He makes hard eye contact and remains at the front for leashing. He stands up on his hind legs while the leash is going around his head and it gets caught around his stomach. He begins jumping up on the door repeatedly while barking as the handler uses a second leash. He digs at the door crack and knocks into the door hard and the door is briefly shut before the handler tries again. The leash is able to be secured without issue and Oreo scrambles out of kennel. He pulls moderately on leash while consistently scrambling. He will occasionally hard stare at his handler with a flagged tail and track their hands if not walking consistently. He jumped up on the handler once with a closed mouth and attempted to nip but was short armed. While in a play yard he used the bathroom and engaged with a squeaker ball. He would periodically stare at his handler and gear himself to jump up, he was frequently short-armed. He was non-reactive to other dogs or people. He engaged with scattered treats and then was returned to the kennel without issue. 7/26: Oreo Firecracker was observed to be banging hard at his kennel door. He pauses when a handler checks on him but continues immediately once they move out of his line of sight. 07/26/26: Oreo Firecracker is at the front of the kennel as the handler approaches. He is leashed with ease and brought to the office where he eats treats from a snuffle mat. He occasionally and briefly would solicit attention from handlers. When returning to his kennel, he does not want to enter, but is guided in with light leash pressure. 7/25/26: Oreo Firecracker is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to be leashed with ease and he then pulls on the way to the play yard for playgroup. In the yard, he greets the other dog at the gate with a tense body and then disengages. He has no interest in re-approaching the gate. Please see dog to dog notes for more details. He pulls hard on the way back to his kennel is able to enter with no issues.

Summary (6):: 7/24/26: Oreo Firecracker was at back of kennel on approach and came to front when handler began unlocking the door. He was leashed with a treat lur and walked to the training room pulling moderately. Once brought into the training room, he immediately relieved himself before chasing a tennis ball. He briefly solicited attention by leaning into handlers before returning to chasing and shredding a tennis ball. He pulled slightly back to kennel and was rekenneled with no issue. 7/23/26: Oreo Firecracker is sitting at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to be leashed with ease and is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he would pull hard ahead while sniffing. He has no interest in treats and has no reactions to dogs or people. He would constantly stop at trees to sniff and mark his territory. He then pulls hard on the way back to his kennel and enters with no issues. 07/21/26: Oreo Firecracker is sitting at the back of his kennel as the handler approaches. He walks forward, puts his head through the leash, and is taken outside for a walk. He pulls hard, and when reaching the top of the ramp, he starts walking towards the play yards. He looks up at the handler and chatters his teeth. The handler opts to walk him on the street instead. Oreo Firecracker continues to pull hard, passing by people with no issue. He stops to intensely sniff a few different spots. When returning, he stops walking and fixates on a dog much farther down the block. The handler crosses the street with Oreo Firecracker. In the building, he passes by an unfamiliar staff member and barks at them. He then passes by the same staff member he saw outside and barks at that handler as well. When the handler goes to clip his leash, Oreo Firecracker stares at their hand, whale eyes, and lip licks. The handler attempts to distract him with treats, but he shows no interest. The handler does not clip the leash at this time. Once in the kennel room, Oreo Firecracker does not want to enter kennel. He is momentarily distracted by a noise in the room and the handler is able to clip his leash, then use leash pressure to guide him into the kennel.

Summary (7):: 07/20/26 (PM): Oreo Firecracker is at the front of his kennel when the handler approaches. He is leashed with ease and brought outside for a walk. When returning, another handler and dog pass by, and Oreo Firecracker begins growling at the dog. The handler walks away to create more distance between them. In the kennel room, Oreo Firecracker stops in front of his kennel. The handler turns around with him to reset, and Oreo Firecracker walks into the kennel on the second attempt. 7/20/26: Oreo Firecracker is sitting at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to be slowly leashed with ease and is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he would pull hard ahead while sniffing. He would stop at pee puddles to sniff constantly while chattering on the way to the yard. In the yard, he would constantly jump up on the bench and explore around. He has no interest in treats and has no reactions to dogs or people. He then pulls hard on the way back to his kennel and enters with no issues. 7/18/26: Oreo Firecracker is laying down in his kennel with a tense body as handler approaches. He begins to growl as the handler tosses treats inside. He has no interest in the treats and continues to growl as the handler unlocks the door. When the handler slowly presents their leash, he stands up and begins to bark towards the leash. When he slowly steps forward, the handler is able to slowly leash him with no issue. He is then taken to the behavior room. In the room, he has a tense body as he explores around. He begins to have a slow wagging tail when he becomes comfortable approaching all the handlers to sniff them. He becomes loose when he notices a tennis ball and engages in chasing after them and chewing on them. He would jump up onto the handlers laps that were sitting on the couch and his harness is able to be taken off while he is distracted with treats. He is then comfortable approaching all the handlers and would take treats. He has a tense body and tucked tail on the way back to his kennel. When the handler quickly places him inside, he quickly then launches back out of the kennel. When the handler tosses a treat trail inside, he sits down and begins to tremble. When the handler quickly tries to muscle him again, they are able to quickly close the door as he attempts to try to bolt back out. He then jumps up at the door while heavy panting and barking as the handler locks it and walks away.

Date of intake:: 7/15/2026

Summary:: tense body, high tail, hard barking when attempting to remove harness

Date of initial:: 7/17/2026

Summary:: in kennel growling, barking;2 minor momentary leash bites observed, can get overstimulated

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Oreo Firecracker's potential for defensive escalations and low threshold for arousal, we recommend an adult-only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Oreo Firecracker 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.

Potential challenges: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Basic manners/poor impulse control: Oreo firecracker was noted to jump up off during his medical exam. 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 / poor impulse control. Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: during Oreo firecracker's intake, he began hard barking at handlers when they attempted to take off his harness. In the kennel, he has growled when approached. Please see handout on fearful /potential for defensive aggression. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: Oreo Firecracker was noted to fixate on other dogs and growl, and has hard barked at staff during walks. Please see handout on On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration. Leash-biting | Low threshold for arousal: during his medical exam, it was noted that Oreo firecracker began leash biting on two occasions. Please see hand out on arousal