Date of intake:: 1/13/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray(Unknown History)

Date of assessment:: 1/21/2026

Summary:: 1/21/26 Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Loose Reactivity to humans: Ignores Reactivity to dogs: Ignores Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Social- seeks attetion, vocal howls Call over: Readily approaches- leans in for petting Sociability comments: Handling Soft handling: Tolerant- lip licks, stiff Exuberant handling: Tolerant- lip licks, stiff, slowly wags tail Handling comments: Arousal Jog: Follow-neutral body Arousal comments: Knock: No repsonse Knock Comments: Toy: No repsonse Toy comments: 1/17/26: Walter is noted to hard bark at unfamiliar handlers but will recover with a slow approach. Walter is given more time to decompress.

Summary:: Due to entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-to-dog history recorded. 03/06/26 Due to behavior during previous greet, Walter is tested with a fake dog. He enters the yard and becomes square when he notices the fake dog in the neighboring yard. He stands at the gate for a moment and stares at the fake dog with a square, tense frame and high flagged tail. The gate is opened and Walter lowers his body; ears pinned back and begins stalking towards the fake dog. When he approaches, he maintains a stiff frame and high tail as he sniffs the face. After the fake dog falls over, he sniffs for another moment before biting the neck and leg. Walter maintains a tense frame as handler moves him away from the yard. 03/02/26 Walter is introduced to a novel female while off leash. He approaches with a square frame and his forehead crinkles slightly as he sniffs the female through the gate. He walks away and returns to sniff again. The gate is opened and, while on leash, Walter begins to stalk forward, body low and fixated on female. Due to this, Walter is guided away and does not greet the female face to face.

Summary (5):: 3/6/26: Walter is laying down on his bed as handler approaches. He comes forward to the front and is able to be leashed with ease. He is then taken to the play yard for play group. Along the way, he would pull hard ahead while hard staring at a dog that was nearby. He is unable to be redirected and would look around for the dog. In the yard, he approaches the fake dog with a tense body with his hackles raised. He then snaps and bites at the fake dog's neck and foot. Please see dog to dog notes for more details. The handler is then able to take him away and he pulls hard on the way back to his kennel before entering with no issues. 03/05/26: Staff reports that fragments of Licki Mats were found in Walter’s vomit. 03/02/26 (PG Note): Walter is standing at the front of his kennel and allows handler to leash him with ease. He is escorted upstairs to the play yard to meet a female playmate. Once inside the yard, a drag leash is placed on him. Walter approaches the gate and engages in a nose-to-nose greeting, displaying a high wagging tail. When his playmate disengages, Walter muzzle punches the gate, showing signs of frustration. He then disengages and begins displacement sniffing around the yard, relieving himself. Walter re-approaches the gate for another nose-to-nose greeting. When the gate is opened and he approaches his playmate, he lowers his body into a crouched, stalking-like posture. At that point, he is removed from the yard and returned to his kennel safely without any issues. For more details, see Dog-to-Dog notes.

Summary (6):: 2/26/26: Walter greets handler at front of kennel with a loose and wiggly body. He is easily leashed and pulled from kennel. Walter pulls hard on his way outside and continues to pull hard when outside. He marked several of the trees that he passed. He was returned to kennel with no issue. 2/19/26: Walter is siting on his bed as handler approaches. He comes forward to the front as the handler unlocks the door. He is able to be leashed with ease and he pulls hard on the way outside for a walk. On the walk, he would continue to pull hard ahead and would constantly stop at trees to sniff and mark his territory. He has no reactions to dogs or people and is able to be taken back to his kennel with no issues. 02/10/26: Walter stands at the front of his kennel with a loose body posture on his hind legs and allows handler to leash him with ease. He is brought to the assessment room for enrichment. A drag leash is placed on him, and he roams the room freely, engaging socially with multiple handlers while maintaining a soft, loose frame. Walter vocalizes/howls with handler engagement and is rewarded. He also engages with a lick mat and searches the room for scattered treats. Walter is returned to his kennel safely without issues. 2/1/26: Walter is on his bed as the handler enters the room and he will quickly hop off and approach the kennel door as the handler gets close. He is leashed with ease and will pull mildly tot he live room where his collar is clipped to a drag leash so he can engage freely with the enrichment set up in the room. He will toggle between snuffle mats at first and will then focus on finishing each mat at a time. Afterwards he will make his way through the lick mat and a wobbl toy, finishing off at a rolled up towel with treats. At first Walter will successfully begin to unroll the towel and then will paw at it. The handler will prompt him to howl and Walter will readily join in. After a bit, the handler tosses some treats into the snuffle mat for him. He is then returned to his kennel with no issue. 1/21/26 (assessment): Walter is laying on his bed as the handler approaches the kennel. He will get up and walk over to the door slowly as they open it and allows the handler to leash him with ease. He will walk slightly ahead of the handler on a loose leash leash to the behavior office where his collar is clipped to a drag leash. In the room he will begin to howl when the handlers in the room howl. (see assessment for more information)Throughout the session, Walter is social with the handlers, howling with them occasionally. He is returned to his kennel with no issue.

Summary (7):: 1/17/26: Walter is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He begins barking and jumping at the door as the handler unlocks it. He is able to be leashed while being distracted with treats. He is then taken to the behavior room. In the room, he would explore around for treats and engages in a snuffle mat. He would approach the handler and lean in to receive pets. He begins to howl when he hears another dog howl in the room next to him. He then howls at the handler and leans in to receive more pets and treats. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 01/15/26 (Trainer Note): Walter is at the front of his kennel hard barking with a square body and raised hackles as the handler approaches. The handler begins to throw him cheese and Walter turns away to take each piece. He softens slightly with each piece, though he does bark at the handler again if they look at him for too long. The handler continues to throw cheese before opening the door slightly. Walter begins to bark again, but takes cheese from the handler's hand. The handler turns to help a member of the animal care team with another dog. When they come back Walter has softened considerably and wags his tail at the handler. The handler uses a treat to lure him through the leash and Walter exits the kennel readily. He pulls moderately to the canine training room and continues to take treats from the handler with a neutral body. Another staff member enters and he begins to hard bark at them. However he settles when the handler speaks softly to him. Walter then initiates contact with the handler, sitting at their feet and allowing them to pet him on the neck, chest, and back. He reinitiates when the handler pauses. Walter is returned to kennel without issue. 1/14/26: Walter is in front of his kennel, lunging and growling at the front. Walter is given treats through his kennel bar, which he takes when the handler gets up to open up his kennel door. He begins to lunge at the bottom of his kennel towards the handler's feet. Walter is distracted by which cheese while the slip lead is placed over his head. The secondary handler places their lead, and he is double leash and taken to his new kennel. He allowed the handler to remove his lead with a safety hook without issue.

Date of intake:: 1/13/2026

Date of initial:: 1/14/2026

Summary:: initially timid, came out and allowed for pets and handling

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: Level 4

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): We recommend Walter is placed in an adult-only home at this time. SINGLE-PET HOME/ RECOMMEND NO DOG PARKS: Due to the concerning behaviors that Walter has shown during playgroup (see DOG-TO-DOG SUMMARY), we feel that Walter should not visit dog parks and be the only resident dog. The Behavior Department recommends that he be socialized in a more controlled setting until his behavior towards other dogs can be further addressed. Reward-based, force-free training can be utilized to help Walter associate dogs with things he enjoys like toys or treats.

Potential challenges: : Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,Kennel presence

Potential challenges comments:: Kennel presence/Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: Walter is in front of his kennel, lunging and growling at the front. Walter is given treats through his kennel bar, which he takes when the handler gets up to open up his kennel door. He begins to lunge at the bottom of his kennel towards the handler's feet. Training should prioritize safety and management, using distance-based reinforcement, slow and predictable kennel interactions, and gradual desensitization to door opening and handler movement to reduce escalation. Please see the handout on Fearful/potential for defensive aggression.