Date of intake:: 7/26/2026

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

Other Notes:: Balenciaga is reported to not be social with strangers and is only used to her previous family. She was kept mostly indoors due to her behaviors with strangers as she will lunge and hard bark at them. She is reported to have chewed through muzzles and has popped out of collars and leashes.

Date of assessment:: 7/29/2026

Summary:: Balenciaga has been highly fearful and has escalated to defensive behavior during her intake and is uncomfortable with interaction. Due to these concerns, a handling assessment is not conducted.

Summary:: According to Balenciaga's previous owner(s), she has no experience with familiar dogs and actively avoids unfamiliar dogs both on and off leash. 08/12/26 Balenciaga is introduced to a novel male while off leash. She readily approaches the gate and will begin play bowing and bouncing around but becomes frustrated quickly and will begin to vocalize. Due to her still social body language, handlers guided her into the yard, but Balenciaga immediately begins pulling toward the end of the leash while screeching loudly and pawing at the leash while thrashing. She does not settle and is quickly guided out of the yard.

Summary (6):: 8/12/26 (Playgroup): Balenciaga is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. She will allow the handler to clip her collar with a drag leash and will then exit the kennel quickly, hitting the end of the leash and then jumping onto the handler. She will pull moderately to the play yard where she greets a dog at the gate. During the face to face she will become aroused and will vocalize and paw at the leash. She is removed from the yard and returned to kennel with no issue. (see dog-dog for more information) 08/10/26: Balenciaga is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. She allows the handler to leash her easily and is brought to the office. There, she spends most of her time engaging with a puzzle feeder. She will also run around the room, leaning in and seeking attention from various handlers. She is later returned to her kennel without issue. 08/06: Handler approached Balenciaga's kennel and offered a treat prior to opening the door. Balenciaga stood up from her bed and was easily leashed, readily hoping out of her kennel. She was guided towards the lobby were she showed interest in staff but did not engage further walking past them. Handler took her to an office momentarily where she would sniff around and allowed some petting but was not as interested, she loosed up a bit more when cheese was offered. Due to energy displayed, handler took Balenciaga to the parking lot and ran a few laps, something she seemed to enjoy. Balenciaga would pause and allow petting from handler before engaging in further sniffing. Afterwards she was guided back to shelter and easily returned to her kennel. While not as interested in petting/direct interaction, she was open to walking and being around handler. Tail was neutral/raised vs tucked for the most part.

Summary (7):: 08/02/26: Balenciaga is laying down in her kennel, shaking, as the handler approaches. The handler is able able to leash her with ease and bring her to the office. In the office, Balenciaga walks around with a tucked tail, often hitting the end of the leash. The handler offers her spray cheese, which she licks off the handler's finger. She eventually leans into the handler for pets. She is later returned to her kennel without issue. 7/31/26: Balenciaga is laying down in her kennel with a tense body as handler approaches. She remains laying down as the handler unlocks the door and would back away as the handler slowly presents their leash. She has no interest in treats and is able to be leashed when she turns her head away. Once leashed, she is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, she has a tense body and low tail as she walks next to the handler. She would flinch and lower her body to the ground when sudden sounds what happen. She has no interest in interacting with the handler. She is then slowly taken back to her kennel and would head whip when the handler quickly clips their leash. She is able to enter her kennel with no issues. 7/29/26: Balenciaga is in the back corner of her kennel when the handler approaches, gives whale eye and begins trembling. She avoids eye contact and attempts to burrow her head into the kennel wall/under her blankets. She remains non-reactive but avoidant as the handler attempts to lasso her. It takes multiple tries as she puts her face in the corner of the kennel. Once leashed she does not come out, the handler uses light leash pressure for her to exit. She does not pull-on leash, walks side by side with the handler with a low tail and tense body. She is brought to a play yard and sniffs around the yard. She sniffs the handler from behind, and they crouch down at a distance. She does not approach and avoids eye contact and lip licks. She then stands at the play yard gate and people/dog watches, remaining tense with a low tail but non-reactive. When being returned, she nudges her kennel door open hard and scrambles back to her corner. 7/26 (late entry): Balenciaga is at the back of her kennel growling as a handler approaches. She turns to face the wall, body shaking, still growling. Medical staff relay to the handler that they were going to sedate her for her medical exam due to her attempting to a medical handler twice when they were trying to leash her.

Date of initial:: 7/26/2026

Summary:: needed to be sedated

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 Balenciaga's potential for defensive aggression, we recommend an adult only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to all noted concerns displayed during her stay in care and her limited history of her in the previous home, the behavior department recommends placed with a New Hope placement partner who is able to provide an experienced adult-only foster home. A period of decompression is recommended to allow her to acclimate comfortably to her new environment; force-free, reward based training only is advised when introducing Balenciaga to new and unfamiliar situations. Consultation with a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended for guidance to safely manage/modify any behavior she presents with outside of the care centers. Recommend No Dog Parks: Due to the concerning behaviors that Balenciaga 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 Balenciaga associate dogs with things she enjoys like toys or treats.

Potential challenges: : Fearful/potential for defensive aggression

Potential challenges comments:: Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: Balenciaga has escalated to growling and lunging on multiple occasions, both at intake and during her time in the care center. When attempting to remove her from kennel for her medical exam, she was reported to have attempted to bite medical staff twice, prompting the use of sedation. Her signs of discomfort must be respected; Balenciaga should never be forced to interact; she should always be given the opportunity 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 Balenciaga. More aversive techniques are likely to increase fear, increase the risk of aggression, and decrease her quality of life. Please see handout on Fearful/potential for defensive aggression.