Date of intake:: 10/6/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray (no known history)

Other Notes:: Second stay, October 2026: surrendered as a stray, no known history First stay, June 2026: surrendered as a stray, no known history

Date of assessment:: 6/11/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: moderate pulling Reactivity to humans: none Reactivity to dogs: did not pass Leash walking comments: attempting to kennel fight on way out of room Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): heavy panting, pacing, jumped up on handler Call over: approach readily Sociability comments: Handling Soft handling: panting, tolerates Exuberant handling: head whip Handling comments: Arousal Jog: pulls, jumps up Arousal comments: Knock: no response Knock Comments: Toy: tense, hover, growl Toy comments: June 2026: previous behavior assessment available on request

Summary (7):: 11/02/26: Coco Melon is at the front of his kennel, jumping up at the door. The handler opens the kennel and offers Coco Melon a toy with the leash fed through. Coco Melon initially takes the toy and holds onto it as the handler attempts to leash him, but he drops the toy. This happens three times before a second handler comes to hold the toy. Coco Melon pulls on the toy, but when he sees the leash, he lets go of the toy and jumps for the leash, his teeth making contact with the handler's hand. There was no broken skin. The handler opted to close the kennel and allow Coco Melon settle. 11/2/26: Coco Melon is reported to be leash biting and ACS handlers asked Behavior to remove him from kennel. He is at the front of the kennel as two behavior handlers approaches and will jump up onto the door. The primary handler will attempt to use treats first to leash him but Coco Melon fixates on the leash. The second handler will then feed a rope toy through the primary handler's leash, and Coco Melon will tug the toy while the primary handler slides the leash into the kennel and gets it over his head. Once leashed, Coco Melon is able to exit the kennel and will jump up to leash bite but the primary handler will stiff arm him. After two attempts he will just continue to walk. When walking out of the Care Center, Coco Melon will fixate on the secondary handler and struggles to continue walking forward. He is brought back into the behavior office where he will engage with a snuffle mat and eat bits of food that are on the ground. He is returned to kennel with no issue and secured safely. 10/12/26 (playgroup): Coco Melon is at the front of the kennel with a neutral frame as the handler approaches. He is leashed with ease but will then pull moderately to the play yard where his collar is clipped with a drag leash. Once loose in the yard, Coco Melon will begin to run around quickly and jump on the handler. Due to arousal and kennel signage to "keep on leash" the handler picks the leash up and holds it with ample slack throughout the gate greet. (see dog-dog for more information) He is returned to his kennel with no issue and is secured safely. 6/11/26 (Assessment): Coco Melon was at front of kennel with a loose and wiggly body. He was easily leashed and pulled form kennel and escorted to behavior took for assessment. In the hallways he showed no reactivity to people or dogs. He was social with handlers and accepted treats. He was returned to kennel with no issue.

Date of intake:: 10/6/2026

Summary:: Friendly, social, and playful.

Date of initial:: 10/10/2026

Summary:: Able to examine and tolerated handling; tensed when treats offered

ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on Coco Melon so we cannot be certain of his behavior in a home environment. However, he is a young dog who will need daily mental and physical activity to keep him engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct his energy and enthusiasm.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children: Due to the resource guarding and anxious behavior displayed by Coco Melon, we recommend an adult-only home at this time. Place With a New Hope Partner: Coco Melon has not acclimated well to the kennel environment and has displayed a cocnernming level of arousal during his stay and intense leash biting. 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: : Resource guarding,Fearful,Anxiety,Leash-biting,Low threshold for arousal,Bite history (human)

Potential challenges comments:: Resource guarding: During his handling assessment, Coco Melon tensed, hovered over, and growled when approached with a toy. For this reason, we advise against ever removing items from his possession without safely trading for an item or greater or greater value. Resource guarding behavior modification steps should be utilized if this behavior occurs in his future home. Please see handout on Resource Guarding. Basic manners/poor impulse control | Low threshold for arousal: During his handling assessment, Coco Melon jumped on handlers several times. It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Leave it", "Sit/Stay", "Down" are reinforced to substitute for any frustration and teach her to control her impulses instead of simply reacting; proper management is also advised. Force-free, reward-based training only is recommended. Please see handout on Arousal and Basic Manners/impulse control. Fearful: In his initial stay at the care center in June 2026, Coco Melon was observed to be wary and initially fearful, though he warmed up with a slow approach and treats. It is important always to go slow and give him the option to walk away from any social interaction. He should never be forced to approach anything that he is uncomfortable with or to submit to petting or handling. It should always be his choice to approach a new person or thing. He would do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to his new surroundings. Please see handout on Decompression Period. Anxiety: Coco Melon appears anxious at the care center, pacing and panting during his assessment. If anxious behavior does appear in a future home, we recommend puzzle toys, long walks, and giving him other things to focus on to alleviate his anxiety. Positive reinforcement and force-free training only should be used. Please see handout on Generalized Anxiety. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: At the care center, Coco Melon has been observed to attempt to kennel fight while being removed from his kennel. He may benefit from 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 the handout on On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration. Leash biting | Bite History (human): Coco Melon intensely bites the leash bits when handlers are attempting to remove him from his kennel for walks or enrichment sessions. He does not take treats or toys when attempting to redirect him and is difficult to handlers to interrupt. On once occasion, he bit a handler's hand when they were trying to leash him. It did not break skin but left red marks. Please see handout on Arousal.