Date of intake:: 7/31/2025

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

Date of assessment:: 8/3/2025

Summary:: 8/3/25: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: moderate to hard pulling Reactivity to humans: none - ignores Reactivity to dogs: reported to hard bark and lunge at other dogs, does not recover Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): nervous - tail low, wide eyes, but will approach for petting, neck/chin covered in saliva Call over: does not approach even with coaxing and treats Sociability comments: Handling Soft handling: tense, holds breath, stand still, lip lick, whale eye Exuberant handling: tense, holds breath, stand still, lip lick, whale eye Handling comments: Arousal Jog: follow, low body, hesitant Arousal comments: Knock: hide behind assessor Knock Comments: Toy: no response Toy comments: moves away from toy when seeing prop hand 08/02/25:Houdini was brought to the behavior office for a handling assessment. In the assessment room, he exhibited signs of stress, including whale eyes, pinned-back ears, and a tucked tail. Despite this, he approached the assessor for treats, offered a small tail wag, and tolerated light petting. However, when an attempt was made to place a collar on him, Houdini moved away and avoided further contact. As a result, he was given additional time to decompress.

Summary:: Due to entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-to-dog history recorded. 08/03/25 Houdini is introduced at the gate to a female greeter dog while off leash at the care center. Houdini will approach the gate, appearing conflicted as he displays a high flagging tail and a tense frame. Houdini will whine at the gate before walking away and seeking attention from the handlers in his pen. This concludes the interaction.

Summary (6):: 08/19/25 After reports of suspected increase in arousal, the handler will approach Houdini's kennel in order to take him to the play yard. Houdini has his harness clipped and taken to the play yard. Houdini trots outside with a moderate pace, being taken through the C staircase in order to avoid seeing other dogs. As they arrive outside, Houdini will jump onto the second handler that is present, loose and wiggly. Houdini will playfully jump onto them again before entering the play yard. Houdini will enter the pen, and a drag leash is placed onto his collar, allowing him to free roam. There, Houdini will engage with both handler's, periodically bouncing back from handler to handler collecting treats. Houdini is eventually returned to back to kennel, entering the building as well as his kennel with no issue. 08/17/25: Houdini is lying down in his kennel but slowly gets up and walks to the front, allowing the handler to clip on his harness. He is then escorted to the play yard, where a drag leash is placed on him, and he roams the yard freely. Houdini begins to engage with the pool, first dipping his head underwater to retrieve treats that have sunk to the bottom, then eventually submerging his whole body in the pool. Throughout, he maintains a neutral frame. However, when a dog passes by on the street, Houdini becomes reactive, standing at the gate, lunging toward the gate, and barking. The handler attempts to redirect him with tossed treats, but he does not respond. To avoid further frustration, Houdini is brought back to his kennel safely and without any issues.

Summary (7):: 08/08/25 (Trainer Note): Houdini is standing at the front of his kennel with a loose body as the handler approaches. He is easily leashed and pulls hard to the canine training room. He is loose and social with staff, climbing on them to solicit contact. He engages with interest in the various enrichment items and works with the handler on the 123 game and some take a breath. He pulls hard back to kennel and attempts to pull towards the neighboring kennel, but is guided back into his kennel. 8/5: ACS staff report Houdini was intially mouthing their walkie-talkie after being removed from kennel, but was easily redirected with treats. Once outside, he became highly reactive to other dogs during his evening walk - hard barking, lunging, and pulling hard towards any dog he saw, and it was difficult for them to walk due to his size and strength. He then whipped around and started grabbing their treat pouch and walkie-talkie. Houdini was immediately returned to kennel. 8/3/25 (assessment): Houdini is approached in kennel and is low bodied, but wagging his tail slowly. Houdini is easily leashed and walked to the office and pulls mildly. Houdini enters the behavior office and begins to slowly walk up to staff, tolerating petting and collaring but is felt to have saliva drenched under his chin. Houdini completes his assessment and is guided back to kennel with no issue. (playgroup): Houdini was standing at the front of his kennel with a soft body and slow tail wags when he saw a handler approach. He takes a step back when he sees the handler open the kennel door, but then comes forward and allows leashing. The handler exits out the door closest to the kennel and brings him out to the play yard by the elevator due to an influx of dog and people traffic. He tenses briefly in the elevator but relaxes when given treats. Once outside, he sees another dog in a pen and begins pulling and huffing at the other dog. The handler walks out of the yard, outside of the gate leading into the parking lot, waiting for the pen to be empty for his turn. Once in the pen, a second handler collars Houdini while the one holding him continues to feed him treats. Once on the drag leash, his playgroup interaction begins. Due to his behavior at the gate, he is returned to his kennel. Houdini returns to his kennel without issue. 08/03/25 Witnessed hard barking and lunging at other dogs on the walk as well as kennel fighting to and from his kennel when taken for a walk.

Date of intake:: 7/31/2025

Summary:: shying away from staff, allowed leashing, but initially pancaked began walking with coaxing

Date of initial:: 8/1/2025

Summary:: shy and timid, urinated a small amount during the exam, allowed for full exam with little restraint

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 how uncomfortable Houdini is currently with touch and novel stimuli, we feel that an adult-only home would be most beneficial at this time. Single-pet home/Recommend no dog parks: Due to the concerning behaviors that Houdini has shown during playgroup (see DOG-DOG SUMMARY) and during his stay in care, we feel that Houdini 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 him associate dogs with things he enjoys like toys or treats. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to Houdini's high level of reactivity and fearfulness displayed in care, we recommend he is placed with one of our New Hope Partners.

Potential challenges: : Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Fearful,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Strength/leash pulling,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Fearful: Houdini is a bit fearful at the care center. It is important to always go slow and give him the option to walk away from any social interaction. Houdini 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. Houdini 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. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: At the care center, Houdini has been observed to react to other dogs on leash, lunging towards them, barking, and growling. He 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/barrier frustration. Strength/leash pulling: Houdini is a very large, strong dog with the capability to pull over an average adopter. His adopter must be prepared and able to handle a dog of this size and strength. It is recommended that Houdini be walked on a front clip harness or head halter, which helps 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. Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition | Low threshold for arousal: Houdini quickly became aroused and began mouthing at a staff member's treat pouch and walkie-talkie after reacting to another dog. Please see handout on Arousal and Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition.