Date of intake:: 6/4/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner Surrender

Previously lived with:: 2 adults, 2 teens. 1 cat.

Behavior toward strangers:: Benji is alert and will sniff strangers before greeting them socially

Behavior toward children:: Benji will hard bark and growl with children

Behavior toward dogs:: Benji will hard bark and growl with dogs

Behavior toward cats:: Benji will hard bark and growl with unfamiliar cats

Resource guarding:: Benji resource guards toys and food. When approaching to his those items at front of him, Benji will have a tense body or hover over them.

Bite history:: Benji last bit 4 years ago, it occurred when Benji was started by the owner yelling at him for doing something wrong. She yelled which startled him leading to him redirecting and biting her. The bite was a bite and release and was not sever, the bite did not puncture skin and the owner did not seek medical attention.

Housetrained:: Partially

Energy level/descriptors:: High Energy

Other Notes:: Benji deals with general anxieties, he whine, paces, and is unable to settle. He also is anxious when left alone. Benji tends to jump up often a lot or nonstop towards people he is comfortable with or greeting. Benji during walks reacts to strangers who approach family members. He is also reactive to rats and cats and any small animals. He will react by hard barking, growling. HELD/RESTRAINED : ISN'T BOTHERED DISTURBED WHILE RESTING/SLEEPING: ISN'T BOTHERED STARTLED: BARKS/GROWLS PUSHED/PULL OFF FURNITURE: FEARFUL FEET/PAWS ARE TOUCHED: ISN'T BOTHERED COLLAR GRABBED/TOUCHED: ISN'T BOTHERED

Date of assessment:: 6/6/2025

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Hard Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: Inconclusive Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Highly social Call over: Approaches with coaxing Sociability comments: Stays near handlers but does not solicit social interaction, does not explore the room Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Accepts contact Comments: Slightly tense initially but neutral body for handling portion Arousal Jog comments: Follows exuberantly, jumps on office door Knock Knock comments: No response Toy Toy comments: No response

Summary (6):: 06/15/25: Benji is at the back of his kennel as handler approaches. He quickly stands and walks to the front and begins coughing while vocalizing in between. He is offered treats and takes some but is hard to distract with treats, he is eventually leashed and exits kennel quickly. He attempts to turn backward but is motioned forward along with handler. After exiting to the yard handler notices the yard is a bit crowded so handler turns and walks out to the street. Once outside he crosses the street with handler and stops for a minute, he looks around and continues after a bit. Benji walks alongside handler and passes people on the street without issue. Benji rarely stops to sniff around and after a while he is brought back inside. Benji pulls moderately toward his kennel and walk back into kennel without issue. 06/12/25: Benji is at the back of his kennel sleeping as handler approaches. He wakes and slowly approaches the front before vocalizing a few times at handler. He accepts a treat and is leashed while distracted. He exits kennel and walks with handler to the yard for his walk. During his walk he sniffs around the yard and uses the bathroom while outside. He investigates all the play yards but begins refusing the treats offered by handler. After a while he is brought back to kennel and returns without issue. Benji briefly vocalizes as handler begins locking the kennel door, interaction ends shortly after. 6/12/25: Benji is at the front of the kennel jumping up and volczaing when the handler approaches. A toy is used to leash Benji, he presses his muzzle against the kennel door in an attempt to get the toy. Two leashes are placed on Benji, when exiting kennel Benji whips around and pulls further into the room attempting to cage fight with the neighboring dogs. Benji then slams his body into kennel room door and then into his kennel door. Handlers are able to guide benji out to the yard without further incident. In the yard Benji quickly relieves himself and then stands in the yard aloof to handlers. He is unreceptive to treats and is mildly interested in squeakie sounds. When returning to kennel Benji pulls hard to the building and is returned with no issue.

Summary (7):: 06/11/25: Benji is at the front of his kennel as handlers approach. He hard barks and jumps at the kennel door for a bit but is redirected with treats. He is double leashed and exits kennel quickly, handlers start walking him out to the yard and pulls hard to the point that he begins passing out on leash. Handlers release pressure and he settles for a moment before continuing forward. He uses the bathroom while outside and sniffs around the play yard for a bit. He accepts treats tossed by handler and walks around for a bit around the perimeter of the yard until he is brought back inside. He is brought back to kennel and returns without issue. While attempting to remove the leashes from Benji he attempts to push his head out of the kennel. 6/10/25 (late entry)- K9 behavior observed when ACS was pulling Benji he was intensely cage fighting, trying to push off the walls while vocalizing. When ACS exited the room Benji turned towards handler and try to bite their chest. ACS handler straight armed and he stopped. They continue with the walk and went to play yard. Benji was moved to a front kennel. 6/6/25- Benji is at the front of his kennel with a slight tense body, barking at handler and jumping on the door. Handler presented a treat but he showed no interest. When handler attempted to leash Benji bit at the leash, then letting go. He would focus on handler's hand when they were attempting to leash. Handler kept their hand higher up when leashing, Benji would continuously jump on the door, barking at handler. After several attempts handler was finally able to leash with going over Benji's head. When exiting the room he tries to cage fight, handler keeps on a short leash. He's taken for a street walk where he pulls hard towards various spots to sniff. He has no reaction to people passing him. He is taken for his assessment where he is easily collared and is social at times with handlers, they offered him treats but again he shows no interest. He sniffs around the room and listens to the dogs barking outside the room. He is easily releashed and tries to cage fight, goes into kennel without issue.

Date of intake:: 6/4/2025

Summary:: Tense upon approach, allowed leashing and handling

Date of initial:: 6/5/2025

Summary:: Tense but allows handling, muzzled as a precaution. Alligator rolled when returning to kennel

ENERGY LEVEL:: Benji is described as active and enthusiastic. He 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. We recommend feeding with puzzle feeders and food-dispensing toys. And we recommend only force-free, reward-based training techniques for Benji.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),No cats,Single-pet home,Recommend no dog parks,Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No Children: Due to Benji's reported guarding behaviors and exuberant nature, we recommend a home with no children. No Cats: Due to hard barking and growling towards cats we recommend a home with no cats. Single Pet Home/ No Dog Parks : Benji's former owners report he will growl and hard bark at familiar and unfamiliar dogs. We recommend placement with a New Hope rescue partner who is able to provide an experienced, adult-only foster home. Force-free, reward based training and/or consultation with a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended.

Potential challenges: : Resource guarding,Basic manners/poor impulse control,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,Anxiety,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Bite history (human)

Potential challenges comments:: Resource Guarding: Benji's former owners report he will become tense and hover over toys and food. For this reason, we advise against ever removing items from Benji's possession without safely trading for an item or greater or equal value. Guidance from a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended to aid in safely managing/modifying this behavior in a new home environment. Please see handout on Resource Guarding. Basic Manners/Poor Impulse Control: Benji is reported by his former owners to become very jumpy when greeting familiar people. 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 and Impulse Control. Mouthiness/Poor Bite Inhibition: During his stay at the care centers, Benji has been reported to be mouthy with staff at times. This is a behavior that should be extinguished through training alternate behaviors and lack of reward (ex. walking away whenever Patrick's teeth make contact with skin). Please see handout on Mouthiness. Fearful Defensive: Benji's previous owner states that he will hard bark and growl when startled Benji has been reported to be tense when approaching unfamiliar staff, he is also reported to thrash when being brought back to kennel. It should always be Benji’s choice to approach a new person or thing. Benji 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. Bite History (Human): Please see bite history above for more details. Please see handout on Bite History and Potential for Future Aggression. Anxiety: It is reported that Benji has generalized anxiety, panting and pacing constantly and not being able to settle. If Benji displays anxious behavior in his future home, we recommend puzzle toys, long walks, and giving him other things to focus on to alleviate his anxiety. Positive reinforcement, force-free training only should be used. Please see handout on Generalized Anxiety. On-Leash Reactivity/Barrier Frustration: Benji pulls hard on leash and will hard bark and growl towards dog, cats, and small animals based off his former owners report. During his stay in the care center Benji has been observed to cage fight intensely. Benji 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 and Barrier Frustration.