Date of intake:: 7/5/2024

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

Date of assessment:: 9/5/2024

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Moderate Reactivity to humans: Ignores Reactivity to dogs: Ignores Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Explores room- heavy panting, whining, vocalizing Call over: Readily approaches- anxious Sociability comments: Vocalized for a tennis ball, hover over with a tense body Handling Soft handling: Allowed handling- open mouth wagging tail, distracted Exuberant handling: Allowed handling- open mouth wagging tail, distracted Handling comments: Arousal Jog: Follows- wagging tail, panting Arousal comments: Knock: Distracted Knock Comments: Toy: Grips, tenses walks away Toy comments:

Summary:: Due to Nintendo entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-to-dog history recorded. 07/15/24 Nintendo is introduced to a novel male dog face-to-face while off leash at the care center. Nintendo greets the novel male dog with a soft frame, immediately sniffing his genitals. Nintendo will allow for his to be sniffed as well before muzzle punching the novel male dog. Nintendo will attempt to mount and is corrected by one of the handlers before being moved away. Nintendo will remain self-present from a separate pen, watching the novel male dog. After paw slapping the gate in which separates the two, Nintendo begins to vocalize out of frustration. 07/07/24 Nintendo is introduced to a novel female dog while off leash at the care center. Nintendo greets the novel female dog with a soft body, remaining self present, while panting heavily.

Summary (5):: 9/16/24: (AM) Nintendo is observed to in the play yards biting the leash/tugging intensely and barking at ACS staff and was able to be coaxed with high-value items by behavior staff to trade for the drag leash. (PM) As a handler leave the building at the end of their shift, they can hear rapid hard barking. They turn to see another handler walking Nintendo at the top of the block nearing an intersection. The handler can see the handler with Nintendo struggling to move him away due to his strength and persistence as he continues lunging. Nintendo rears up on his back legs, still hard barking but the handler at the end of the block cannot fully see what he is reacting to due to there being a vast amount of parked cars. They can however see other people, bicyclists, and possibly another person walking their dog. The handler walking Nintendo nearly trips over him a few times due to him darting under the feet as they cross the street in attempt to increase the distance between Nintendo and his trigger(s). 09/12/24: Nintendo Is loose in kennel and will be leashed and brought out for a walk. While out Nintendo will display a neutral form, Nintendo will see other dogs and become alert and starts to hard pull whining anxiously. Nintendo will be brought back to the care center and returned to his kennel safely. 09/11/24: Nintendo is sitting on his bed as the handler approaches. He begins jumping repeatedly onto the door so handler uses food to lure him through the leash. He pulls hard outside. Once out of the care center the handler begins to pause each time Nintendo hits the end of the leash. He orients quickly back around to the handler each time and, after a few repetitions, continues the rest of the walk without pulling. He pulls hard in the care center and enters the kennel without issue. 9/5/2024: Nintendo stood at the front of his kennel with neutral body as a novel handler approached and jumped up as the handler unlocked his kennel. Nintendo returned all paws to the floor as he was leashed then attempted to push his head through the opening. Nintendo pulled hard to exit the shelter and was brought to the street for a LLW training session. Nintendo initially displayed a neutral stance, offered a "sit" and accepted treats from the novel handler, but quickly began pulling hard with a forward stance to pedestrians and cyclists. Nintendo re-oriented to the handler when the handler called his name. Nintendo was rewarded with a treat, ate the treat, but quickly returned to hard-pulling. The same process was repeated, each time Nintendo returned to pulling after briefly orienting toward the handler. Nintendo intermittently barked at cyclists and pedestrians. The session was ended and Nintendo was given opportunity to forage with a treat scatter. Once the shelter was in sight, Nintendo pulled back inside and back to his kennel. Nintendo entered his kennel, sat and allowed the novel handler to remove his leash.

Summary (6):: 09/03/24: Staff reports that Nintendo has begun to jump up on handler during walks. When handler stiff arms to hold him away from them, he will wrap his front legs around their arm and grip onto them. 08/23/2024: When the handler was walking Nintendo he began to leash bite when the handler stopped walling, intensely making his way up on the lead. Nintendo stop when the handler continued to walk him. 08/20/2024: Nintendo is standing at the front of his kennel with a neutral body and relaxed tail as handler approaches. He is leashed easily and brought to the BA room as he pulls hard. He immediately engages with the LATTE laid out, taking the most time with the snuffle matt. He began digging at it continuously as the treats scattered everywhere on the floor. Handler calls him over and starts practicing "sit on approach". He is rewarded with a treat and a charged "Yes" for each approach where he would politely sit as he approached the handler. When not engaged with the handler, he would redirect his attention back to the snuffle matt. He was easily leashed and returned back to kennel with no problem. 08/15/24: Nintendo is standing in his kennel with a neutral body as the handler approaches. He is easily leashed and rushes out of kennel, pulling hard. Nintendo is led outside where the handler pauses each time he pulls and marks and rewards when he orients back towards the handler. Nintendo struggles with this at first but does better as the walk continues. He is returned to kennel without issue. 08/08/24: Nintendo is standing in his kennel with a neutral body as the handler approaches. He is easily leashed and rushes out of the kennel, pulling hard. He is led to the canine training room where handler practices polite exchange with him. He does well and engages readily, beginning to drop the new toy automatically on approach. Towards the end of the session, Nintendo begins to jump up onto the handler in order to get the toy, but quickly switches to offering a sit when jumping is unsuccessful. He is easily leashed and returned to kennel without issue. 07/30/24: Nintendo is easily leashed and exits the kennel readily. He pulls hard down the hallway to the point of falling over and needing to take several seconds to catch his breath. When he stands back up he resumes pulling hard. Once outside, handler begins to pause each time Nintendo pulls and wait for him to turn back around towards them. Nintendo initially struggles with this, rushing to the end of the leash each time, but after a few repetitions he begins to understand. Nintendo walks largely without pulling up to the play yard. Nintendo explores the play yard with a wagging tail and dilated pupils. Handler lures him into a sit and he responds. Handler introduces take a breath and is able to begin fading the lure. Nintendo pulls towards other dogs and people, but is able to walk loose leash once the handler creates more distance. He is returned to kennel without issue.

Summary (7):: 07/25/24: Nintendo is observed to be incessantly barking in his kennel as people are passing. 07/24/2024: Nintendo is hard barking and jumping in front of his kennel door when the handler approaches, he displays heavy panting. Nintendo is leashed and taken out of his kennel room where he hard pulls his way out of the center, once out side of the kennel Nintendo hard barks and lunging at novel dogs on the walk. When on the walk he will continue to hard back and pull. He is taken into the a crate where he continues to hard bark when seeing novel dogs in the crate. 07/23/24: Nintendo is standing in the front of his kennel upon handler's approach, with a tail wagging and neutral body position. Nintendo is leashed without issue and is taken to the street for his walk. While out on the street Nintendo walks in front of handler, pulling ahead and occasionally stopping to investigate scents. Nintendo does not react to people or vehicles while on the street and enjoys treats intermittently throughout his walk. Nintendo is returned to kennel without issue. 07/12/24: Nintendo is standing at the front of kennel with a loose wiggly body as handler approaches. He is leashed with ease and pulls hard out to the play yard. Nintendo is clipped to a drag lead and free to explore the yard. He finds a toy and begins playing with it. He will catch sight of a dog in the far yard and begin barking and pawing at the fence. He is easily redirected with a squeak and toss of a toy. Nintendo will play with the toy for a few minutes but will return to the gate when the other dog begins barking. He will start pawing at the gate and barking again. The other dog is walked out of their yard and Nintendo will continue barking at nothing for a few minutes. Once Nintendo settles, handler leashes him and he is returned to kennel safely. 07/07/24 (#2): Nintendo is standing at the front of his kennel with a neutral body as handler approaches. He is leashed with ease and walks out to the play yard for gate-greets (see Dog-Dog Summary for further details). He is leashed and walks with mild pulling back to kennel. 07/07/24: Nintendo stands in the front of his kennel and as handler will open the gate to leash him he tries to rush out force his head through the gate as handler place the lead over his head. Nintendo is brought to play yard and a drag leash will be placed on him and he’s set free to roam. Nintendo spots another dog is leaving from the yard but has a ball that he/she will drop outside that gate which cause Nintendo to stand at the gate barking at the ball for the duration of his time in the yard. Nintendo is brought back into the care center and returned to his kennel and will try to push his way out once inside kennel.

Date of intake:: 7/5/2024

Date of initial:: 7/7/2024

Summary:: allowed handling

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: Level 4

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13)- Due to Nintendo resource guarding we recommend an adult-only home at this time. Single-pet home/recommend no dog parks: Due to Nintendo's worsening reactivity to other dogs while on walks, as a precaution we recommend for him to not attend dog parks and be the only dog in the home.

Potential challenges: : Resource guarding,Anxiety,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Resource guarding- During Nintendo assessment he began to over and tense over a tennis ball. To address Nintendo resource guarding behavior, it's important to implement a training plan focused on building trust and reinforcing positive behaviors. Begin by desensitizing Nintendo to people approaching his while he has access to high-value items, such as treats or bones. Gradually teach Nintendo to associate people approaching with positive experiences, such as receiving additional treats or praise. Practice "trading up" games, where Nintendo voluntarily gives up the item in exchange for an even higher-value treat. Avoid forcing Nintendo to give up items or punishing him for resource guarding, as this can escalate this behavior. Consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement will be key in helping Nintendo feel more comfortable sharing resources in his new home. Please see handout on Resource guarding. Anxiety- Nintendo began to display heavy panting and whining during his assessment. Managing his anxiety will require creating a calm environment, providing enrichment activities, and using stress-reducing techniques like puzzle toys and regular exercise. Please see handout on generalized anxiety. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration- Ninedo is reported to become reactive when seeing dogs on the walk and pulls/barks at people and bikes, and scooter. Addressing this requires desensitization and counter-conditioning techniques. Gradually exposing him to these triggers at a distance while rewarding calm behavior, and using tools like a no-pull harness can help manage his reactivity Leash-biting- Nintendo was reported to leash bite while on walks. To reduce his leash-biting behavior, use redirection and positive reinforcement. When he starts to bite the leash, distract him with a toy or treat to redirect his attention. Reward him when he stops biting the leash and engages with the toy or focuses on you. Practice loose-leash walking techniques, and consider using a different type of leash or harness that might be less tempting for him to bite. Consistent redirection and reinforcement of desired behaviors will help decrease his leash-biting tendencies. Please see the handout on leash biting. Low threshold for arousal- Nintendo exhibits jumping behavior, bites the leash during walks, and has escalated to wrapping himself around the handler. In dogs is a state of heightened excitement and alertness triggered by social interactions or environmental stimuli, leading to behaviors like excessive barking, restlessness, jumping, mouthing, and pacing. Managing this condition involves consistent training with positive reinforcement, maintaining a structured routine, minimizing exposure to triggers, ensuring ample physical exercise, and providing mental stimulation through puzzle toys and interactive games. For severe cases, consulting a veterinary behaviorist or professional dog trainer is recommended