Date of intake:: 11/9/2025

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

Date of assessment:: 11/11/2025

Summary:: 11/12: Vegeta enters the room with his hackles slightly raised and begins to explore the space. He readily sits and accepts treats from handlers as he is collared. When attempting to begin his assessment, Vegeta immediately begins to jump up and mouth the assessor, their hands, and the leash. The assessor stands to reset, but Vegeta continues, grabbing their wrist, leaving red marks. Due to his arousal, he was immediately returned to his kennel, and a handling assessment could not be conducted. 11/11: Vegeta came into the behavior office, panting and pulling hard. The assistant reported that when he exited the kennel, his body became stiff and his hackles raised as he passed the other dogs in the room that were barking. The assessor opens the closet door and bends down to get a martingale to fit Vegeta. When they turn back around, they see Vegeta jumping up nearly over the assistant's shoulder, trying to bite their lead. He does this twice before he responds to redirection from a squeaker by the assessor. Vegeta stops and stares at the handler, body tense, panting heavily, face flushed. He is returned to his kennel due to his behavior and is given more time to settle.

Summary (6):: 11/18/25 (KSV): Vegeta is sitting at the front of his kennel barking as handler approaches but stops once handler is in front of his kennel. Vegeta watches and looks at treats the handler tosses but does not move to retrieve/eat treats. After a few moments, Vegeta slowly gets up to search for treats and eats treats from the ground. Throughout interaction, Vegeta alternates between coming back to sit at the kennel door or wait standing in the middle of his kennel. Handler marks and rewards any quick eye contact, tossing treats which Vegeta searches for and eats. Handler ends interaction after a few repetitions and tosses extra treats. 11/17 (pm): Vegeta is sitting at the front of his kennel, leaning on his kennel door, when a handler approaches. He accepts their Vienna sausages and is easily leashed. But once out, Vegeta immediately launches across the room towards another dog's kennel, knocking into the second handler from his momentum. He wraps his front legs around the second handler, but the first pulls him away. Once out in the hallway, he is moved to a different in a different room. He tries to pull towards another reactive dog's kennel but the handler quickly reaches his new kennel. He balks and tries to push out of the kennel, but the handler applies some directional leash pressure while the second handler tosses in sausages to lure him in. He does not eat them. 11/17/25: Vegeta is sitting at the front of kennel with a neutral frame as handler approaches. He is leashed with ease and pulls hard toward the neighboring kennels on the way out of the kennel room. Vegeta is walked to the Canine Behavior Office where he is clipped to a drag lead and free to explore the space. He engages with a slow feeder for several minutes. Once finished, he begins jumping up onto handler incessantly and biting at their treat pouch. They are able to redirect him with a squeaker and then toss treats on the ground. Handler switches Vegeta to a slip lead and carefully removes the drag lead while he is distracted. On the way out of the room, Vegeta jumps up at a staff member standing in the hallway. Handler shortens their lead to keep him close and he jumps up at them before being guided down the hall. He pulls hard to the kennel room, jumping towards kennels as he returns.

Summary (7):: 11/16/25: Vegeta is sitting at the front of his kennel, looking up at the handler and displaying several lip licks as the leash is placed on him. He is brought outside for his morning walk, during which he pulls hard on leash and makes multiple attempts to leash bite. The handler redirects him each time using a stiff arm to create distance. Throughout the walk, Vegeta continues to make repeated leash-biting attempts, and again attempts to bite the leash when re-entering the care center. Upon returning to his kennel, he makes an additional attempt to leash bite but is successfully redirected by the handler and placed back in his kennel safely without further issues. 11/15/25 (staff reported): Vegeta is observed to leash bite significantly with handler, shaking and pulling on the rope, not able to be redirected with treats. He jumps up biting high on the lead towards handler's hand. Handler stiff arms Vegeta and takes him back into the building. 11/12/25: (Assessment) Vegeta is at the back of his kennel curled up as the handler approaches. As they get closer, his frame tenses slightly and the handler encourages Vegeta to come up to the front of the kennel with baby talk. He is then lured through the leash loop with a treat and will walk out of his kennel slowly. As they walk out of the kennel room and dogs start barking around him, Vegeta's hackles go up and he starts pulling hard out of the room. He continues to pull hard to the behavior office with his hackles still raised. Once in the office, he is fitted with a collar and is free to roam around the room. Vegeta is brought back to his kennel before completing the assessment due to high arousal. He is secured safely. (See Assessment for more information) 11/11/25 (BA) Vegeta is at the front of his kennel sitting with a still, neutral frame. He is leashed as he tries to force his way out of kennel and he will pull his way out of the kennel room. Vegeta displays hackles and a tense frame as dogs in their kennels react to him. Vegeta will maintain hackles all throughout his body as the handler enters the behavior office. Vegta will allow collaring as well as being handled. He becomes aroused and as his arousal increases he begins leash biting. He is returned to his kennel where he pulls back to his kennel room entering the kennel quickly.

Date of initial:: 11/10/2025

Summary:: Able to examine, hyperexcitable and hyper-arousable with limited manners

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Vegeta's low threshold for arousal, leash biting, and grabbing handlers during assessment attempts, we recommend an adult-only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Vegeta has not acclimated well to the kennel environment and has allowed only minimal handling since intake. 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: : Social hyperarousal,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Leash-biting

Potential challenges comments:: Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition | Leash-biting | Low threshold for arousal: When attempting to conduct a handling assessment, Vegeta quickly becomes aroused, jumping up persistently to shoulder height and trying to leash-bite. He also begins to mouth at the assessor's hands/wrist, leaving red marks. Positive reinforcement, force-free training should be used to teach Vegeta to remain calm when people and other exciting things are around. He should be rewarded with treats when calm. If he escalates to jumping or mouthing, people should immediately walk away from and separate themselves from him. Please see handouts on Arousal and Mouthiness.