Date of intake:: 12/3/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

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

Previously lived with:: 2 Adults 1 Children

Behavior toward strangers:: Sasha will actively, avoid, hard bark and growl

Behavior toward children:: Sasha will actively avoid and is tolerant

Behavior toward dogs:: Sasha will actively avoid, hard bark, and growl

Behavior toward cats:: No experience

Resource guarding:: Sasha will resource guard food by growling and hard barking.

Bite history:: October 2025: Sasha snapped at the resident 6-yr old child's hand approx. 2 months ago, leaving a scrape. Sasha was eating and the child went to touch Sasha. Sasha growled and snapped.

Housetrained:: No

Energy level/descriptors:: Very High

Other Notes:: Sasha is recorded to have general anxiety-paces, whines, unable to settle. Sasha is reactive to strangers, children, cars and small animals on walks and would growl or hard bark at them. When asked about Sasha behavior, the owner stated that Sasha resource guards and is touch sensitive around her paws. They also noted that Sasha snapped at the resident 6-yr old child's hand approx. 2 months ago, leaving a scrape. They explained that Sasha was eating and the child went to touch Sasha. Sasha growled and snapped. Owner stated that she was aware of this behavior when she took her in.

Date of assessment:: 12/7/2025

Summary:: Sasha has been observed to escalate to snapping and snarling when handlers attempt to interact with her. Due to the high level of fear, stress, and anxious Sasha has not a candidate for a handling assessment at this time.

Summary:: 12/13/25: Sasha greets another dog at the gate with tense body before moving away. She does not reapproach.

Summary (4):: 12/15/25: When a staff member walked by Sasha's kennel they were standing at the front of their kennel and they could be heard growling. As the staff member briefly stood in front of their kennel to write a note Sasha began hard barking. 12/15/25: Sasha is at the front of the kennel with a tense body and one paw raised. She is not receptive to the treat offered. The handler is easily able to leash her, however when the kennel door opens Sasha does not readily exit. She stands at the front of the kennel and looks around. The handler is able to coax her out and she is taken to the yard. In the yard Sasha begins trembling intensely, she sniffs around and relieves herself. During one instance she attempts to chase a pigeon. When returning to kennel the handler is able to clip their leash and she is returned to kennel. 12/12/25 (PM Walk): Sasha is lying down in kennel as the handler approaches. As the handler attempts to leash her, Sasha stands up with a neutral body. After a few tries, the handler leashes her, however, Sasha doesn't exit her kennel. As the dogs in the surrounding kennels bark, Sasha briefuly thrashes further back into kennel; she then eventually comes out slowly. On the street, Sasha walks ahead with no leash tension. She relieves herself; she also follows sit commands and allows pets. Sasha then leans her body agains the handler for more pets. Upon the petting, a group of talking people begin to walk in the direction of the handler and Sasha; Sasha watches them with a neutral body. The handler then crosses the street with Sasha, and she no longer focuses on the group. After the walk, the handler clips their leash and returns Sasha to kennel. However, the kennel is dirty, and as the handler attempts to pull Sasha out again, Sasha shakes her head and stands in place. The handler then just removes their leash.

Summary (5):: 12/11/25 (Midday Walk): As an ACS attempts to leash Sasha out for a midday walk, Sasha growls and lunges at the leash. The ACS tries again a few minutes later with another handler watching. Sasha sits in the middle of her kennel. As the ACS opens the kennel door to leash, Sasha stays in place. The other handler tosses treats in her kennel. At first she shows no interest, but then she slowly picks up the closest treat. As she’s eating the treats, Sasha slightly curls her lip when the ACS attempts to leash her. She moves her head away, and as the ACS tries again, Sasha low growls. The interaction is ended. 12/11/25: It is noted on the whiteboard on 12/10 that Sasha "thrashed on leash when returning to kennel, then leash biting".

Summary (6):: 12/7/25: Sasha is at the front of the kennel hypersalivating, she had drool hanging from her mouth and on her chin. The handler is easily able to leash her and she is taken to the yard. In the yard she attempts to pull towards the other dog in the neighboring pen. This behavior is easily redirectable using leash pressure. Sasha quickly relieves herself. The handler walks around the perimeter of the yard a few times before returning her to kennel. The handler is easily able to clip their leash and she easily enters kennel. 12/05/25: Sasha is at the front of her kennel as handler approaches. She is offered chicken and approaches to sniff it but does not accept any. Handler unlocks the kennel door and produces a pole leash, it is slowly introduced to kennel and brought toward Sasha who produces a low grumble. After waiting a moment handler begins attempting to leash her, when the leash reaches Sasha she yelps and quickly moves away. After a moment she approaches the front of kennel toward handler with a neutral body and lowers her head, handler again attempts to place the leash over her but she continues to yelp and move away, however she continues to return to the front of kennel after each attempt. Eventually she is successfully leashed and removed from kennel. Sasha is taken to the street for her walk, outside she walks with a tense posture and tucked tail. She stops to sniff and pulls mildly with handler and will become tense when passing people on the street. She ignores dogs she sees during her walk and stops to relieve herself while outside. At one point during her walk she steps over the leash and becomes extremely frightened, flipping over and spinning on the ground. Handler immediately stops and waits for her to untangle herself before they continue walking. Sasha will flinch at loud noises or quick movements during her walk. After a while she is brought back inside and brought back to kennel. She allows handler to clip her leash when entering the building. She paws at the leashes and stands on her hind legs while backing up when she is about to enter the kennel room but handler continues walking with her and she stops, she returns to kennel and interaction is ended.

Summary (7):: 12/04/25(PM): Sasha is at the front of her kennel as handler approaches. She is offered chicken from handler and accepts it gently, she eats a few pieces before handler begins unlocking the kennel door. Handler produces a leash and presents it to Sasha who briefly sniffs it, she is given another treat and the leash is gently craned into kennel. Once the leash makes contact with Sasha she yelps and hard barks, whipping her head toward the leash. Handler removes their leash and replaces it with a pole leash to more easily reach into the kennel. Sasha is fed more chicken and initially does not accept any but eventually begins taking pieces again. Handler then introduces the pole leash into kennel slowly, while tossing chicken toward her. She produces a low growl initially but stops after a moment, she moves away when handler attempts to place the leash over her head the first few times but eventually is leashed successfully. From here she is walked out of kennel and to the backyard for her walk. Outside Sasha pulls moderately and walks with a low to the ground tense posture with her tail tucked. She occasionally looks back at handler with slight whale eye while walking but enters the play yards and sniffs around throughout the interaction. After walking for a while she is brought back inside, she allows handler to clip her leash and she is returned to kennel without further issue. 12/4/25: Sasha is at the front of the kennel with a tense body with her face and chin coated in saliva. She is hypersalivating and alert barking at the handlers. The handlers offer her multiple types of treats including chicken and sliced cheese however she is unreceptive. The handler unlocks the kennel door and Sasha begins retreating from the front while hard barking. The handlers are able to coax her back to the front using squeaky sounds however, when they present the leash and attempt to leash her, she begins to escalate to hard barking, baring teeth and growling. The handler attempts to lasso Sasha, she approaches the front of the kennel quickly while hard barking, growling, and bares teeth towards the leash. The handlers end the interaction due to high FAS. It is noted that Sasha's meds lay uneaten on her kennel floor. 12/4/25: It is reported that on 12/3/25 in the pm Sasha was snarling and snapping when the handlers attempted to remove her from kennel. She had a tense body, whale eye, and was hypersalvating.

Date of intake:: 12/3/2025

Summary:: Whining and jumping up staff

Date of initial:: 12/3/2025

Summary:: Tense and periodic lip licking but warms up and has full body wiggles and tail wags

ENERGY LEVEL:: Sasha is described as active and enthusiastic. They will need daily mental and physical activity to keep them engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct their energy and enthusiasm. We recommend feeding with puzzle feeders and food-dispensing toys. And we recommend using force-free, reward-based training techniques for Sasha.

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 fearful behavior and resource guarding we recommend a adult only home. Single Pet Home/ No Dog Park: Due to hard barking, growling, and avoiding other dogs we recommend a single pet home with no trips to the dog park. 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,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,Anxiety,Bite history (human)

Potential challenges comments:: Resource Guarding/ Bite History (Human): Sasha's previous owner states that Sasha will resource guard food by growling and hard barking. Please see bite history above for more details. Please see handout on Bite History and Potential for Future Aggression. Fearful Defensive: Sasha's previous owner states that she will hard bark and growl towards strangers. During her stay in the care center Sashas has been obsvered to bare teeth and snarl towards handlers. It is important to move slowly with Sasha, to build positive associations (treats/toys/praise), and to allow them to initiate interactions with new people. They should never be forced to greet or to interact if they are not comfortable and soliciting attention. Please see handout on Fearful and Defensive Aggression. Anxiety: Sasha's previous owner states that she is anxious, she will pace and be unable to settle. If Sasha displays anxious behavior in their future home, we recommend puzzle toys, long walks, and giving them other things to focus on to alleviate their anxiety. Positive reinforcement, force-free training should be used. Please see handout on Generalized Anxiety. On Leash Reactivity: Sasha's previous owner states that she is reactive to strangers, children, cars, dogs and small animals on walks and would growl or hard bark at them. Sasha will need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach them to look at you rather than dogs and other stimuli. We recommend a front clip harness to help manage this behavior. Please see handout on On Leash Reactivity and Barrier Frustration.