Date of intake:: 4/25/2026

Spay/Neuter status:: Yes

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray, No known history

Other Notes:: *Previous assessment available upon request*

Date of assessment:: 5/9/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: None Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: None Leash walking comments: Difficult to leash in kennel Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Highly social Call over: No approach Sociability comments: Wiggly body Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Tolerates contact Comments: Neutral body Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler exuberantly Knock Knock comments: Approaches handler with loose and wiggly body Toy Toy comments: Grips light and engages with the toy

Summary:: 5/5/26: Skippers greets another dog at the gate with a tense body, he is pushing his face into the fence while vocalizing.

Summary (5):: 5/11/26: Skippers is at the front of his kennel jumping up and panting. His body is loose and he licks at the handlers hand. While being leashed, he jumps up and puts his paws through. A second leash is used instead and he is leashed with a toy. He is lead to the yard and knocks over an AC tower on the way. Once in the yard, he immediately relieves himself. He notices other dogs and begins to pull hard towards them, vocalizing extremely loudly and persistently. He cannot be redirected and the walk is ended early. A "closed yard" note is made. 5/9/26: Skippers is at the front of the kennel with a strained expression and is heavily panting. He is easily leashed and quickly begins to jump up and lightly mouth the handler's hand. Handler opens the kennel door and Skippers pulls his way out of the kennel, scrambling out. He looks to the passing kennels briefly but continues walking. Handler gives Skippers a toy which he holds for a brief moment as he is walked out to the street. On the street, Skippers immediately relieves himself. He pulls mildly ahead of the handler still panting with dilated eyes. Skippers is walked around the block. He does not react to many people but will look towards to select people and stare towards them. As they near the shelter, Skippers begins to pull moderately back inside. He continues to pull back to kennel where he is returned without issue.

Summary (6):: 5/8/26: Skippers is at the front of his kennel with a loose body, frantically jumping around in kennel and barking at the handler. As the handler feeds him with spray cheese, they leash and bring him out the kennel. While exiting, Skippers turns his body and goes towards the kennel while hard barking; the handler straight arms him away, but he does the same to the next kennel, so they pull him away and bring him out the room. Skippers turns around and attempts to jump on the handler, but they straight arms the leash; he briefly bites the leash and eventually lands on his feet. The handler brings him outside, where he immediately relieves himself. Initially he doesn’t react to a dog, but when they become out of sight, Skippers pulls in their direction with a loose body. Right before crossing the street, Skippers exuberantly jumps on the handler; when they attempt to straight arm the leash, he begins to bite the leash but stops himself. On the street, Skippers walks ahead with moderate leash tension. He jumps on the handler again and mouthed their hand when they take treats out of the treat pouch; he follows the sit command once he settles. Upon entry, the handler clips their leash and walks Skippers to his kennel; he slightly baulks, but eventually enters his kennel. 5/6/26: Skippers is at the front of his kennel with a loose body, jumping on the kennel door and barking as the handler approaches. The handler sprays cheese on kennel door, as Skippers eats it, they leash him and bring him out the kennel. While walking out the rooms, Skippers fixates on the dogs in kennel, and increasingly pulls towards them; right before they exit, Skippers launches towards the last kennel and barks at him. The handler straight arms the leash and quickly pulls Skippers out of the room. Once outside, Skippers presents a loose body and jumps high up to the 2nd handler’s face. On the street, Skippers walks ahead with moderate to hard leash pulling; he doesn’t react to passersby or dogs, but pulls hard when briefly fixating on a dog. Skippers also picks up a toy and drops it a few minutes later. He continues to engage with the 2nd handler as they feed him treats. Upon entry, the handler clips their leash and returns Skippers to his kennel.

Summary (7):: 5/5/26: It was reported by staff that Skippers was high reactive to the other dogs when being removed from his kennel. He was snapping at the leash and required a second leash to be added. 5/3/26: Staff reported that Skippers is reactive and fixating on dogs and kennels while exiting the kennel room. He jumps high to the staff member face level and grabs the leash. The leash biting is reported to be mild. It was also reported that Skippers pulling very hard and is anxious on walks, darting back and forth on the leash. 5/2/26: Skippers was taken out for an adoption interaction. In kennel he was frantically jumping on the glass and mildly avoidant of the leash. After being leashed, Skippers darted out of his kennel and Nina struggled to control him as he pulled towards kennels and fixated on other dogs. He barked, growled, lunged, and hard stared with a tense body. He was not able to be redirected. During the interaction, Skippers was distracted, jumping at the door and whining and continuing to react towards other dogs. He had no interest in treats at any point. 5/2/26: ACS reports Skippers is anxious on walks, frantically darting ahead of handler and pushing out of kennel when attempting to leash. 5/1/26: Skippers was at back of kennel on his bed as handler approached. While leashing he dodged the leash loop a couple of times but was leashed and pulled from kennel. While on a street walk Skippers kept a neutral body. He walked ahead of handler while pulling hard. When returning to kennel skippers did try to pull to another kennel door but handler distracted with treats. 4/27/26: Skippers is at the front of his kennel with a high wagging tail and a neutral body, as handler attempts to leash he would continue to dart towards the back of the kennel. Handler would use a treat, which he would approach for but would quickly sniff and retreat. Handler then uses a longer leash to lasso him, which works. He is then removed from his kennel and taken for a street walk, where he would walk on a loose leash and wouldn't react to any dogs or people. Afterwards, he's brought back in for his assessment - which after, he is returned to his kennel with ease.

Date of intake:: 4/25/2026

Summary:: Easily leashed

Date of initial:: 4/25/2026

Summary:: Allows all handling, thrashed persistently when muzzle was placed

ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on Skippers so we cannot be certain of their behavior in a home environment. However, they will need daily mental and physical activity to stay engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in addition to physical exercise, to positively direct their energy and enthusiasm.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No Children (under 5): Due to fearful behavior as well as his capacity for we recommend a home with no young children. Place with a New Hope Partner: 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: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Fearful,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting

Potential challenges comments:: Basic Manners/ Poor Impulse Control: While in care Skippers has displayed a lack of impulse control, often being reported to jump very high on handlers. 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 Poor Impulse Control. Fearful: Skipper has been observed to dodge the leash when handlers attempt to leash him. They should never be forced to approach anything that they are uncomfortable with or submit to petting or handling. It should always be their choice to approach a new person or thing. Skipper would do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to their new surroundings. Please see handout on Decompression Period. On-Leash Reactivity/Barrier Frustration: Staff have reported that when taking Skippers out of kennel he will pull hard toward dogs in neighboring kennels. Skippers 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. Leash-Biting: It has been reported that Skippers will bite the leash in kennel and during walks and can be difficult at times to redirect. We recommend walking him with a toy to dissuade him from grabbing the leash. Positive reinforcement, force-free training is advised to teach him to focus on you rather than grabbing the leash. Please see handout on Leash Biting.