Date of intake:: 7/15/2026

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

Behavior toward dogs:: Came in with another dog.

Date of assessment:: 7/18/2026

Summary:: 7/18/26: Joy is bought the behavioral office for a handling assessment she is noted to become avoidant of handlers and remain fixated on the office door. she is avoidant of touch and ignores treats offered to her.

Summary:: Due to entering the facility as a stray, there is limited prior dog-to-dog history recorded. Joy came into care with a male intact large mixed breed dog. 7/22/26: Joy is introduced to a familiar intact male and approaches the fence fast with a neutral frame and wagging tail. The two sniff each other through the fence and Joy play bows and paws at the gate. She does some playful huffs and sneezes and remains soft while sniffing. After multiple attempts, handlers are unable to collar her and an off leash meet is therefore not able to be conducted. She attempts to reapproach a few times while play bowing and high pitched whining before she is returned to kennel. 7/16/26: Joy is introduced to a novel intact male and approaches the fence with a neutral frame, ears perked forward, and a relaxed open panting mouth. She follows the other dog through the fence and attempts to sniff while the other dog does not show interest in her. She remains neutral and non reactive.

Summary (5):: 8/1/26: Joy is at front of kennel with a neutral body where she is easily leashed and taken for a street walk. Coming out of kennel Joy pulls towards other kennels while barking, handler is able to keep her moving but she is walking on her back two legs. Once out of care center Joy continues to pull hard, despite best efforts from handler on mitigating leash pulling, she continues for entire walk. When she sees dogs she will pull toward dog and sometimes vocalize. She is returned to kennel with no issue. 7/31/26: Joy is at front of kennel with a neutral body where she is easily leashed and taken for a street walk. Coming out of kennel Joy pulls towards the other kennels while barking and growling. Once out of room Joy is pulling hard. Handler does Red Light Green Light with Joy and after a significant number of stops she starts to get the idea and doesn't pull as much, she still pulls but at a lesser intensity. Coming back to kennel she pulls towards the other kennels with high intensity. She is returned to kennel with no further issue. 7/30/26: Joy is at the front of her kennel with a neutral body; she is leashed and brought out the kennel Joy attempts ro get close to the kennels while barking at them, even pushing off the wall, but the handler shortens their leash and walks her out the room. Once outside, Joy sees her littermate; she begins to vocalize and frantically pulls towards him, as he does the same. The handler is able to pull Joy away and onto the street; she walks with mild and moderate leash tension. She notices dogs but doesn't react to dogs. Upon entry, the handler clips their leash and returns Joy to her kennel; she looks at the kennels, but enters her own.

Summary (6):: 7/27/26: Joy is standing at the front of the kennel panting and pacing back and forth. Handler offers Joy treats and she sniffs them but ignores them. Handler presents the leash and Joy jumps up pawing at the leash and attempting to mouth the handler's hand. Handler resets and the leash is dropped over Joy's head. She pulls hard out of the kennel, pulling towards the passing kennels barking. She pulls hard out of the room and taken towards the street. Joy relieves herself before continuing to pull on the street. She is walked around the block. She stops to relieve herself a few times and sniff various areas on the ground. Joy's pulling decreases as the walk continues, she walks ahead of the handler with mild leash tension. Joy is walked back to the shelter where she returns to pulling hard. Handler takes Joy to the backyard due to her kennel still being cleaned. Joy observes a dog in the front pen and begins to pull forward towards the dog. Handler keeps her away and she continues to pull back towards the dog. Joy is brought back outside and due to the reactivity. Handler sits in on a nearby bench and Joy approaches. She leans her rear body against the handler. Handler pets her briefly and she head whips. Joy is then walked back to her kennel. She pulls hard looking towards the passing kennels. Joy is then returned to her kennel without issue. 7/26/26: Joy is at front of kennel with neutral body as handler approached. She was easily leashed and taken for a street walk. On her way out of kennel she immediately tries to pull to the kennels she goes past to exit room while barking. While on her walk she maintains a neutral body and walks next to handler with a slack leash. She refuses the treats that handler offers. As she returns to kennel she tries to pull towards the other kennels while barking. 7/25/26: Joy is reported to leash bite and mouth the handler's arm while being leashed. When the handler attempt to bring her out, Joy bites the leash; when another handler presents a treat, she barely shows interest. When the handler brings the leash closer, Joy mouths their arm. The handler is able to bring Joy out the room.

Summary (7):: 07/18/26: Joy is at the front of her kennel with tense body, hard barking when the handler approaches. She ignores offered treats and steps back when handler starts unlocking the kennel. She tries to break out, but handler is able to stop her; handler attempts to put the leash on and she jumps back. After few attempts to leash her, handler opens a kennel door a little bit wider and steps to the side; Joy comes closer and handler is able to put the leash on. She immediately starts kennel fight with neighboring dogs and had to be muscled out of the room. While walking through the hallways, Joy remains tense and alert; she jumps with tense body on pop-up crates in the hallways. She pulls extremely hard, putting body weight forward while exiting the building. Once outside, she continues pulling hard on the leash, remaining difficult to redirect. When she sees pigeons on the street she will lunge towards them with hard leash pressure, making herself almost passed out. She is not responsive, ignores treats and recall. She is heavy panting during the walk. Once walk is done, Joy is taken to the Canine Behavior office for the assessment (see notes). During return handler is able to pre-clip the leash; while passing pop-up crates in front of the room, Joy jumps towards the dogs and snaps at them. Handler is able to pull her away and enters the room. Joy attempts to kennel fight again and starts hard barking and pulling toward dog in neighboring kennel again. She was pulled away and muscled back into the kennel. 07/18: When passing other dogs, the dog displays strong leash reactivity. Body language includes a stiff, forward-leaning posture, closed mouth before lunging, hard staring, raised tail, piloerection, and vocalizing with hard barking and growling. The dog repeatedly lunges toward other dogs with enough force to reach the end of the leash. The dog also becomes highly reactive to pigeons, immediately orienting, fixating, and lunging toward them. While passing pop-up crates containing dogs, the dog escalates further by jumping onto the crates, snapping toward the dogs, and displaying teeth while barking intensely. The dog remains difficult to interrupt and quickly re-engages with the triggers despite the handler's attempts to redirect. During the return to the kennel, the dog pulls forcefully toward the kennel area and becomes increasingly aroused. Upon entering the kennel wing, the dog hard barks continuously, lunges toward neighboring kennels, and repeatedly jumps against and strikes the kennel walls with the front paws while displaying tense body language. The dog continues panting heavily and salivating throughout the return and does not seek social interaction with the handler. The dog re-enters the kennel with continued high arousal. Older notes in GAN.

Date of intake:: 7/15/2026

Summary:: aloof but were social and friendly. Handler was able to pet them gently, they were comfortable and r

Date of initial:: 7/16/2026

Summary:: frozen for exam, muzzled for tasks and was trembling, but did not escalate. Persistently looking at

IN SHELTER OBSERVATIONS:: We have no history on Joy so we cannot be certain of her behavior in a home environment. However, she is a young dog who will need daily mental and physical activity to keep her 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.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Joy fearfulness we recommend she be placed in adult only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Joy came into the care center with another dog as a stray due to this her behavioral history in a home environment is unknown. Joy has not adjusted well in the care center environment and has begun to display kennel fighting behaviors when coming out of kennel. Joy 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: : Fearful,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Leash-biting,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Fearful: During Joy medical exam she was frozen for exam, muzzled for tasks and was trembling, but did not escalate. Persistently looking at door/ seeking exit but able to be distracted with baby food. Joy benefits from low-stress handling, patience, and positive reinforcement when navigating unfamiliar or overwhelming experiences. Please see the handout on decompression period. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: In the care center Joy is noted to kennel fight Neighboring dogs and will pull towards dogs and pigeons not responding to treats or being called away. Training should focus on increasing distance from triggers, proactively moving her away from distractions before she becomes fixated, and reinforcing calm behavior. Please see the handout on-leash reactivity/barrier frustration. Leash-biting/Low threshold for arousal: Joy is reported to leash bite and mouth the handler's arm while being leashed. When the handler attempt to bring her out.