Date of intake:: 6/12/2026

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

Date of assessment:: 6/24/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: hard pulling Reactivity to humans: did not pass Reactivity to dogs: did not pass Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): loose body, pants heavily, unable to settle or focus, jumps up on handlers Call over: approaches with coaxing Sociability comments: Handling Soft handling: pants, accepts contact Exuberant handling: pants, accepts contact Handling comments: Arousal Jog: follows, distracted Arousal comments: Knock: no response Knock Comments: Toy: no response Toy comments:

Summary:: Due to entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-to-dog history recorded. 06/14/26 Cottage is introduced to a novel female while off leash. She approaches the gate with a slightly tense frame and briefly sniffs the female through the gate before walking away. She does not reapproach.

Summary (4):: 07/07/26: Cottage is standing at the front of her kennel, jumping on her hind legs, and allows the handler to leash her with ease. She is then brought to the play yard for an enrichment outing. Once inside the yard, a drag leash is placed on her and she roams freely while maintaining a neutral frame. She spends much of the session investigating the environment with her nose to the ground. The handler scatters treats throughout the yard; Cottage investigates them by sniffing but ultimately disengages without eating them. She also attempts to chase birds that land inside the yard. At the conclusion of the session, Cottage is returned safely to her kennel without any issues.

Summary (5):: 07/06/26: Cottage is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. She is leashed easily and exits the room. While in the hall, she turns around and attempts to kennel fight with a dog in a popup in the room she just exited. When away from the door, Cottage pulls hard down the hall to the office. Cottage eats treats in the office, occasionally sniffing around and exploring. More treats are tossed into a snuffle mat for her. When returning to her kennel, she attempts to kennel fight with the popup crate. The handler tosses treats into the kennel, but she does not notice. The handler is able to remove her leash and close the door. Cottage then finds the treats and eats them. 7/1: Cottage is panting heavily when a handler approaches. Her kennel and kennel door are covered in feces from her fingerpainting. She begins barking and pushing off the kennel door when she sees the handler unlocking it. She tries to push out as the handler leashes her. Once out, she immediately attempts to lunge at the dog in the crate across from her. She is walked to the behavior office and placed on a drag leash. Cottage does check in with the handler, leaning into petting, but she continues to pant heavily and shows no interest in snuffle mats, lick mats, or toys. She does not take treats and paces between both office doors seeking exit. After several minutes, the handler exits the office to return her to the kennel. She begins barking and pulling towards the sounds of other dogs barking even though she is not yet near any kennel rooms. Her kennel needs more time for cleaning due to how heavily soiled it is. The handler walks her back to the office. Once back in the office, Cottage jumps onto the couch with the handler, leaning against them as he chin is rubbed. Once her kennel is finally cleaned, she attempts to lunge at the crate dog again, but the handler moves quickly and is able to place her into the kennel without further issue.

Summary (6):: 6/29/26: Cottage is standing at the front of her kennel as handler approaches. She is able to be clipped to her harness while being distracted with treats. She then pulls hard on the way outside for a walk. She hard barks and tries to pull towards dogs in their kennels as she passes them in the hallway. On the walk, she continues pull hard on the way to the yard. In the yard, she is able to be transferred to a drag lead and she explores around with sniffing. She is comfortable approaching the handler to receive treats and pets. She would step into the pool full of water to drink the water and would drink water from the water hose. She pulls hard on the way back to her kennel and attempts to lunge towards dogs in kennels while in the hallway before entering her kennel room. She is able to be quickly placed in her kennel with no issue. 06/28/26: Cottage is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. The handler places treats on the ground and clips her harness. Cottage pulls hard throughout the hallway, and when outside she pulls hard, barks the whole way through the hall, and barks at other dogs outside. The handler takes her to the play yard where she immediately gets into the pool. The handler fills up the pool a little more using the hose, and Cottage sticks her face directly into the stream of water. The handler throws treats into the pool, and Cottage sticks her face underwater to retrieve them. When exiting the yard, Cottage begins to pull hard again and bark at other dogs. The handler frequently has to stop walking and brace themself when Cottage pulls because of her strength. When getting back to the kennel room, a staff member and a MOP are walking into the kennel room. The handler asks them to wait, but they couldn't hear, so the handler and Cottage wait in the hallway. When the path is clear, the handler and Cottage enter the room, and Cottage begins to kennel fight. She does not respond to treats, so the handler has to strong arm her into the kennel. She charges back out and the handler has to strong arm her back in again. Once she is in the kennel, she eats treats off of the floor and allows the handler to unclip her harness without further issue.

Summary (7):: 06/27/26: Cottage is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. The handler tosses treats onto the floor, clips her harness, and brings her to the office. In the office, Cottage explores, engages with snuffle mats, and takes treats from other handlers. One particular handler goes into the closet to get something, when they emerge, Cottage begins fixating on, pulling towards, and hard barking at them. The handler is able to redirect her attention briefly with treats, but Cottage begins hard barking again as the other handler leaves the room. Cottage is returned to her kennel without other issue. 06/24/26: Cottage is reported to be mouthy grabbing onto handler pants when going back into kennel. 06/21/26: Cottage is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. She attempts to push out of the kennel as the handler clips her harness, but she will eat treats off the floor while clipping. Because of traffic, the handler has to bring Cottage through multiple kennel rooms. She initially only pulls towards a few kennels, but when passing through SDA, Cottage pulls hard and begins barking at a dog in a kennel that is facing her. The handler attempts to get her attention with treats, but eventually has to lead her away with leash pressure. Outside, Cottage pulls hard and spends most of the walk at the end of her rope. At one point, a car passes by and loudly backfires. Cottage jumps back, but then turns around with a tense body and starts pulling hard and towards the edge of the sidewalk to follow the car. She continues to do this until the car has been out of sight for a few seconds. While returning to the building, Cottage lays down in a puddle to cool off. She is easily ushered back up and into the building where she is returned to her kennel safely and without issue. 06/14/26 (Assessment): Cottage is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. She is leashed with ease and brought to the office. After her assessment, two handlers put a harness on Cottage. She is slightly tense while the harness is being put on, but is easily distracted with spray cheese and treats. Cottage is then returned to her kennel without issue. See Behaviour Assessment for more details. 06/14/26 (PG): Cottage is at the front of her kennel as the handler approaches. There is a harness hanging from the outside of her kennel, but it is chewed up. The handler is able to leash Cottage with no issues and bring her to the play yard. On the way out, Cottage pulls hard. After her interaction, she is brought back inside, still pulling hard. The handler is able to clip her leash and return her to kennel with no issues.

Date of intake:: 6/12/2026

Summary:: allowed all handling for intake tasks, outgoing

Date of initial:: 6/13/2026

Summary:: loose, wiggly, seeking human attention and affection, very active, mouthy

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No young children (under 5): Due to the high levels of jumping and anxiety displayed, we recommend a home without young children at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Cottage came into the care center as a stray due to this her behavioral history in a home environment is unknown. Cottage has not adjusted well in the care center environment and is noted to show leash biting behavior and become mouthy towards handlers pants when going back inot to kennel. 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: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Anxiety,Leash-biting,Strength/leash pulling,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Basic manners/poor impulse control | Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition: During her handling assessment, Cottage would persistently jump up on handlers. It was noted on her intake exam, that she became mouthy. Please see handout on Basic manners/poor impulse control and Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition. Anxiety: Cottage appears anxious at the care center, panting heavily and unable to focus or settle during her assessment. We have no history on her behavior in a home environment, so we do not know if this will occur outside of the care center. If it does appear in a future home, we recommend puzzle toys, long walks, and giving her other things to focus on to alleviate her anxiety. Positive reinforcement, force-free training only should be used. Please see handout on generalized anxiety. Leash-biting: Cottage is noted to leash bite in the care center.Training should focus on reinforcing calm leash behavior and providing clear structure during handling. Please see the handout on Leash-biting. Low threshold for arousal: Cottage is noted to grab on handlers pants when going back into the kennel. Continued work should emphasize structured kennel returns, reinforcing calm behavior, and teaching appropriate alternatives to grabbing. Please see the handout on arousal. Strength/leash pulling: Cottage is a large, strong dog with the capability to pull over an average adopter. Her adopter must be prepared and able to handle a dog of this size and strength. It is recommended that she be walked on a front clip harness or head halter, which helps diminish his strength through leverage, and that she be trained using positive reinforcement, reward-based training to not pull on leash. Please see handout on Leash manners.