Date of intake:: 5/3/2025

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

Date of assessment:: 5/5/2025

Summary:: 5/5/24: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: none - loose leash Reactivity to humans: none - ignores Reactivity to dogs: none - ignores Leash walking comments: noted to be somewhat head shy and would retreat to back of kennel during leashing for removal Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): stays near assessor, seeks attention, jumps up for more contact Call over: approaches readily Sociability comments: wary of assisstant Handling Soft handling: seeks contact, leans in, pants heavily Exuberant handling: seeks contact, leans in, pants heavily Handling comments: Arousal Jog: follows, distracted Arousal comments: Knock: approaches, loose bodt Knock Comments: Toy: no response Toy comments: walks away, panting 5/4/25: Upon entering the behavior office, Chipper was noted be nervous, low tail, stress panting- refuses treats, paces. Assessment not conducted due to receiving a medical exam to avoid trigger stacking. Will be given more time to decompress

Summary:: Due to Chipper entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-to-dog history recorded. 05/07/25: Due to Chipper's intense thrashing while being escorted to the play yards, a Dog-to-Dog interaction was not conducted. Chipper will be reassessed at a later date once behavior has improved. 05/05/25 Chipper is introduced at the gate to a novel female dog while off leash at the care center. Chipper will approach the gate with a loose body and high flagging tail, scenting her through the gate, appearing sexually motivated. Chipper will toe-tap at the gate and offer a bounce when the novel female does, reciprocating her movements. Chipper will remain self-present, as the novel female dog walks away and returns. Chipper is returned to kennel, concluding the interaction.

Summary (6):: 5/19/25: Chipper greeted handlers at front of kennel and allowed handler 1 (crouched) to clip leash to collar. They walked to the yard via the ramp to record video. Chipper was social with handlers and frequently approached with a loose tail wag to solicit pets all over which he would lean into. He would sit on cue and catch treats in his mouth. He took treats gently hand fed and was gentle with his toys. Chipper played with a variety of toys but favored a tiny soft mushroom toy that he carried around in his mouth and dropped at handlers' feet. When handler 1 reached to pick up drag leash close to Chipper's front right side, handler 2 observed him to tense slightly and head whip without making contact. Chipper was returned to kennel without issue. 5/16/25: Staff report that Chipper does well with his collar begin clipped and removed from kennel, but when returning does slow down towards the kennel room door and back away, but will gentle leash pressure can be coaxed into kennel with no issue. 5/13/25: Chipper was taken on his morning walk by a staff member while handler observed. Chipper was loose and wiggly at front of kennel as staff member crouched in doorway and clipped leash to collar. They proceeded outside for a walk on the street. Chipper walked at a casual pace between handlers and patiently waited off to the side to let a pedestrian pass by. Chipper relieved himself while outside. He walked back to the care center and into kennel where his leash was unclipped without issue. 05/10/25: Chipper is standing at the front of kennel with a loose frame as handler approaches. He jumps up onto the kennel door excitedly and is easily redirected with tossed treats. Due to reported leashing sensitivities, handler kneels down and clips his collar which he allows with a neutral frame. He walks on a loose lead out to the play yard where he is free to explore the space. Chipper spends several minutes scenting along the yard and will readily approach handler, leaning into petting and jumping up onto them in a social manner. He takes treats gently from hand. After his session, Chipper walks back into the Care Center and returns to kennel without issue. 05/08/2025: A handler saw a staff member struggling with Chipper. As the handler tried to assist and double leash Chipper his behavior worsened, and he started to violently thrash and spin around causing the leashes to tighten and tangle. when the 2 handlers were finally able to get Chipper back to his kennel he passed out for a couple seconds and as the handler was able to loosen the leash he then popped back up.

Summary (7):: 5/7 (pm): Chipper is standing at the front of his kennel with a soft body but begins jumping up and whining when he sees the Handler. He is easily leashed and brought to the behavior office, although he does pause to relieve himself. Once in the office, he is fitted with a drag leash and he immediately runs over to another Handler, jumping on their lap and seeking attention. He throws his head into their chest, pressing himself further into their hands, seeking contact, and will nudge them once contact is made. He does become increasingly anxious, bouncing off either Handler's bodies, pacing the room, panting, red eyes, only able to focus on enrichment items for only a few seconds at a time. He does return to check in with handlers, but does engage with a Frozen puzzle toy longer than the other enrichment items. After several minutes in the office, Chipper is released and walked back to his kennel without issue. 05/07/25: Chipper is leashed with ease and walks out on a short leash with the handler. Once outside, Chipper begins heavy whipping, appearing distressed and biting at the leash. Due to the escalating behavior, the handler promptly escorts Chipper back to his kennel, during which he continues to alligator roll in an attempt to get out of the leash. Chipper is returned to his kennel safely with no further issues. 5/5/25: Chipper is jumping, barking and heavy panting at his kennel door as handler approaches. He continues to jump and bark at the door as the handler unlocks it. The handler is able to distract him from jumping by bending down while attempting to leash him. Once leashed, he pulls hard out of kennel and on the way to the play yard for play group. In the yard, he would walk around to explore with heavy panting and a lot of sniffing. He greeted the other dog at the gate with a tense body with his hackles up, and is able to shake off a few times. Please see dog to dog notes for more details. When the handler grabs the drag leash, it rubs against him causing him to become startled. He starts to chew and bite at the leash. The handler tosses a treat to distract him and is able to leashed back on a slip lead. He pulls on the way back to kennel and jumps and barks at the door as the handler locks it and walks away. 05/04/25: Chipper is standing at the front of his kennel and initially avoids the leash as the handler attempts to place it over his head. Once leashed, he becomes startled and tries to retreat to the back of his kennel. He is brought to the assessment room, where a secondary handler uses cheese to assist in collaring him. Chipper appears very fearful and anxious, displaying a tucked tail, ears pinned back, and heavy panting—clear signs of discomfort. (See behavior assessment for more information.) Chipper is escorted back to his kennel safely with no issues.

Date of initial:: 5/4/2025

Summary:: Some whale eye/furrowed brow, loosened up for treats,

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to the intesity of Chipper's leash biting and handling sensitivity, we recommend for Chipper to be placed in an adult only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to all noted concerns displayed during his stay in care, the behavior department recommends Chipper be placed with a New Hope placement partner who is able to provide an experienced adult-only foster home. A period of decompression is recommended to allow Chipper to acclimate comfortably to his new environment; force-free, reward-based training only is advised when introducing Chipper to new and unfamiliar situations. Consultation with a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended for guidance to safely manage/modify any behavior Chipper presents with outside of the care centers.

Potential challenges: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Handling/touch sensitivity,Fearful,Leash-biting

Potential challenges comments:: Basic manners/poor impulse control: Chipper would jump up on the assessor when seeking more contact. 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/poor impulse control. Handling/touch sensitivity | Fearful | Leash Biting: During leashing to be removed from kennel for his assessment, Chipper became wary of the lead, moving to back of his kennel. He is noted to be initially fearful but responds well to a slow approach. He has escalated to thrashing, leash biting, and alligator rolling out of fear when returning from playgroup. It is important to always go slow and give Chipper the option to walk away from any social interaction. He should never be forced to approach anything that he is uncomfortable with or to submit to petting or handling. It should always be Chipper's choice to approach a new person or thing. He may do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to his new surroundings. Please see handout on Decompression Period and Handling/touch sensitivity.