Date of intake:: 1/1/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

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

Behavior toward dogs:: Came in with one other dogs but unknown how they are together

Date of assessment:: 1/3/2025

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Hard pulling – pressure is maintained the entire time on leash Reactivity to humans: None – ignores Reactivity to dogs: None – ignores Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Highly social – stays near handler for whole time Call over: Readily approaches Sociability comments: Handling Soft handling: Accepts contact- Soft body, lip licks, leans in, tail tuck, raise paw Exuberant handling: Accepts contact- Soft body, lip licks, leans in, tail tuck, raise paw Handling comments: Conflicted-displays appeasement behaviors Arousal Jog: Bounces Arousal comments: Knock No response Knock Comments: Toy Toy comments: Grips, moves away to play with toy

Summary:: 1/18/25: Houston greets another dog with a tense body initially. He then play bows, softens and bounces around the fence line.

Summary (5):: 3/13/25: Houston is at the front of the kennel jumping up and barking. He is easily leashed and taken to the yard where he is put on a dragline. Houston relieves himself quickly and then enthusiastically begins to run around the yard, picking up toys and throwing them around. Handler rewards Houston for offering behaviors such as four on the floor and sitting. Houston then begins jumping up high onto the handler (approx 5 ft). Handler tossess treats and Houston is not receptive. He continues to jump up high and into the handler. Another handler in the neighboring pen uses a squeaky sound, Houston is not able to be redirected. The handlers grabs Houston by the collar and tosses more treats to the ground. Houston mouths their hand with hard pressure and then begins to eat the treats. The handler holds the dragline as they attempt to put their slip leash on him. Houston attempts to jump up on the handler again but is unable to due to the short length of the leash. After the slip leash is on the handler begins to walk back to kennel. Handler is able to clip their leash, while holding Houston on a very short leash. Handler tossess treats as they walk and Houston attempts to jump up on them in between eating treats. Houston is returned to kennel with no further issue. 3/11/25: Houston is at the front of the kennel barking methodically. He is leashed using treats as a lure. A toy is tossed on the ground and Houston is released from kennel. He grabs the toy and bounces down the aisle to the hall. He is walked to the street where he bounces and tossed the toy. He relieves himself in the driveway and abandons the toy. He jumps up high in front of handler and paws at the treat pouch. Handler tosses treats and he goes for them but then jumps up high on handler again. Treats are continuously tossed forward to get Houston to move forward without jumping on handler. He is clipped without issue and returned to kennel.

Summary (6):: 3/7/25: Houston is standing at the front of his kennel, barking and jumping up and down on the kennel bars. He is leashed using a treat as a lure. A toy is tossed on the ground and Houston carries it in his mouth out to the street. He will bounce around, tossing it in the air and jump for it while being on leash. He relieves himself and when handler attempts to pick up his waste, Houston attempts to take the bag. The bag is abandoned on the side walks and handler tosses treats to get him to walk. He is only partly interested in the toy now and will jump high onto handler. Handler continuously tosses treats forward to get him moving and he will but when there is a break in the treat tossing, he jumps up onto handler repeatedly. He returns to kennel without issue. 3/6/25: It has been reported by a staff member that Houston mouthed their arm multiple times as they attempted to clip the leash to his harness. He then would jump up high near handlers face and would only sporadically stop for treats. 3/5/25: ACS report that once they took a poop bag out Houston began persistently jumping up at them, this behavior was not able to be redirected until the handler gave Houston the poop bag. 3/4/25: ACS report that Houston will jump up high and mouth the handler. When returning to kennel Houston fixated on the pop up crate dogs, this behavior was not able to be redirected and Houston had to be muscled away from the dogs in crates. 3/3/25: Houston is at the front of the kennel with a loose and wiggly body and wagging tail. He is easily leashed and pulls hard out of the room. The leash is attached to his harness and he is taken to the street. In the driveway, Houston finds a toy and begins carrying it in his mouth. He drops the toy before crossing the street. When crossing the street he begins to jump up repeatedly towards handler's arms. Houston then mouths handler's arm with hard pressure. No broken skin. Handler removes the harness and returns Houston to the slip lead for the rest of the walk. Occasionally having Houston sit and give him treats. Houston starts to jump up repeatedly again and handler straight arms him before tossing more treats. He pulled very hard back into the building and was returned to kennel without issue.

Summary (7):: 2/2/25: Houston is at the front of his crate door as handler approaches. He is able to be leashed with ease and taken downstairs to head outside for a walk. On the walk, he explored around with lot of sniffing and was able to sit for the handler to receive treats. He would pull when he started to get excited, but was able to walk nicely throughout the entire walk. He was able to be taken back to his kennel with no issues. 1/23/25: As other dogs pass his pop up crate in the hallway, Houston will hard bark at them. 1/18/25: Staff member reported that while Houston was off leash playing with them in the yard, he became over stimulated and began jumping and mouthing on her hands. He grabbed her jacket sleeve. It left a red mark. Staff member immediately separated themselves from the dog and left the pen. They retrieved another handler to assist them in returning the dog. When the other staff member leashed Houston he calmed down and was able to be returned to his crate. 1/18/25: A volunteer had Houston off leash in the yard. He will becomes mouthy, mouthing at hands and arms. 1/10/25: It was reported by staff that Houston was hard barking at a staff member when they were attempting to harness them for a borobreak. The Borobreaker reports that he is highly bird reactive. 1/3/25- Houston is at the front of his kennel with a loose and wiggly body, he is easily leashed and taken for a street walk. He pulls hard and is social with handler. He jumps up on them seeking attention, he allows handler to pet him all over. He takes treats with slight pressure and handler gives them with an open palm. He tries to chase some pigeons when returning to the building, when they take flight Houston gets startled and jumps back, lowering his body to the ground. Once they are gone, he continues to walk. He is taken for his assessment where he is easily collared using a treat lure. He is social with handlers and plays with a toy. He is easily releashed and upon returning, he was hesitant to return into the room with all the dogs barking at him. Handler made a treat trail and he slowly followed in, keeping his body low to the ground. He stopped midway and handler had to apply pressure to his leash to make him continue walking. He started to walk again and went into kennel without further issue.

Date of initial:: 1/2/2025

Summary:: Loose, wiggly

ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on Houston 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 additional 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 young children (under 13): Due to handling sensitivity and poor bite inhibition we recommend a home with no children. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to all noted concerns displayed in a home environment, the behavior department recommends Houston 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 Houston to acclimate comfortably to her new environment; force-free, reward based training only is advised when introducing Houston to new and unfamiliar situations.

Potential challenges: : Basic manners/poor impulse control,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Handling/touch sensitivity,Fearful,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Strength/leash pulling,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Basic Manners: Houston has been observed to jump up high onto handlers persistently. This behavior is not able to be redirected. It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Sit" and "Off" are reinforced to substitute any frustration and teach them to control their impulses instead of simply reacting; proper management is also advised. Force-free, reward-based training only is recommended. Please see handout on Basic Manners. Mouthiness/Low threshold for arousal: Houston has been observed to jump up on handlers and mouth their arms with hard pressure when he started to get overly stimulated. We recommend never playing with bare hands, always with a toy, and ending play or attention whenever Houston puts teeth on skin. They should be rewarded with attention and treats when they stop and/or when they are seeking attention in alternate ways. Please see handout on Mouthiness and Arousal. Handling Sensitivity: Houston has been observed to hard bark towards handlers when they attempted to put a harness on him. Positive reinforcement, reward based training should be used to pair touch with good things such as food rewards in order to teach Houston to be more comfortable with this. Please see handout on Handling and Touch Sensitivity. Fearful: Houston displays appeasement behaviors when nervous but warms up quickly. Please see the handout on Decompression. Strength/leash pulling: Houston pulls on walks and would benefit from a front clip harness. Please see the handout on Leash Manners. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: Houston is noted to go after bird during walks. Positive reinforcement should be used to help manage this behavior. Please see the handout on On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration.