Date of intake:: 6/7/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner Surrender

Previously lived with:: 4 adults, 5 children (8-17), 2 dogs

Behavior toward strangers:: tolerant but barks

Behavior toward children:: friendly and outgoing with resident children

Behavior toward dogs:: social, outgoing, playful with familiar dogs; avoids and barks at unfamiliar dogs

Behavior toward cats:: unknown

Resource guarding:: Xola is reported to guard food and toys. She hover over these items with tense body.

Bite history:: none reported

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: Xola is reported to have a low energy level.

Other Notes:: 9/29/2026: While walking Xola, a volunteer allowed her to approach a member of staff. Xola initially approached with a loose body and open mouth, but on reaching the staff member, Xola immediately jumped up; as the staff member backed up, Xola jumped again and bit her in the chest area, ripping through a hoodie, shirt, and undershirt. No skin was broken. The volunteer pulled Xola away, at which point Xola disengaged quickly and began sniffing the volunteer and the ground. Xola is reported to jump frequently. While on walks she reacts to strangers and other dogs by growling and barking. She is not bothered when held/restrained, when woken from sleep, when startled, when pushed/pulled off furniture, when her paws are touched, or when her collar is grabbed. Previous owner stated that Xola is selective with whom she interacts with and how she prefers contact needing time to warm up. She will react to certain strangers by hard barking and lunging. Upon intake, two female counselors entered the room. She approached staff with a loose body and allowed close contact with one of the female counselors accepting treats and pets . When the second counselor approached and attempted to pet her slowly, Xola barked and lunged at the counselors reached out hand. Xola did not attempt to bite or made contact with the counselor's hand.

Date of assessment:: 9/29/2026

Summary:: 7/13:Leash Walking Strength and pulling: moderate- hard pulling Reactivity to humans: did not pass Reactivity to dogs: tense, easily redirected with squeaker toy Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Wiggly body, readily seeks attention, briefly wanders room Call over: approaches readily Sociability comments: Handling Soft handling: lip lick, stand still, accepts contact Exuberant handling: lip lick, stand still, accepts contact Handling comments: Arousal Jog: follow, distracted Arousal comments: Knock: initially tenses, lowers head Knock Comments: quickly relaxes and approaches with Wiggly body upon recognizing assistant Toy: grips, bounces away with toy Toy comments: 6/14/26: Xola's previous owner reported that she is selective with people and needs time to warm up to new people. But she has had a history of escalating to hard barking and lunging at strangers. During her intake, Xola was loose and wiggly with one counselor, accepting treats and pets. When a second counselor attempted to pet her, Xola barked and lunged at the second counselor's extended hand. Since her intake, Xola has been accepting of treats but remains highly fearful of interaction. Due to these concerns, she is not an appropriate candidate for a handling assessment at this time.

Summary:: According to Xola's previous owner(s), she is friendly, outgoing, and playful around familiar dogs and avoids/hard barks at unfamiliar dogs. 10/1/26: Xola greets a novel male dog through a barrier. During the greeting, Xola becomes increasingly tense, displaying a stiff body and forward-leaning posture toward the novel male. Due to her level of tension, Xola is moved away from the interaction. Once given space, she seeks an exit from the yard rather than attempting to reapproach. 06/13/26 Xola is introduced to a novel male while off leash. She comes close to the gate but does not fully approach, instead leaning forward hesitantly to sniff the other dog from afar. She does not approach the gate and will walk away once the male does.

Summary (5):: 09/30/26: Xola is at the front of the crate as the handler approaches. She is leashed with ease and taken outside for a walk, pulling mildly. Once outside, two dogs several feet away react to one another; Xola is easily moved off to the side of the street to allow them space, and then continues to move readily with the handler and sniff the ground as they pass. She is returned to her crate without issue. 09/28/26: A volunteer took Xola out through the side gate. When the volunteer came out of the side gate, they walked to the right with Xola to wait for other dogs to pass. Two staff members were speaking on the side of the building by the staff gate. Xola was facing them with an open mouth and a loose body. When one of the staff members saw Xola, they spoke to her in a squeaky voice . At that time the volunteer allowed Xola to walk up to the staff member. As soon as Xola got to the staff member, she instantly jumped on them. When they went to back up, she jumped up again, biting them in the chest and ripping their hoodie, shirt and undershirt. The volunteer pulled Xola back, and she stopped immediately and started sniffing the volunteer and the ground. Xola did not make contact with the staff member's skin during this incident. Behavior was made aware of the incident, and Xola was brought back into the building.

Summary (6):: 08/17/26: Xola is at the front of her crate as the handler approaches. She allows the handler to clip her collar and walks to the office. In the office, Xola shows a lot of interest in a snuffle mat that has been set up inside of a cardboard box. She sniffs the box, eventually stepping in to reach the far corners of the snuffle mat. She then spends the rest of the time engaging with handlers. She responds to the cue "sit" and leans in frequently for pets. She also rests her head in the handler's hands. She is later returned to her kennel with no issue. 08/10/26: Xola is at the front of her crate as the handler approaches. she is leashed with ease and brought to the office. Xola engages briefly with a puzzle, but for the most part, she seeks attention from various handlers in the room. She leans in for pets. She is alter returned to her crate without issue. 8/3/26: Xola is standing in her crate as handler approaches. She is able to be leashed with ease and she is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, she would slightly pull ahead of the handler to sniff around. She is comfortable approaching the handler to receive treats and accepts a few pets. She stares at a dog that passes by and is able to be redirected with treats. She is able to return back to her crate with no issues 7/20/26: Xola is at the front of the kennel as the handler approaches. She is leashed with ease and brought out on a walk where she will walk mostly on a loose leash and solicit attention from the handler, leaning into pets and re-engaging after consent checks. She will sniff around and walk slowly and is returned to her kennel with no issue. 07/13/26: Xola is at the front of her crate as the handler approaches. She is leashed with ease and brought to the play yard where she is clipped to a drag leash and allowed to roam. She briefly explores the yard, but frequently returns to the handler for attention and treats. She leans in for pets. After a while, she is brought back inside and returned to her crate with no issue. 7/13/2026 (re-assesment): Xola is standing at the front of kennel with a very loose and wiggly body as handler approaches. She takes treats through the crate bars and is easily leashed. She maintains a soft body throughout her walk, occasionally darting from one side to the other. She fixates briefly on some dogs but is easily redirected. With handler she remains social, frequently approaching. Xola is brought to the behavior room for an assessment. She is returned to her crate without issue.

Summary (7):: 07/06/26 (PM): Xola is sleeping at the back of her crate when the handler approaches. She comes forward and is leashed with ease. She is brought to the office where she runs around and explores, frequently running between the handler and another staff member for attention. She interacts briefly with a lick mat and plays with some toys that are laying around the room. After a while, she is returned to her crate without issue. 07/06/26: Xola is observed to be hard barking at the front of her crate. The handler offers her some treats, sits with her for a few minutes, and covers her crate before leaving. When the handler returns some time later, Xola is asleep. 06/16/26: Xola is laying down in her crate as the handler approaches. She leans forward and allows the handler to clip her collar. She walks through the building slowly, coughing the entire time. Outside, she continues to walk slowly, and is startled by balloons hanging from the fence. She stands in the play yard and coughs. She leans into pets from the handler, but does not do anything else outside. Xola is brought back inside and returned to her crate without issue. 6/13/26 (PG): Xola is at the front of her crate as handler approaches. She is easily leashed and taken to the play yard for a gate greet. While waiting for the other dog Xola is social with the handlers and takes treats gently. Please see D2D notes for details of gate greet. She is returned to kennel with no issue. 6/11/26: Xola is lying down at back of her crate, when crate door is opened she comes forward where she is easily leashed and taken to the behavior room. While in the behavior room she accepts treats with a soft mouth. Xola is social with the other handlers that are in the behavior room and she accepts treat from them all. After a time she is retuned to her crate with no issue. 06/09/26: Xola is at the back of her crate as the handler approaches. She walks to the front with her tail tucked, but allows the handler to leash her with no issue. She is brought to the live room where she sniffs around. The handler offers treats and she takes them gently. The handler then tosses treats to different spots in the room, and Xola chases the treats. She jumps onto the chair and runs around the room with a loose body. The handler is able to clip her leash and return her to her crate with no issue.

Date of intake:: 6/7/2026

Summary:: had loose body and allowed close contact with one staff member but escalated to barked and lunged

Date of initial:: 6/8/2026

Summary:: allowed all medical handling

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Recommend no dog parks,Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Xola's potential for defensive escalations and bite history, we recommend an adult only home. Recommend no dog parks: Due to Xola's behavior in playgroup, we recommend she does not visit dog parks. Place with a New Hope Partner: Xola has shown fearful and defensive behavior while at the care center, barking and lunging at staff on intake, and in a separate incident, jumping up and biting a staff member. The bite did not break skin but tore three layers of clothing. Due to these concerns, we recommend placement in an adult only home 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: : Resource guarding,Basic manners/poor impulse control,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Bite history (human)

Potential challenges comments:: Basic manners/poor impulse control: Xola was reported to jump up frequently in her previous home, indicating a need for training to improve her impulse control and basic manners. Consistent training to teach her to sit or stay during stimulating scenarios/environments, using positive reinforcement and redirection, will help manage this behavior. Please see the handout on Basic manners/poor impulse control. Fearful/potential for defensive aggression and Bite history (human): Xola's previous owner reported that she is selective with strangers. During her intake, she escalated to barking and lunging at staff. She has also jumped up and bitten a staff member when approaching on a walk; the bite did not break skin but tore through three layers of clothing. Her signs of discomfort must be respected; Xola should never be forced to interact, and she should always be allowed to walk away from situations or people she finds uncomfortable. We recommend a slow approach, and we recommend ONLY force-free, reward-based training methods for Xola. More aversive techniques are likely to increase fear, increase the risk of aggression, and decrease her quality of life. Please see handout on Fearful/potential for defensive aggression. Resource guarding: Xola is reported by her previous owners to value food and toys and to hover over these items with a tense body. For this reason, we advise against ever removing items from Xola's possession without safely trading for an item or greater or equal value. She should be taught the "drop" cue and trade-up games. Please see handout on Resource Guarding. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: Xola is reported to growl and hard bark at other dogs and strangers during walks. Please see handout on On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration.