Date of intake:: 11/25/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

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

Previously lived with:: 3 adults, 1 child and one other dog

Behavior toward strangers:: Blu will hard bark, can be tolerant and playful

Behavior toward children:: Blu is shy and prefers contact on thier terms

Behavior toward dogs:: Blu is tolerant and barks at familiar dogs, hard barks at unfamiliar dogs

Behavior toward cats:: No experience

Resource guarding:: None reported

Bite history:: None reported

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: High

Other Notes:: Blu sometimes pulls hard on the leash, will be destructive if left alone for too long. Blu barks at strangers that approach family Blu is not bothered when held, disturbed while sleeping, startled, pulled or pushed off furniture, feet/paws touched and when collar is grabbed.

Date of assessment:: 12/28/2025

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Hard Reactivity to humans: Moderate Reactivity to dogs: Moderate Leash walking comments: Jumps up on handler and mouths them with mild pressure, lunges towards dogs, hard stares towards people Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Highly social Call over: Approaches handler readily Sociability comments: Grabs the leash and engages with it, loose body, play bows, running around the room Soft handling: Over aroused Exuberant handling: Over aroused Comments: Jumps up on handler, head whips with open mouth towards handler hand Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler exuberantly Knock Knock comments: Approaches handler readily Toy Toy comments: Grips firm, and engages with toy exuberantly

Summary:: 12/13/25: Blue does not approach the gate to greet another dog. He then barks while standing behind handlers legs.

Summary (6):: 1/12/26: Blu at the front with a soft and wiggly body. Easily leashed and pulls very hard out of the room. Pulls hard on the street. Leash harness. Pulls less more mild. Jumps up exuberantly on the handler and will throw his whole body at them. He is redirected down with treats and follows the command sit. He relieves himself and walks back to the shelter. Blu brought to the backyard and placed on a drag leash. He engages with a toy holding it in his mouth, running back and forth. He is given more toys which he engages with. Grabbing them and running around, tossing them in the air. He will approach the handler, jump on them briefly with a toy before going back to play with his toy. At one point, Blu will stop playing and jump on the handler gently and lean into petting before going back to playing with his toy. Handler then engages with him. They walk around the pen and every time he jumps up on the handler, they will direct him down and have him sit for treats. He catches on briefly before leaving the handler and going back to playing with his toy. Blu then stops and begins tensing up, hackles raised. He hears another dog barking across the street from the shelter. He is redirected with treats and toys. After sometime, Blu is easily re-leashed and returned to his kennel with out issue. 12/28/25: Blu is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to be leashed with ease and pulls hard on his hind legs on the way outside for a walk. On the walk, he would pull hard ahead and is comfortable approaching the handler to receive treats. He has a tense body as he hard stares at people and dogs. He would try to pull and lung towards dogs with a tense body. He is then taken to the behavior room for his assessment. In the room, he has a loose and wiggly body as he would jump up on the handlers. He would mouth at the handlers hands for treats. Please see behavior assessment notes for more details. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues. 12/20/25: Blu is at the front of his kennel with a neutral body as handler approaches. Blu is then easily leashed and removed from the kennel, where he would have a mild pull out of the room. He is then taken out for a street walk, where he would relieve himself in multiple spots and not react towards any passing stimuli. Throughout the walk, he would remain loose and wiggly, jumping up onto the handler as they called his name. He would solicit pets and remain engaged with the handler throughout the walk. Shortly after the walk, he is then clipped and easily returned back to his kennel with no issues.

Summary (7):: 12/13/25- Blue is at the front of his kennel with a neutral body, he is easily leashed and taken to the play yard for a dog dog. He is loose and wiggly being social with handler, taking treats. He jumps on handler and they scratch his back, he leans into handler's body. He does his dog dog then is walking around the perimeter of the play yard, has a moderate to hard pull at times. When he sees the dog in first pen, he pulls towards the pen. Handler calls to him and lightly jogs in the other direction, he follows. He is easily clipped and returned to his kennel without issue. 11/28/25: Blu is at the front of his kennel with a neutral body as handler approaches. He is then easily leashed and removed from his kennel where he would have a mild pull ahead of the handler. Blu is then taken out for a street walk, where he would continue to have a hard pull ahead of him. He would spot a balloon on the street where he would begin to approach it with a low body and slowly crawl towards it. He would then jump onto the balloon and as it pop's he would become startled and begin to pull away. Afterwards, he would continue the walk with ease not reacting towards any passing stimuli. He is then clipped and easily returned back to his kennel with no issue. 11/25/25 (Late entry): Blu is at the front of his kennel with a loose body. He is easily leashed and brought out the room. Once outside, Blu notices two dogs walking in different directions, and he attempts to pull in their directions until they are out of sight. On the street, Blue walks ahead with little leash tension. He sniffs and jumps on the handler with a soft body, and nudges their treat pouch several times. Blu then fixates on a dog further in the distance; the handler calls his name and pets him, but Blu shows no interest. They then show him a treat, and Blu jumps on them; the handler tosses the treat on the ground, and he jumps off them to eat it. While walking back, Blu increase leash tension, pulling forward when he is nearing the same dog he saw prior. The handler pulls Blu away and he unfixates himself. Blu is then brought in for his assessment and afterwards returned to his kennel. 11/25/25: ACS reports Blue pulls hard and barks toward people passing by on street.

Date of intake:: 11/23/2025

Summary:: Allowed leashing, pancaked in front of kennel

Date of initial:: 11/25/2025

Summary:: Body relaxed; easily examined

ENERGY LEVEL:: Blu is described as active and enthusiastic. They will need daily mental and physical activity to keep them 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. We recommend feeding with puzzle feeders and food-dispensing toys. And we recommend using force-free, reward-based training techniques for Blu.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: Level 4

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Recommend no dog parks

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to on leash reactivity and a low threshold for arousal we recommend an adult only home. No Dog Parks: Due to hard barking towards unfamiliar dogs, we recommend no trips to the dog park.

Potential challenges: : Destructive behavior,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Strength/leash pulling,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Destructive Behavior: Blu's previous owner states that he will become destructive if left alone for too long. We are unaware of what, if any, attempts were made to remedy this behavior but we suggest to future adopters that Blu will need to be provided with physical and mental stimulation and with a variety of appropriate and engaging chew toys so they can engage in necessary chewing behavior without damage to human objects. Please see handout on Destructive Behavior. Mouthiness: Blu has been obsvered to mouth handlers with mild pressure. We recommend never playing with bare hands, always with a toy, and ending play or attention whenever Blu 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. Fearful Defensive: Blu's previous owner states that he will hard bark towards strangers. It is important to move slowly with Blu, to build positive associations (treats/toys/praise), and to allow them to initiate interactions with new people. They should never be forced to greet or to interact if they are not comfortable and soliciting attention. Please see handout on Fearful and Defensive Aggression. On Leash Reactivity: Blu's previous owner states that he will hard bark towards strangers that approach. During his stay in the care center Blue has been obsvered to fixate on dogs, pull hard towards them, and lunge this behavior is not able to be easily redirected. Blue will also hard stare towards people. Blue will need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach them to look at you rather than other people. We recommend a front clip harness to help manage this behavior. Please see handout on On Leash Reactivity and Barrier Frustration. Arousal: During his assessment Blu was obsvered to begun head whipping and jumping towards the handler during handling. Positive reinforcement training should be used to teach Blu to remain calm during arousing situations. If they begin to escalate, people should pause the interaction, and create distance from the trigger. Pattern games such as 1-2-3 treat and the cue “mat” can be used to reinforce calm behaviors. Please see handout on Arousal.