Date of intake:: 9/6/2025

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Owner Surrender (2 years)

Previously lived with:: 2 Adults, 4 children (3-10 years old), 1 large dog

Behavior toward strangers:: Shy/Contact on their terms, Alert barks, Hard barks and/or growls

Behavior toward children:: social, outgoing with resident children

Behavior toward dogs:: playful and tolerant of familiar dogs, actively aoid, lunges, barks, with unfamiliar dogs

Behavior toward cats:: Alert barks, Hard barks and/or growls including other small animals

Resource guarding:: Sasha is reported to become tense and hover over treats (bones, rawhides, etc.), toys, and random objects.

Bite history:: none reported

Housetrained:: Partially

Energy level/descriptors:: Sasha is reported to have a high energy level.

Other Notes:: Goes potty on: Outside on walks (grass, cement, dirt, etc.), Wee-wee pads Accident frequency: Few times a week Additional info: Urine Behavior concerns: Jumps up often or non-stop, Pulls hard on leash, Fearful of loud noises (storms/thunder, fireworks, arguments, etc.), Barks a lot, Destructive tendencies (furniture, walls, shoes, household items, etc.) Reacts to on walks: Moving objects (bikes, skateboards, cars, etc.) Objetos en movimiento (bicicletas, patinetas, carros, etc.), Large dogs, Strangers that approach the home/yard, Strangers that approach you/family members Reaction type: Growling/Hard barking Additional info: Not reported How this dog reacts when... - Held/restrained: Fearful, Barks/Growls - Disturbed while resting/sleeping: Barks/Growls, Fearful - Startled: Fearful - Pushed/pulled off furniture: Isn't bothered - Paws are touched: Isn't bothered, Fearful - Collar grabbed/touched: Barks/Growls For grooming, this dog: Loves bath time/water, Allows owner/family to bathe and brush Additional info: Not reported Walks on leash rating: 3 - Mild to moderate pulling Walk Frequency: 3-4 times per day Walk length of time: 10 min

Date of assessment:: 9/8/2025

Summary:: 9/8/25: Sasha remains avoidant and wary of handlers. Her body is tense, tail tucked, and ears flattened. She is reluctant to leave her kennel when being leashed, retreating to the back. She was returned to the kennel, and a handling assessment was not conducted. 9/7/25: Unable to conduct handling assessment due to high levels of fear and avoidance. Does not take high-value treats and sits at the door waiting to leave. Out of concern for her stress levels, Sasha is returned to her kennel.

Summary (6):: 09/14/25: Sasha is at the front of the kennel with a tense body, hard barking at the handler with visible wrinkles along her forehead and pinned ears. Sasha will eat the treats tossed to her and begins to eat them from a distance. Slowly Sasha will soften her body and untuck her tail, and begin to approach the bars to eat through them. Sasha eats though the one can, and the handler grabs another upon approach she is already at the front, this time quiet and softened her body. Sasha is coaxed with treats through the handlers leash that is placed on the floor, and as she eats, the loop is raised to leash her. Sasha walks out of her kennel with a low body, and walks all way up to the play yard where she is still low bodied, hypervigilant but explores her surroundings. The handler does not pay attention to Sasha, and allows her to approach on her own volition, where she will sniff and explore around her and walk up to handlers. Sasha is soft bodied once leaving the yard, and her tail is fully untucked and allows the staff member to clip her and return to her kennel. 09/13/25: When the handler approaches Sasha is standing in front of her kennel door. The handler will slowly open the kennel door. Upon doing so, Sasha will proceed to toggle between approach and retreat. At the front of the kennel the handler is able to easily leash her and she will proceed to follow the handler. Sasha will follow the handler through the halls and out of the care center. When on leash, Sasha will walk with a semi tucked tail, a low head, high shoulders and in a slow cautious pace. Sasha is escorted to the play yards where she spends her time scanning her environment, sometimes smelling the turf. Sasha returned to her kennel where she is unleashed and safely secured. 09/10/25 A staff member flags a handler down to let them know Sasha is reluctant to exit her kennel. Sasha is in the back of her kennel trembling with whale eyes and a tucked tail. Sasha will low-growl at the handler and pancake in her kennel. The handler slowly guides a large loop into her kennel, slowly placing the loop onto Sasha. Sasha is successfully leashed and taken out for a walk. Sasha will display a hunched frame as she slowly trots alongside the handler displaying whale eyes and a tucked tail. She is reluctant to walk outside, hyper-vigilant as she scans her surroundings. Sasha will attempt to flee when hearing a loud abrupt noise, but when coaxed with a soft voice, run in the direction of the handler and proceed their walk. Sasha is returned to the facility where she will enter slowly, thrashing before entering the facility but once in the building will quickly make her way to the kennel room. She enters her kennel quickly.

Summary (7):: 9/8/25: Due to high FAS consistent with note from 9/7, handlers did not attempt to collar and Sasha's assessment was postponed. 09/07/25: Sasha is standing in the middle of kennel with a tense, trembling frame as handler approaches. She retreats to the back of kennel as handler cracks the kennel door and is not able to be coaxed with high value treats or cheese. Sasha plants herself in the corner of kennel. Handler pushes the kennel door inwards and slowly drops their lead over her head, moving to the side of the doorframe so that Sasha can exit. She exits kennel slowly, maintaining a low tense frame as she walks to the Canine Behavior Office. Sasha is avoidant of handlers throughout her time in the room and shows no interest in high value treats that are offered. Handlers keep her session short due to her high level of FAS. Handler kneels down and slowly clips their lead into a figure 8. Sasha remains tense-bodied throughout. She is returned to kennel safely.

Date of intake:: 9/6/2025

Summary:: allowed intake tasks, walked to kennel without issue

Date of initial:: 9/6/2025

Summary:: very tense and fearful, remained tense and whale-eyed throughout exam.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to the variety of behavior concerns reported in the previous home and the high levels of fearfulness displayed in care, we recommend that Sasha to be placed in an adult-only home. No cats: Sasha's previous owner reported she hard barks and/or growls at cats and other small animals. Due to this, we recommend that Sasha not be placed in a home with cats and other small animals. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to all noted concerns displayed in a home environment, the behavior department recommends that Sasha 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 her to acclimate comfortably to her new environment; force-free, reward-based training only is advised when introducing Sasha to new and unfamiliar situations. Consultation with a professional trainer/behaviorist is highly recommended for guidance to safely manage/modify any behavior Sasha presents with outside of the care centers.

Potential challenges: : House soiling,Resource guarding,Destructive behavior,Basic manners/poor impulse control,Handling/touch sensitivity,Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration

Potential challenges comments:: House soiling: The owner stated that Sasha is partially house-trained but still needs more training. We recommend positive reinforcement, reward-based training only. Please see the handout on House soiling. Resource guarding: Sasha is reported to become tense and hover over items like treats, toys, and random objects. We recommend that she be left alone while eating, and nothing should ever be taken directly out of Sasha's mouth, and any time something is removed she should be rewarded with a high-value treat or toy. She should be taught the "drop" cue and trade-up games. Please see the handout on Resource guarding. Destructive behavior: Sasha is reported to have destructive tendencies with household items (furniture, walls, shoes, household items, etc.) in her previous home. We are unaware of what, if any, attempts were made to remedy this behavior but we suggest to future adopters that Sasha will need to be provided with physical and mental stimulation and with a variety of appropriate and engaging chew toys so she can engage in necessary chewing behavior without damage to human objects. Please see handout on Destructive behavior. Basic manners/poor impulse control: Sasha was reported to jump up often in the previous home. It is recommended that default behaviors such as "Leave it", "Sit/Stay", "Down" be reinforced to substitute any frustration and teach her to control her 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: Sasha is reported to hard-bark and growl when held or restrained, disturbed while resting/sleeping, or when her collar is grabbed/touched. Please see the handout on Handling/touch sensitivity. Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: Sasha is reported to hard bark and growl at strangers in the previous home. During her stay in care, Sasha has been highly fearful and avoidant of staff/handlers. Guidance from a professional trainer/behaviorist is recommended to assess behavior after decompression in a new home environment. Force-free, reward-based training is advised when introducing or exposing Sasha to new and unfamiliar situations. Please see handout on Fearful/potential for defensive aggression. On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration: Sasha is reported to growl and hard-bark at moving objects (bikes, skateboards, cars, etc.), large dogs, and strangers that approach the home/yard on walks. Sasha may need positive reinforcement, reward-based training to teach her to look at you rather than other dogs. We recommend a front clip harness or head halter to help manage this behavior. Please see the handout on On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration.