Date of intake:: 1/3/2026

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

Previously lived with:: adults, children (6, 12, 15)

Behavior toward strangers:: Friendly, playful, and outgoing.

Behavior toward children:: Friendly, playful, and tolerant.

Behavior toward dogs:: On-leash he appears friendly and excited but has not had much interaction.

Behavior toward cats:: No experience.

Resource guarding:: Considers toys items of value but the client never attempted to approach or take the items from him.

Bite history:: No known reports os a bite history.

Housetrained:: Yes

Energy level/descriptors:: Onix is noted in the prior home to have a high energy level.

Other Notes:: Accustomed to relieving himself outdoors and rarely have accidents in the home. He has never been disturbed while sleeping, startled, or moved from furniture. He is unbothered when held or restrained, when his paws are touched, or when his collar is grabbed. He is described as an affectionate and friendly dog who is very active and playful. He spends most of his time in the living room of his home where he enjoys playing with plushies and chew toys. He is accustomed to going on 1-2 walks a day during which he pulls on his leash. He allows his family to bathe, brush, and trim his nails and loves going for a car ride. He knows the cues sit, paw, and stay in both English and Spanish and is not picky with food or treats.

Date of assessment:: 1/8/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Hard Reactivity to humans: N/a Reactivity to dogs: N/a Leash walking comments: Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Anxious- flushed face, red dilated eyes heavy panting, unable to settle Call over: Readily approaches- heavy open mouth panting, jumps on handlers, begins to pace and whine in the room Sociability comments: takes treats roughly treats have to be tossed Handling Soft handling: Tolerant-lip licks, open mouth panting Exuberant handling: Tolerant- open mouth panting, begins to headwhip Handling comments: Arousal Jog: Follow- begins to jump up on the handler and the lead, air corrector is used, which regains his focuse Arousal comments: Knock: No response Knock Comments: Toy: Body block tense body over dummy toy Toy comments: ***11/19/25: previous assessment upon request.*** 11/18: Onix is taken to the behavior office for a handling assessment, which he begins to hard pull in the room. Once in the room he flinches, paces, and whines. When attempting to collar, he headwhips and backs away. He does take treats offered to him. He is taken back into his kennel and given more time to decompress.

Summary:: Due to entering the facility as a stray, there is no prior dog-to-dog history recorded. 11/19/25 Onix is introduced to an unfamiliar female dog while off leash at the care center.Onix approaches the gate with a still frame and a high stiff curled tail. He walks ways to displace, sniffing along the gate line and marking the gate. He walks away from the gate line, paw raising from a distance remaining avoidant of the gate. Onix is returned to kennel, concluding the interaction.

Summary (7):: 1/22/26: Onix is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to be leashed with ease while being distracted with treats. He then pulls hard on the way outside for a walk. On the walk, he continues to pull hard ahead and would approach the handler to receive treats. He is then taken to a yard pen. In the pen, he is comfortable approaching the handler and would sit for treats. He would then constantly jump up on the handler to demand for treats that were in their hand. He then pulls hard on the way back to his kennel and enters with no issues. 01/08/26 (Assessment Note): Onix is standing at the front of his kennel and allows the handler to leash him with ease. He is escorted to the assessment room, where he displays high anxiety, including heavy panting and constant pacing. Onix does not tolerate handling and responds to touch with head whipping, lip licking, and bulging eyes. He becomes aroused during the run and attempts to bite the handler’s treat pouch. He does not respond to knocking and hovers over the toy, indicating resource guarding. Onix is returned to his kennel safely without any issues. See Behavioral Assessment for more information. **Notes from previous stay at ACC.** 11/20/25: A handler enters the room and makes their way towards the safety station to check the items, and they hear multiple sets of banging. When checking to see which dogs are banging, they see that Onix is lying down but digging rapidly on his kennel door, along with two others who are banging on their door. He pauses when he notices the handler standing in front of his door, looking up at them. The room is otherwise quiet. 11/19/25 (Assessment): Onix is standing at the front of his kennel and allows the handler to leash him with ease. In the assessment room, he allows the handler to place a drag leash and begins roaming the room freely before the assessment begins. He allows all petting, leans in for touch, does not become aroused when running, does not respond to knocking, and walks away from the toy.

Date of intake:: 1/3/2026

Summary:: very friendly upon intake but his collar was not removed due to his activity level and to avoid over

Date of initial:: 1/4/2026

Summary:: nervous, took treats, body tense, needed to move very slow

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

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

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): We reccomend Onix be placed in an adult-only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Onix came into the care center as an owner surrender due to the owners not having time for him anymore. He is described as an affectionate and friendly dog who is very active and playful. He spends most of his time in the living room of his home where he enjoys playing with plushies and chew toys. He is accustomed to going on 1-2 walks a day during which he pulls on his leash. He allows his family to bathe, brush, and trim his nails and loves going for a car ride. He knows the cues sit, paw, and stay in both English and Spanish and is not picky with food or treats. In the care cneter Onix allows leashing and is able to move through the care center, he displays clear stress signals including avoidance, head whipping, and discomfort with touch, particularly during more hands-on interactions. Onix has displayed high levels of anxiety and is noted to jump on handlers and leash bite. Onix s would benefit from a New Hope placement that can provide a calm, predictable environment and low-pressure handling. Onix is available for rescue through one of our new hope partners.

Potential challenges: : Resource guarding,Basic manners/poor impulse control,Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition,Handling/touch sensitivity,Fearful,Anxiety,Leash-biting,Strength/leash pulling,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Resource guarding: Onix is note hover and body block over the dummy toy during his behavioral assessment. Training should focus on teaching “drop it” and “leave it,” using trade-up techniques, and avoiding direct confrontation over valued items. Reinforcing calm behavior during item-handling exercises can help reduce guarding responses.Please see the handout on Resource guarding. Basic manners/poor impulse control: Onix is noted to jump on the handlers often.Recommended strategies include reinforcing calm greetings, practicing “sit” as an alternative behavior, and rewarding four paws on the floor consistently to build better self-control. Please see the handout on Basic manners/poor impulse control. Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition: Onix is noted to take treats roughly. Recommended strategies include teaching gentle treat-taking by offering treats in a closed fist until he uses a softer mouth, reinforcing calm behavior before food delivery, and incorporating impulse-control exercises such as “wait” and “take it”. Please see the handout on Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition. Handling/touch sensitivity: It is noted that Onix will head whip and become uncomfortable when his collar is touched. Gradual desensitization to collar contact, pairing touch with high-value treats, and using cooperative care techniques can help him develop positive associations with being handled. Avoiding sudden grabs is important to prevent escalation. Please see the handout on Handling/touch sensitivity. Fearful/Anxiety: During Onix medical exam he is noted to After returning from eliminating he had high tail wag, investigated room, panting, whining. A little flinchy when attempting to touch. Placed muzzle for precaution, immediately attempted to remove, but able to examine with mild restraint. Patient removed own muzzle immediately after exam was completed. During his fist at a handling assessment he is noted to head whip when attempts were made to collar him. Once in the room he flinches, paces, and whines. Use gradual desensitization to handling and equipment, pairing each step with high-value rewards. Keep sessions short and positive, avoid sudden movements, and allow Onix to approach voluntarily to build trust. Please see the handout on the decompression period and generalized anxiety. Strength/leash pulling: Onix is noted to hard pull on the lead while on walks.Use a front-clip harness and reward loose-leash walking with frequent treats to encourage better leash manners. Please see the handout on Strength/leash pulling. Low threshold for arousal/Leash-biting: Oniox is noted to jump on handlers to grab onto the lead, he will display a flushed face and dilated having difficulty in settling down. Providing an appropriate alternative, such as a tug toy during transitions, and pausing movement when leash-biting occurs can help reduce the behavior over time. Please see the handout on Leash-biting.