Date of intake:: 12/24/2025

Spay/Neuter status:: No

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

Other Notes:: **Previous assessments can be given upon request**

Date of assessment:: 4/4/2026

Summary:: Leash Walking Strength and pulling: Moderate Reactivity to humans: None Reactivity to dogs: None Leash walking comments: Receptive to treat trail exiting the room Sociability Loose in room (15-20 seconds): Moderately social Call over: Approaches handler readily Sociability comments: Stays near handler Soft handling: Accepts contact Exuberant handling: Accepts contact Comments: Neutral Arousal Jog comments: Follows handler exuberantly Knock Knock comments: Approaches handler readily, soft body Toy Toy comments: Grips firm, becomes tense and retreats from the handler

Summary:: 1/6/26: Tarmack greets another dog at the gate with a neutral body and soft tail wag.

Summary (3):: 4/4/26:(PM WALK) Tarmack is at the front of the kennel with a soft body and wagging tail. He is easily leashed and taken out of the kennel. He pulls hard out of the room. Handler tosses a trail of treats out of the room and Tarmack pulls after them, eating them as he exits the room. He is walked through the hall and taken downstairs where he walks with mild pulling to the driveway. Tarmack walks around the driveway, checking in with the handler and taking treats. A familiar handler interacts with him and he approaches with a neutral body. He takes treats from them firmly. Dogs walk pass nearby and Tarmack looks to them but remains focused on the handlers as they feed him treats. They do commands with him like sit, lay down and wait. After sometime outside, Tarmack is walked back inside the building. He is returned to kennel without issue. 04/04/26: A handler is bringing Tarmack out of kennel and out of the room. Another staff member is standing to the side outside of the door with their back towards handler & Tarmack. Tarmack exits the room and jumps up on the staff member. The handler pulls Tarmack off and Tarmack proceeds to jump up on the staff member again, biting onto the staff members shirt. The handler pulls Tarmack off once again. Tarmack proceeds to hard bark at the staff member. The handler walks him down the hall and Tarmack is able to disengage from the other staff member. 3/29/26: (LATE ENTTRY): Tarmack is at the front of the kennel jumping up and down with a soft wagging tail. Tarmack is easily leashed and taken out of the room. He is jumping up and down besides the handler as he is taken out of the room to the street. Tarmack walks on the street pulling moderately to spots to sniff. He relieves himself a few times and walks around the block. He checks in with the handler occasionally for treats which he takes firmly. After, Tarmack is walked back to the shelter. He pulls hard back inside to kennel. He is then returned to kennel by tossing in a treat

Summary (4):: 3/22/26: Tarmack is at the front of the kennel with a neutral body and a wagging tail. He is easily leashed and pulls hard out of the kennel room. He walks besides the handler as they are taken downstairs towards the street. On the street, Tarmack walks besides the handler with a loose leash. He stops to sniff various spots on the ground and relieves himself. When the handler reaches into their treat pouch, Tarmack notices and will sit at the handlers feet. He takes the treat firmly and walks back towards the shelter. He ignores people that pass by. Tarmack is then walked back to the shelter and pulls hard back to kennel. He is returned without issue. 3/19/26: When a staff member first approached Tarmack's kennel they jumped up straight in the air with all 4 paws leaving the ground and then jumped up on the kennel door with their 2 front paws and continued barking. 3/14/26: Tarmack is at the front of his kennel barking and jumping high in the kennel. He stops when handler unlocks the kennel. Tarmack is leashed with ease and taken outside. He pulls hard out of the room and in the hallway. Tarmack relieves himself and continues walking with mild pulling. Tarmack jumps few times on the handler but they able to redirect him with treats. Tarmack follows command "sit" and gently takes offered treat. Tarmack attempts to jump on the person passing by but stops after another command "sit". Tarmack doesn't react on other dogs. Tarmack engages with handler and follows commands "spin" "down" and "paw". He allows handler to pet his head and back. His body is soft with wagging tail. Tarmack is pulling hard crossing the street. He keeps pulling in the hallways and stops after command "sit". Tarmack sits and handler is able to clip the leash. Tarmack is returned to the kennel with no further issues. 3/12/26: When a staff member walked by Tarmack's kennel they were jumping up on the kennel door and hard barking. This behavior continued until the staff member left. 3/11/26:Tarmack is at the front of the kennel jumping up high past handlers and barking. As the kennel unlocks he sits with a fast wagging tail and tapping his paws. Tarmack is easily leashed and pulls hard out of the kennel. Treats are tossed and chases after treats scattered down the isle. He pulls hard downstairs and walks out to the street. Tarmack relieves himself and continues to pull hard and run ahead of the handler. They walk around the block and after sometime, Tarmack begins to walk with mild pulling around the block, he sits for treats with the handler and ignores people and bikes that pass close by. He does not react to dogs entering and exiting as he is walked back to the shelter. Tarmack pulls hard back inside and is returned to kennel without issue.

Summary (5):: 3/1/26: Tarmack is at the front of the kennel, he is jumping up high past the handlers face repeatedly in kennel. He is barking and panting. Tarmack is easily leashed and pulls hard out of the kennel. Treats are tossed as he pulls out of the room. He dives after the treats. Tarmack is taken downstairs, towards the driveway. He occasionally jumps up on the handler exuberantly, they tell him sit and turn their body away. He sits down and is given a treat and takes them with a firm mouth. He is brought to the street, where he finds a paper bag. The handler tells him to drop it and attempts to redirect him with treat. The paper bag holds a discarded food item. He rips it open and eats it before continuing his walk. Tarmack stops to relieve himself a few times and sniff his surroundings, he pulls hard back to the shelter, he continues to pull hard back in the building towards his kennel where he is returned without issue. 2/17/26 (reassessment): Tarmack is at the front of his kennel with a loose body, jumping on the kennel door. The handler feeds him treats and leashes him with ease. As the handler walks Tarmack out the room, they drop treats I front of him, which he eats. Once outside, other large dogs are present, but Tarmack doesn’t display any reactivity. On the street, Tarmack walks ahead with mild leash tension. He doesn’t react to people; he only pulls towards one person with a neutral body and sniffs them. Tarmack also takes treats and allows pets from the handler. He is brought inside for his assessment 2/15/26- Tarmack is at the front of his kennel with soft body, he is easily leashed and has a mild pull towards the passing kennels. He is taken for a street walk. He is social with handler and takes treats with mild pressure. Handler gives them with an open palm and he allows handler to scratch his head, neck and back. He checks in with handler and automatically sits when they stop walking. Tarmack follows the command to sit, paw and spin. He takes more treats and sniffs around occasionally. He is easily clipped and returned to kennel without issue. 2/12/26: It is noted on the whiteboard that Tarmack is "taking treats very hard". 2/11/26: Tarmack is at the front of his kennel with a loose body, jumping on the kennel door. He is easily leashed and brought out the kennel. While walking out the room, Tarmack begins to jump towards the handler with a neutral body; the handler then tosses treats and Tarmack jumps down and eats them as he walks out the room. When walking past a desk, Tarmack pulls towards a small bin and pulls out some garbage. He begins to engage with it, but the handler pulls him away; he slightly fixates on it until it’s out of sight. On the street, Tarmack walks ahead with mild to moderate pulling. He attempts to eat stray food on the ground but the handler pulls him away. Tarmack also doesn’t react to any people. Upon entry, Tarmack tolerates pets from the handler. They clip their leash and return Tarmack to hi

Summary (6):: 2/7/26: Tarmack is loose bodied, standing on hind legs with front paws on kennel door. As handler unlocks kennel door he drops to all 4's, takes a treat and is easily leashed. Tarmack pulls moderately, consistently straight out of kennel room. He is neutral forward bodied, on elevator approaches familiar staff with wiggly body. When exiting driveway Tarmack sees a MMB with staff member, pulls hard toward, and becomes tense. Moderate leash pressure is used to pull him away. Once line of sight is broken, Tarmack recovers and is neutral in body. Tarmack checks in visually when verbally cued, allows petting with loose body. Tarmack maintains consistent moderate pull on walk. Tarmack relieves himself, and is walked back to MACC. Tarmack re-enters kennel without issue, takes treats offered. 2/4/26: Tarmack is observed to attempt to jump through the large gate when seeing another dog. Once he passes through the gate, Tarmack looks back at the same dog walks but continues to walk with his handler. 2/2/26: It was noted on the whiteboard that Tarmack has "bad kennel reactivity". 2/1/26: Tamack is standing at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He begins jumping and barking at the door as the handler unlocks it. He is able to be leashed with treats and he pulls hard out of kennel. He begins to pull towards the dogs in kennels while on his hind legs. He is the taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he has a tense body as he hard stares at dog and is able to be redirected with treats. He has no reactions to people and is then taken to the behavior room for his assessment. In the room, he would jump on the handlers constantly and mouth at their hands for treats. He has a tense body and would head whip while being petted. Please see behavior assessment notes for more details. He pulls hard on the way back to his kennel, and pulls hard on his hind legs towards the dogs in kennels with his hackles raised before entering his kennel.

Summary (7):: 1/24/26: Tarmack is at front of kennel with a loose and wiggly body. He is easily leashed and escorted for an outside walk. While on elevator Tarmack sat and took treats gently and accepted pets on top of head and side. While on walk Tarmack showed no interest in the people that passed. He was returned to kennel with no issue. 1/15/26: Tarmack is observed to react to dogs passing his crate, barking and lunging forward, causing his crate to move around the hall. 01/14/26: Tarmack is at the front of his crate as handler approaches. He is leashed while distracted with treats and taken to the street for his walk, in the elevator he accepts pets under his chin and accepts treats from handler gently. While outside he is walked around the street and pulls mildly, Tarmack walks with handler and passes people without issue. When seeing dogs he will stare at them from afar but is easily redirected and continues to walk with handler for a while. After walking for a bit he is brought back inside and allows handler to clip his leash before he is brought back to his crate and returns without issue. 01/07/26: Tarmack is at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is leashed while distracted with treats and removed from his crate and taken to the street for his walk. Outside he walks with handler and pulls mildly, stopping to sniff spots on the street or to relieve himself. He passes people in the street without issue and walks for a while with handler. Upon passing a dog Tarmack attempts to pull toward them with a tense body and continues to focus on them for a few moments after the dog has passed. When passing food scraps on the floor, Tarmack will attempt to pull toward them and eat them. He walks with handler for a while before being brought back inside, Tarmack allows handler to clip his leash before he is brought back to his crate and returns without issue. 12/28/25: Tarmack is sitting at the front of his kennel as handler approaches. He is able to be leashed with ease and is then taken outside for a walk. On the walk, he has a loose body frame and had no reactions to dogs or people. He would constantly stop and stare at the handler to receive treats. He is then taken to the behavior room for his assessment. In the room, he has a loose body frame and would sit and stare at the handlers for treats and is comfortable being petted. Please see behavior assessment notes for more details. He is able to return back to his kennel with no issues.

Date of intake:: 12/24/2025

Summary:: Growling and lunging, responsive to high value treats, led to kennel

Date of initial:: 12/26/2025

Summary:: Growling when tried to restrain

ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on Tarmack so we cannot be certain of his behavior in a home environment. However, he will need daily mental and physical activity to keep him engaged and exercised. We recommend long-lasting chews, food puzzles, and hide-and-seek games, in additional to physical exercise, to positively direct his energy and enthusiasm.

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 fearful behavior we recommend an adult only home. No Dog Parks: Due to on leash reactivity we recommend no trips to the dog park. Place with a NH Partner: Tarmack has recently been struggling with a decreasing threshold for arousal. Noted to lunge impulsively grabbing hold of a person's clothing in one instance. We reccomend placement with an experienced New Hope Partner that can carefully manage his arousal and potential triggers.

Potential challenges: : Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,On-leash reactivity/barrier frustration,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Fearful Defensive: During intake Tarmack was observed to growl and lunge towards people. During his assessment Tarmarack was observed to have a tense body, whale eye and lip licking. It is important to move slowly with Tarmack, 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: Tarmack has been observed to pull hard towards other dogs in the kennel room and while on the street. This behavior is not able to be easily redirected. Tarmack will need positive reinforcement, reward based training to teach them to look at you rather than other dogs. We recommend a front clip harness to help manage this behavior. Please see handout on On Leash Reactivity and Barrier Frustration. Low-Threshold for Arousal: Tarmack has recently been reported to be struggling with staying calm when being taken for walks. Recently he was reported to lunge and bite a person's clothing when exiting the kennel room. Tarmack should be rewarded when staying calm, all 4 paws on the ground. If Tarmack begins to jump or become mouthy, people should walk away from Tarmack. Please see hand-out on arousal.