Date of Intake: 11/29/2017

Spay/Neuter Status: Unknown

Basic Information:: Abbey is approximately a 2 year old female brown and white large mixed breed dog. Abbey was found a stray around 10:00pm on 11/28/2017 tied up to a gate and finder took her home for the night. Finder surrendered Abbey because she had animals of her own and was not sure if Abbey would get along with them. Abbey has no injuries or health issues and was not taken to a vet recently.

Previously lived with:: Unknown

How is this dog around strangers?: Abbey allowed finder to approach her and pet her. Abbey had her tail tucked between her legs when finder approached her but she allowed finder to untie her and take her home.

How is this dog around children?: Unknown

How is this dog around other dogs?: Finder has 3 female large mixed breed dogs of her own. When Abbey saw them for the first time, she locked her focus on them and was getting ready to run towards them. Afraid of what would happen, the finder grabbed Abbey’s leash and did not let her approach her dogs.

How is this dog around cats?: Finder has 2 cats of her own. When Abbey saw the cats she started to chase after them.

Resource guarding:: Abbey was not bothered when finder moved or touched her food bowl. Finder did not give her any toys or bones and is unaware of how she would react if these were taken away from her.

Bite history:: Abbey did not try to bite finder or her animals.

Housetrained:: Unknown

Energy level/descriptors:: Unknown

Other Notes:: Unknown

Has this dog ever had any medical issues?: No

Medical Notes: Abbey has no known medical issues

For a New Family to Know: Unknown

Date of intake:: 11/29/2017

Spay/Neuter status:: No

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray (Information from finder)

Behavior toward dogs:: Attempted to chase the finder’s dogs

Behavior toward cats:: Attempted to chase the finder’s cats

Bite history:: Yes, upon intake Abbey got off of the leash and appeared social with some employees. One employee attempted to leash her and she began growling and lunging at him, biting him on the behind but not breaking skin.

Date of assessment:: 12/3/2017

Look:: 1. Dog’s eyes are averted, with tail wagging and ears back. Allows head to be held loosely in Assessor’s cupped hands.

Sensitivity:: 1. Dog leans into the Assessor, eyes soft or squinty, soft and loose body, open mouth.

Tag:: 3. Dog responds with tail high, ears forward, mouth likely closed for at least half of the assessment item, body stiff and body checks the Assessor. Dog is often focused on other stimuli in the room.

Toy:: 1. Dog settles close, keeps a firm grip and is loose and wiggly. Dog does not place his/her body between you and the toy.

Summary:: Abbey appears social when in the assessment room room and approached the assessor. During tag, she began jumping up into the assessor’s face and body checking the assessor. For this reason, the rest of the handling portion of the assessment was omitted.

Summary:: Abbey’s history around other dogs is unknown due to arriving as a stray. Abbey has not displayed social behavior toward other dogs and has been observed to growl, bark and display distance increasing behavior. The behavior department recommends allowing Abbey time to decompress outside the shelter environment before immediate introductions to unfamiliar dogs. Future follow up on Abbey’s behavior around dogs should be supervised closely and conducted at a slow pace to well socialized, respectful dogs.

Summary (1):: 11/30: When introduced off leash to the male greeter dog, Abbey is fearful and keeps distance. Abbey follows and hard barks at am ale handler in the pen.

Summary (2):: 12/2: At the gate Abbey appears highly aroused and is growling and barking at the male dog. An off leash interaction is not carried out today.

Date of intake:: 11/29/2017

Summary:: Abbey was grabbing the leash in her mouth and growling.

Date of initial:: 11/29/2017

Summary:: Abbey had a low body and nipped the driver while leashing her.

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

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: NEW HOPE ONLY

Behavior Asilomar: TM – Treatable-Manageable

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

Recommendations comments:: No children: Due to Abbey’s bite history,. as well as her low threshold for arousal, we recommend an adult only home. Place with a New Hope partner: Due to Abbey’s bite history and low threshold for arousal, we recommend placement 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: : Fearful/potential for defensive aggression,Low threshold for arousal

Potential challenges comments:: Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: Abbey has bitten a staff member at the care center when fearful, but did not break skin. 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 Abbey to new and unfamiliar situations. Low threshold for arousal: Abbey has a low threshold for arousal and becomes quickly aroused, jumping up and body checking people. Positive reinforcement, force-free training should be used to teach Abbey to remain calm when people and other exciting things are around. She should be rewarded with treats when calm. If she escalates to jumping, people should immediately walk away from and separate themselves from Abbey.