LEON aka DWIGHT –  12912

LEON aka DWIGHT –  12912

**RETURNED 1/23/18**

9 months Old, Brown/Tan/ White Mix, Male, 35 lbs, Owner Surrender 1/23/18

DVM Intake Exam; Estimated age: 9 months; Microchip noted on Intake? scan positive; Microchip Number (If Applicable): 981020025048375; History : owner return; Subjective: Observed Behavior – friendly; Objective ; BCS 5/9; EENT: Eyes clear, ears clean, no nasal or ocular discharge noted; Oral Exam: clean adult teeth; PLN: No enlargements noted; H/L: NSR, NMA, CRT < 2, Lungs clear, eupneic; ABD: Non painful, no masses palpated; U/G: MN, tattoo seen; MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, healthy hair coat; CNS: Mentation appropriate – no signs of neurologic abnormalities; Assessment; appears healthy; Plan: Prognosis: good

A Little Bit About Me…

A staff member writes:  Leon was surrendered 2x to ACC. Originally, he came to us as a stray. He was then adopted and returned because he pulled hard on the leash and the owner had a recent back injury. The second return was due to Leon biting the owner as he tried to get a piece of garbage out of his mouth.  Leon is the sweetest pup who has been in and out of the shelter too many times. He would do best with an experienced owner in an adult only home.
Leon is very calm when he is relaxed, but can quickly escalate his puppy energy into rough play.  Our behavior team has been working with him during his stay at SIACC, and has seen improvements in his behavior each day- (just scroll down for his enrichment notes!)  Will you help Leon find his forever home today?

Let’s get to know each other a bit more…

Basic Information:  Leon is a 9 month old neutered male that has no previous or current medical issues that the owner is aware of. Owner had Leon for 3 weeks but had to surrender due to animal being too high energy for the owner.
Previously lived with:  2 Adults
How is this dog around strangers?  Around strangers, Leon is playful and outgoing. He loves jumping on whoever passed his by and giving kisses.
How is this dog around children?  Owner did not have any children in the home but did have a 5 year old grandchild and stated that Leon was an exuberant player around the child.
How is this dog around other dogs?  Owner did not have any dogs in the home but when taken on walks outside, Leon would try to run away from other dogs.
How is this dog around cats?  Owner did not have any cats in the home so behavior is unknown
Resource guarding:  Leon is not bothered when someone takes away his food, treats or toys. Owner stated that when walking Leon outside, he likes to pick up garbage and try to eat it and when someone tries to take it away from his mouth, Leon will growl and snap.
Bite history:  Leon does have a bite history and has bit 2 people 3 weeks ago.
Housetrained:  Yes
Energy level/descriptors:  High
Other Notes:  Leon is not bothered when someone pushes him off furniture, being held/restrained, being disturbed while sleeping, being given a bath, having his coat brushed, having his feet touched or when unfamiliar people approach the home, yard or owner. Owner stated that Leon is very playful but becomes over-stimulated very easily and will start nipping and jumping continuously on the owner. The owner stated that he would need to scruff the animal and lay him down on the floor for the animal to relax as Leon would being to nip harder almost breaking skin.
Medical Notes  No reported medical concerns.

For a New Family to Know:
Leon is described as friendly, affectionate, playful, pushy and excitable. He has a high activity level and likes to play with all types of toys. In the home, Leon loves to be around whoever was home and would follow them around from room to room. he was fed both wet and dry food brand Taste of the Wild, grain free food. Owner reported that when not on grain free food, Leon has dandruff and becomes itchy. Owner stated that Leon is house trained and only had 1 accidents when the animal first arrived to the home. Leon has never been left alone in the home or yard so behavior is unknown. Owner has never tried to crate train Leon so behavior is unknown. Leon knows the cues sit, come, down and paw. For exercise, Leon was taken on brisk walks on the leash and the owner would go running with Leon. When on the leash, he is excited and starts to pull at first but after a few minutes, he pulls lightly on the leash. Owner has never tried to walk him off leash so behavior is unknown.

Behavior Notes:

Behavior during intake: Leon has a soft and wiggly body during intake. He was jumping on the counselor giving kisses during intake. Counselor was able to scan for a microchip and collar without any issues.

Details on my behavior are…

Date of intake:  23-Jan-2018
Spay/Neuter status:  Yes
Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):  Return adoption (in previous home for three weeks)
Previously lived with:  2 adults
Behavior toward strangers:  Playful, outgoing, jumps up affectionately at strangers
Behavior toward children:  Played exuberantly with visiting 5 year old grandchild
Behavior toward dogs:  Leon avoided dogs he saw on walks.
Behavior toward cats:  Unknown

Resource guarding:  On two separate occasions, Leon growled and bitten when owner attempted to take garbage out of his mouth that he picked up while on a walk.

Bite history:  On two separate occasions, Leon growled, snapped, and bit owner while on a walk and owner attempted to take garbage out of Leon’s mouth that he had picked up. The bite broken skin, Leon released and was soft and wiggly afterward. Both bites were on the person’s finger.

Housetrained:  Yes
Energy level/descriptors:  Leon is described as friendly, affectionate, playful, pushy and excitable with a high energy level.

Other Notes:  Owner reports Leon will play exuberantly and not settle down, including mouthing that may get harder as the rough play continues, turning into nipping. This was also seen in the care center when Leon was playing with a dog in the yard, he may nip the other dog’s ears and legs in an attempt to solicit play.
Leon was previously in our care November 2017 and arrived as a stray.

Date of assessment:  25-Jan-2018

Look:  1. Dog’s eyes are averted, ears are back, tail is down, relaxed body posture. Dog allows head to be held loosely in Assessor’s cupped hands.
Sensitivity:  1. Dog stands still and accepts the touch, eyes are averted, and tail is in neutral position with a relaxed body posture. Dog’s mouth is likely closed for at least a portion of the assessment item.
Tag:  1. Dog assumes play position and joins the game. Or dog indicates play with huffing, soft ‘popping’ of the body, etc. Dog might jump on Assessor once play begins.
Paw squeeze 1:  1. Dog does not respond at all for three seconds. Eyes are averted and ears are relaxed or back.
Paw squeeze 2:  1. Dog does not respond at all for three seconds. Eyes are averted and ears are relaxed or back.
Toy:  1. Minimal interest in toy, dog may smell or lick, then turns away.

Summary:  Leon displayed no behavior concerns during his handling assessment.

Summary (1):  Initially Leon (fka Dwight) was surrender as a stray so his past behavior with other dogs is unknown. However his recent adopter reported that he is exuberant around other dogs.
11/18: When off leash at the Care center, Leon Dwight initially is nervous but once comfortable he displays a high energy, wiggly and bouncy body. He solicited play with paw slaps, and chase while bumping into the other dog’s body. Dwight does not read the other dog’s body language well, he needs to be slowed down and encouraged to take breaks in play by the handlers.
11/19- 11/20: Dwight solicits and engages in sloppy, rowdy play with both male and female dogs. On several occasions he become over-aroused, jumping onto their backs and grumbling. He is easily slowed down.
12/30: Leon engages in rough, rowdy, mouth chase play. He takes breaks regularly but does not listen when the other dog corrects (sharp bark) him for nipping her legs.

Summary (2):  1/25/2018: Leon will solicit play by vocalizing, play bows, mouthing ears and legs. He bounces and pops to encourage play from a rowdy female.
Leon remained soft but jumped out of range of a chasing male who attempted to mount during play. He did not offer corrections but would sit down or climb onto a higher position that the other dog had difficulty reaching.

Date of intake:  23-Jan-2018
Summary:  Leon was soft, wiggly and exuberant during intake, he allowed all handling.
Date of initial:  23-Jan-2018
Summary:  During his initial medical exam, Leon was social and allowed all handling.

ENERGY LEVEL:  His owner reports Leon as having a high activity level. In the care center, Leon has been calm and polite, only becoming enthusiastic if a toy is presented overhead or during playgroup. He does best with calm play that does not encourage over escalating.

IN SHELTER OBSERVATIONS:  Leon has been receiving Behavior Modification training while in the care center. He has taken treats gently, and sits politely on cue. At times he may become focused on holding a toy in his mouth, but always remains soft bodied..he may lean into handler, and eventually does trade up. His adopters should continue trading items and quick-bite treats and rewarding this with praise. Items should never abruptly be taken directly out of Leon’s mouth.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:  ADULT ONLY HOME

Recommendations:  No children (under 13)

Recommendations comments:  Due to Leon’s bite history, we recommend an adult only home. He has shown restraint in the care center and has not demonstrated any warnings, but when highly aroused, owner reports Leon has shown a willingness to mouth/nip which continues and gets more intense.

Potential challenges:  Resource guarding, Mouthiness/poor bite inhibition

Potential challenges comments:

Mouthiness: Owner reports Leon has shown some mouthiness during rough exuberant play. He will continue to intensify and this can escalate into nipping.
This is a behavior that should be extinguished through training alternate behaviors and lack of reward (ex. walking away whenever Leon’s teeth make contact with skin). We recommend calm play, such as lightly rolling a ball, not offering a toy if he jumps up for it until he sits politely, etc. Leon has been receptive to this type of enrichment that we have been offering him at the care center. He should never be forced to submit as more aversive techniques may make the challenges worse and may lessen the human-animal bond. Positive, force-free, reward based training only is recommended.
Resource Guarding: On two separate walks, Leon was walking on leash and picked up trash from the street in his mouth. When owner attempted to take it away, he growled and bit, breaking skin. Items should never be taken directly out of Leon’s mouth. Leon should continue working on the cue ‘drop’ and trade up games by continuing with his behavior modification training.

ENRICHMENT:

1/26/18:
Day 4 a.m. session: Leon was very distracted in the lobby. Toys were removed to focus on quick bite treats. He did not show much interest in cheese and was hard to keep his attention. Leon was focused on gloves that were on the ledge, and when the session was over he ran over and grabbed them in his mouth, starting to shred them. He let go with some coaxing and a trade up for a treat.
During session, when focused, he sat nicely, waiting for a release cue, gave paw, and took treats gently. A can of trash was spilled and he did not pay any attention to it.

p.s. session – Leon sat nicely for pieces of cheese, gave paw, and waited while cheese was placed on the ground for a release cue. He needed to be reset twice before he stayed focused until cued to release. He was soft and polite, nibbled the cheese lightly and did not make any contact with handler’s fingers. After session, Leon had a burst of energy (zoomies), ran around the room enthusiastically, soft and playful. He stopped on his own and leaned into people sitting in the lobby for petting.

1/25/18:
a.m. session – Leon traded up toys with an empty garbage can nearby, as his challenges involved trash. He ignored the can completely, took treats gently, continued to be enthusiastic about one toy (the favorite toy has changed since last session), he will drop and trade but takes more coaxing. Leon sat and gave paw, at times jumping up enthusiastically, mostly calm and engaged.

p.s. session – some various neutral trash was placed in a knocked over garbage can (crumpled papers, cardboard). Leon sniffed to investigate but was easily distracted away with treats and toys. He sat and waited for a release cue to retrieve a toy, sometimes impatiently taking a few steps toward toy, but was asked again to sit and wait. He completed the wait and enthusiastically engaged with toy, at times shredding at it, but would still trade up for treats and other toys. Leon remained soft throughout, would jump up exuberantly at times, but would sit back down and wait when asked. He did not attempt to bring any toys back to kennel with him.

Leon will solicit play by vocalizing, play bows, mouthing ears and legs. He bounces and pops to encourage play from a rowdy female.

Leon remained soft but jumped out of range of a chasing male who attempted to mount during play. He did not offer corrections but would sit down or climb onto a higher position that the other dog had difficulty reaching.

1/24/18:
a.m. session – in the lobby, Leon dropped and traded toys and snacks. At times, he was reluctant to drop one purple plush, but remained soft. He would drop the plush at times and go back and pick it up, other times he would drop and trade. He leaned into handler, took treats gently. Sometimes he jumped up excitedly for toy, but it was not presented until he sat nicely, which he did. His energy level remained medium.

p.s. session – Same toys and treats were brought into the yard. Leon was a bit more distracted but still successfully traded toys, took treats gently, remained soft. He was praised and petting when he dropped his most favorable purple plush toy.

1/23/18:
Leon was given small quick-bite treats. He sat nicely, at times gave paw…neither prompted. He was calm and took treats gently from handler’s hand. When treats were tossed onto the ground, Leon sniffed the treats but left them to return and check in with handler.

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ADOPTED 01/02/2018

*** RETURNED 12/29/17 ***

Care Center Location: Brooklyn; ZIP Code From: 11231; Intake Date: 12/29/17

Intake Type: Owner Surrender; Medical Behavior: Green; Age: 8 Months

Sex: Neutered; Weight: 35 lbs

Vet Notes: 5:04 PM:  DVM Intake Exam Estimated age: ~8 months Microchip noted on Intake? Yes 981020025048375 History : Return adoption Subjective: BARH
Observed Behavior – Allows all handling, attention seeking, wagging tail, a little tense during vaccinations  Objective: P = WNL R = WNL BCS 5/9 EENT: Eyes clear, ears clean, no nasal discharge noted Oral Exam: Teeth clean, pink mm  PLN: No enlargements noted
H/L: NSR, NMA, CRT < 2, Lungs clear, eupnic. ABD: Non painful, no masses palpated
U/G: Neutered MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, healthy hair coat CNS: mentation appropriate – no signs of neurologic abnormalities Assessment: Apparently healthy. Plan: Continue to monitor while at BACC. Prognosis: Excellent

 

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