Sonic came in as an owner surrender on 9/19 along with 4 other dogs due to circumstances out of their owner's control. He's a smaller pup, possibly a pit-chihuahua mix, who weighs 18 pounds. He is an adult but has the face of a puppy. Since arriving at ACCT, he's been having a tough time adjusting to shelter life, having only ever known the comfort of his home. His owner noted that he is crate trained, knows sit, and reacts "ok to strangers, children, cats & dogs and would do best in a home with older people who have patience. During his 9/20 behavior evaluation, Sonic was described as very fearful and needing a slow approach, but he did allow pets and interaction. On 9/23, he was opening up more and clung to a staff member and allowed handling from them. Sonic is a wonderful companion who is just waiting for someone to give him the love he so desires. While it'll take some time for him to be fully comfortable with you, he is willing to trust those who are willing to work with him!
BEHAVIOR:
FOSTER NOTES:
I originally took Sonic out to get some promotion for his timestamp, and he really bonded to me, which he hadn't done with other people at the shelter at that time. He was on my lap before I even attempted to pet him. I had taken him out several times on those two days and never had any issues with it him. When he nipped a staff member and had to be placed under rabies observation, I decided to take him home.
Sonic is overall pretty good but just needs some basic obedience training and to learn how to settle in his crate. On the first day or two, he barked if we walked away from the crate but was quiet when we slept or left the house. It was just when he knew we were there but not right near him. However, he does bark each morning when my one dog wakes up for breakfast, which is pretty early. He has a big bark for such a small dog. We feed him with a frozen slow feeder as mental enrichment, and he enjoys collagen chews and Himalayan chews, which sometimes get him to settle for a bit.
He came out of his shell pretty quickly and will run around getting brief zoomies. Even when I dropped the leash in the yard one I was comfortable with him being loose, he stays close to me. He will sit for his ball and fetch it, but doesn't want to give it back and will run right past me. He quickly goes to the porch after a few tosses to go back inside, but he has been restricted to the crate inside due to my other animals, being on bite quarantine, and having a URI. His symptoms are mild since we started medication at the first sign of him coughing.
He has seen my dogs and cats through the crate and doesn't seem to mind them. He also had good dog meets at the shelter and lived with other dogs in his previous home. Now that he is comfortable, he is more energetic than we are used to (we typically have senior dogs) and he would benefit from a placement that can give him more space, exercise him both physically and mentally, and work on training. He could also do well in a home with a dog playmate, as neither of my dogs is interested in play, and that could help tire him out.
I believe that his bite was understandable, as he was very nervous at the shelter, got out of his kennel, and was then caught by a stranger. He may also have a preference for women over men, as he was avoidant of a male staff member when I had him out that first day, and the person he bit was also a man. He has been fine with both my mom and me, but I have not had him around anyone else since he was in quarantine, so I don't know if he is fearful around all men. He has never attempted to bite me, although he did nip at me through the crate when he was stressed and acting up, which just surprised me and didn't actually hurt. He can be a little mouthy with his puppy behavior. He was on trazodone when I took him home, which we continued for a few days, and we discontinued it once he was settling in.
I know that Sonic could be a really good dog for someone with the time, patience, and experience to exercise and train him.
---
SHELTER BEHAVIOR NOTES:
Per staff 9/25: Level 2 bite, Aca was attending dog in side bank and dog hopped over ran out and while catching him he nipped his finger and broke skin.
Per staff 9/24: Sonic was really dirty, so now that he knows me better, I wanted to clean him up. I tried using a brush to comb out the debris, but it was crusted on too much and sticky. He wanted to sit on my lap and I ended up using pet wipes and thoroughly wiped down his back and the spots on his legs that were dirty. The edges of his ears were also really bad, but he didn't enjoy having me wipe them down and whipped his head a little. He immediately settled again and continued to let me wipe down the rest of his body.
Per staff 9/24: I took Sonic out a few times today as his kennel needed to be spot cleaned. I put a harness on him yesterday and was able to easily put the leash on it. He walked well, no flailing like yesterday. Each time I returned him to kennel, I picked him up and placed him inside. We did a meet with another small dog and he didn't really pay him any attention. I was squatting down to not overwhelm the other dog, and Sonic climbed onto my legs.
Per volunteer 9/23: I was able to leash with no issue using treats, and at first he did pull hard to stay far away from me, but we moved forward. He wanted to hide behind another volunteer that he never met and she had a small dog, so we followed them outside. We walked to the bench and he jumped on it, took the treats nicely, allowed me to pet him, climbed in my lap, even around my neck. An adoption counselor came to meet him and she was able to pet him and he took treats nicely from her. He walked inside nicely, and even allowed me to pick him up to return him to his kennel.
Per staff 9/23: A staff member mentioned that Sonic could possibly due better with a harness, so I found one to put on him. It was Velcro around the neck and under the belly with clips for extra security. He gave me no issues getting it on, but was going between the legs of the chair I was sitting in getting tangled. One of the staff members from earlier gave him treats which he took gently and he seemed to know the 'touch' command. He then was hiding underneath her legs as we went to leave the room. I picked him up and carried him, then placed him in his kennel without issue.
Per staff 9/23: Sonic was relatively easy to leash, a little avoidant but no issues. He walked outside, not pancaking in doorways or through gates. We did a quick fence meet with another dog and he was interested. Once in a yard, he was nervous but explored and grabbed onto my leg with his front paws. I sat on a bench to make myself smaller and he wanted to climb up beside me. I used my foot to help scoop his hind end up because he was struggling to get up on his own. He leaned against me and was under my arm, but I did not attempt to pet him.He did a little lip licking and yawned. Once trying to get him back inside, he got a little upset with the leash pressure and was pulling backwards. We were then able to walk to my office without any issues and I pet his head when he put his paws on my lap. He wanted to climb up on my lap and this time I used my hand to scoop his hind end. He sat on my lap with his head resting on my arm as I worked. He then started to climb up my shoulder. I had unfamiliar people come to the office to see how he was since he really seemed to like me, but was flailing a lot when other people tried to leash him this morning. Two female staff members came to my office while he was on my lap. One was able to pet him from behind, but he was more nervous about their hand going over his head to pet him. I used my hands to help him off my lap and he was curious about them. When leaving the office, he stayed close to the other staff member's feet. We went to the lobby to have him meet some other staff members and he mainly stayed between my legs. A male staff member sat in a chair to try and interact with him and Sonic came back between my legs. Another female staff member sat on the floor and tossed treats and he got closer to her and then laid in her lap. Definitely very treat motivated. She went to get up and he didn't want to move and flailed a little with leash pressure. He was backing up and didn't want to move, but then walked back to kennel without issue. In front of the kennel, he held onto my leg again and did not want to go back, again flailing with leash pressure. He allowed me to pick him up to put him back and then I removed the leash with no issues. Super scared boy who wants to be close to you for comfort.
Per staff 9/22: He was very stressed and weird for his intake. He would come up and almost mount you and try to hide behind you but when you attempt to touch him he goes for your hand. He also does not tolerate any pressure from the leash. He starts to gator roll and thrash as soon as you apply pressure. He had to be wrapped in a blanket and had the cream cheese container put over his snout for him to be checked in. When the chip was attempted to be inserted he thrashed and it went straight thru and because of his behavior was not attempted again. Needs to be chipped when he gets surgery.
Per staff 9/20: I was able to pick up Sonic during his evaluation. He is VERY fearful, so you need to build a relationship with him before trying to lift him. He's VERY food motivated, use treats to win him over! He doesn't walk well on leash (gator rolls and leash bites at any kind of leash pressure), so building a relationship before trying to walk or pick him up is your best bet.
9/20 BEHAVIOR EVALUATION:
KNOWN HISTORY:
Owner surrender - doesn't like to be picked up
KENNEL PRESENTATION:
Sonic was nervous in kennel when I approached. He was curled up in a tight ball and looked up at me with dilated, fearful eyes. He extended his neck to sniff me and the leash, but did not get up. When I opened the floor he retreated back into a corner and gave a lot of whale eye. He was very fearful of the leash and dodged the leash a bit, but once secured he came running out.
LEASH SKILLS:
Sonic does not appear to know how to walk on leash. As soon as he feels any kind of leash pressure he gator rolls, bites the leash, and thrashes around. It took a couple minutes when he initially came out for me to even get him to calm down and stay still. It's been noted by ACAs that he does not like to be picked up, so I waited until he was a little calmer and did a little jog to the office to try and reduce the amount of leash pressure he felt. He did not want to go through the door and pancaked, but came in with leash pressure.
HANDLING:
Sonic was panicked and very stressed when we initially got to the room. He was still terrified of the leash on him, so I dropped it and let him figure it out on his own. He raced around the room for a few minutes, too frantic to focus. I tossed some treats around which helped break him out of his panic. He started to slow down and come closer and closer to me, until he was hiding behind me and leaning against my back. Sonic is VERY fearful, so he needs a low and slow approach. I crouched on the floor and kept offering treats, and slowly he climbed into my lap and allowed some head and body pets. He was a little snatchy with treats, but with an open palm or closed fist he was much gentler. He was a little flinchy at first, but began to lean into the pets quickly. I showed him some toys but he was scared of the loud noises they made. He got spooked by my walkie at one point, when it was very loud as well. Sonic allowed me to get him off of my lap, but I stood up super slow to not scare him. I sat in the chair and he climbed into my lap, trying to jump all the way up. He allowed me to pick him up and help him into my lap without any issue, so it seems like Sonic doesn't like to be picked up by strangers, but once he trusts he will allow you to pick him up. Sonic leaned into my chest hard and tried to climb his way onto my shoulder. He's a little too big to be a shoulder dog, but he just wanted comfort so badly. Sonic allowed all handling once he had time and treats to warm up. I decided to carry him back to kennel at this point, instead of struggling with the leash. He allowed me to carry him back to kennel without an issue, but did try to hold onto me and didn't want to go back. I was able to remove the leash using the clip method, but he did flinch and flail as I removed the leash, so I would recommend using the clip method to return him.
PLAY:
No interest, too fearful
TOYS:
No interest, too fearful
COLOR LEVEL & ANY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Experienced Blue - Rescue Only due to fear
Per staff 9/19: If you try to pick him up he bites. Owner says he has never broken skin before.
---
MEDICAL:
On 9/27, Sonic came down with an upper respiratory infection and was prescribed a course of doxycycline which he will finish on 10/10.
9/22 Intake Exam:
Eyes - slightly red
Ears - appears good not able to fully check due to behavior
Nose - scarring but no discharge
Mouth/Teeth/Gums - wnl
Coat & Skin - soft no visible fleas
Urogenital - intact male w 2
Gait/Mobility - good
Attitude: very scared
VIDEOS:
Meet Sonic: https://youtu.be/m1mXGGpgvdI
https://youtube.com/shorts/E6dyhq34d60?si=BK4-4Zi2I6GEI6sX
https://youtube.com/shorts/QKmPQlQiGJk?si=LzvcUxrGBdfI2-sC
https://youtube.com/shorts/DmP7M6kYA0s?si=kUOv_Q8auEgCLFY9
Sonic and Baby Face Nelson Meet: https://youtu.be/A4Y36rkSxzQ
