Winston

Winston ACCT-A-169551 is a 4-year-old male who animal protection officers brought in as a stray on 7/21. The person that alerted animal protection officers about Winston said "dog tied up in vacant lot at the end of the block. Dog has been there since early this morning with no food or water. Behavior Notes: On 7/29 staff noted: "I took Winston out today to get some cute photos of him and do a dog meet. He greeted me at the kennel door with low wags and soft eyes. He jumped up on the door but, jumped down and waited patiently for leashing. As soon as he was out of the kennel he did a circle of zoomies. We went outside and Winston was going from side to side smelling everything he could. He kept jumping up on me asking for pets and would nudge my hand to ask for more if I stopped. We made out way to the covered yard and Winston would not leave my side once we were in there. I tried to play with him with some toys but he did not care about them, all he wanted was pets. When I stopped petting him, he would look up at me and nudge my hand asking for more. When it was time to head back Winston hesitated at his kennel but with a little leash pressure he went in with no issues. On 7/28 staff noted: "Winston got out for some activity time today! In kennel he came to the door with soft eyes and low wags. He jumped up on the door but got down as soon as I opened it. He tried to push his way out, but I was able to leash him and keep him from escaping. Once out he did a circle of zoomies around me and jumped up on me for a second. We went outside and he happily sniffed around, zooming back and forth. We went to the covered yard and Winston went running right away! He did a lap around the yard and then crashed into my legs, sitting and leaning against me. He allowed some all over pets with soft eyes, and curled himself in closer. I gave him some more love and he began to get a little overwhelmed; eye getting hard and lowering his head. I backed off and he ran up to me again, leaning against my legs. I tried some toys again but Winston was still so scared of them. I did get him to chase a toy by dragging it behind me like a make-shift flirt pole. He chased after me and sniffed at the toy, but never took possession of it. We ran around together and he never mouthed me, but did run into my legs a couple times. After some play I crouched down to pet him again. He would be open to the attention at first, but after ~10 seconds of petting he would start to get a little nervous, and his eyes would harden, he would look away, and his mouth would tighten slightly. He never escalated, and solicited a lot, so I think he's still a little conflicted. He wants to be bouncy and playful, but is just so scared and nervous of the handler's reaction. He was less conflicted than he was before, which is good improvement! When it was time to go back inside Winston walked nicely and gave me no issues returning to kennel. On 7/25 staff noted: "Due to conflicted, fearful behavior making rescue only for now. Will get him back out in the next few days to see if his fear and handleability is improving. On 7/25 during a behavior evaluation: KNOWN HISTORY: Stray - abandoned KENNEL PRESENTATION: Winston greeted me in kennel enthusiastically. He came running to the door when he saw me and hopped up with wide, semi soft eyes and a wagging tail. He got down when I opened the door but was nervous of the leashand did some leash dodging. After a couple tries I was able to leash him ears to snout, and he came running out once secured. LEASH SKILLS: Zig zags all over the place as he walks, pulling moderately. He's skinny so easy to control the pulling, but he zips back and forth across your feet while trying to walk. HANDLING: Winston was all zooms and wiggles when we got outside. We could barely walk he was so full of energy and excitement! He stopped me halfway through our walk by jumping on me and running into my legs, insisting on saying hi. I patted his head gently and he froze for a second and lip licked, so I kept him moving instead. We passed another dog and Winston pulled toward them, but was easy to keep walking. When we got to the yard I offered him some treats, but he wasn't interested in any I had to offer. When I reached out to touch him he cowered, froze, lip licked, gave whale eye, and his eyes hardened. He gave lots of signals telling me that he was very uncomfortable, so I backed off. He immediately got loose again and sniffed around the yard. He enjoying running around the yard and sniffing all the new smells. Winston would come when called and would appear to solicit; approaching with a loose body, soft eyes, and wagging tail, but whenever I reached near him he would freeze up and show all of the signs: whale eyes, hard eyes, lip licks, tense body. I tried to get him to engage in some play with toys but this terrified him. Winston flinched hard and cowered away with lip licks and whale eye when I lifted a toy to show him, like he thought I would hit him or throw it at him. I lowered the toy and tried to show him that it was okay, and he sniffed it for a second and then ran away from the toy. Since treats and toys weren't working for him, I just sat with him for a bit and took handling super super slow. He came in close and looked up with soft eyes, so I went in for a head pet. He did not like when I went for a top of the head/over the head pet, so I scratched under his chin and along his chest at first. He remained neutral with soft eyes, so I moved down to his feet which he allowed, and down his back. He was still very uncomfortable with handling on his back end, where he couldn't monitor my hands, and he would head whip around. After a couple minutes of handling Winston began to get overwhelmed, and I could see him getting more tense and his mouth tensing up, so I backed off again. Winston is a very timid and scared guy, but he wants to show us his playful, goofy side. He will need time and patience to learn how to trust. PLAY: Fearful TOYS: Fearful On 7/22 staff noted: "Unable to check in due to behavior On 7/21 APO noted: "Dog appeared scared at first wouldn't allow anyone near. Videos: Winston goes on a walk and meets Royal Farm! https://youtube.com/shorts/teSNootNnOE?feature=share Winston meets Salvatore: https://youtube.com/shorts/XEk-l6LgUcw?si=lPXKnuTZfPQhwwsb Winston and Royal Farm pt 1 (fence meet, face meet) https://youtube.com/shorts/H62OyxH0H34?feature=share Winston and Royal Farm pt 2 (drop leash)\ https://youtube.com/shorts/PXjHUSRvL_k?feature=share