Well, he's back! We're disheartened that Thor's home placement didn't work out, but the experience taught us even more about him and what kind of family he needs. If we had to pick one word that would sum up Thor's perfect forever home, it would be structured: a place with clear boundaries and patient people who are able to enforce said boundaries through calm and effective leadership. Thor's a big fella who has bounced between five homes within a year, which has led to a lack of confidence and a level of uncertainty that fills him with abundant nervous energy. He needs his next family to be the last stop.  Thor was returned to VGSR for jumping, mouthiness, chasing running objects, territorial behavior, and growling at a child. We used the information provided by the family as well as what we already knew about him and Shepherds in general to give you the summary below.  With his nerves, Thor is in a constant state of motion, following whomever his people are at the time and trying to go everywhere with them. He has no sense of personal space, so couch or bedtime snuggles are a must, and he certainly isn't graceful about getting into the love-and-pet-me position. He often just flops down on top of us or burrows his giant head into our laps or through our arms. He's heavy and has no idea how big he is, so these displays of affection may just knock your breath away. We attribute his jumping and mouthiness to poor social skills and again, nervous energy. Neither behavior is appropriate from any dog, but Thor's size makes them even more uncomfortable and hazardous. He's left some scratches and bruises, but he's not being the least bit aggressive.   As far as chasing things that are running, we know very few Shepherds that haven't at least tried this one. As a herding breed, this behavior is instinctual, and he just needs a good, firm correction to put the movement in check and an active outlet to ensure he doesn't have reserves of pent up energy. It is worthwhile to note that we didn't have this problem with Thor when we fostered him the first time, and we haven't seen it since we've had him this go around, which means it may have just been a difference in activity levels between homes. We are an active household, taking Thor jogging and hiking. When we aren't out and about, he puts a lot of effort into wrestling with our other GSD.   Thor has displayed some protective tendencies as well, both with people and territory. With the lack of a stable home for any great amount of time, he's needy, and he develops quick and strong attachments. Most of his reactions are barking. Someone walks by the fence, he runs up to it barking. Someone walks up to the front door, he runs up to it barking. The first time we fostered him, we had a situation where a family member entered our home without us present, and Thor refused to let the person advance past the kitchen. Territorial actions like barking in a home or a yard are common for Shepherds (and many other breeds for that matter), but I do believe the perceived need for protection will decrease in a home with a leader that Thor trusts to take care of matters. I'm sure some of this behavior is rooted in a lack of self-confidence as well. One other instance that comes to mind is when I had Thor with me in my office. A coworker abruptly entered without knocking, and Thor tried to jump on him. I know the sudden entry startled him, but he didn't bark or growl, and it all happened quickly enough where I was unable to determine if Thor was just surprised or being protective. I gave him a swift correction, and he stopped mid-jump and came back to stand at my side.  The straw that broke the camel's back in Thor's last home was when he growled at a toddler. It's always hard to break down these situations when you weren't there to see what exactly happened. Under no circumstances should a dog respond to a child this way, so we plan to spend a great deal of time carefully socializing him more with little people. However, the information we gathered was that the 3-year-old was running towards Thor's owner, so it may have been a level of protectiveness or a triggered prey/herding drive. Thor was also being physically restrained by the owner after the growl, which in my experience sometimes leads a dog to a more heightened state of arousal as they perceive that their person is also concerned about the approaching "threat." When we first fostered Thor, we told people he should go to a home without children due to his size and inability to put on the brakes. But he interacted with many kids at adoption events, and he did great with all of them. However, these youngsters were just standing around and petting him, and we were in a public setting. We have not been in a situation with him in our home where toddlers have been running.  If you're still reading at this point, good for you! I wrote an honest novel intended to frighten people away. Thor needs a family with the resources and gumption to stick with him through these issues while giving him the stability and longevity of the home he deserves. He's sweet, eager to please, and sooooooo cute. He gets along with dogs and dog-savvy cats (if they run, he'll chase them). He's a little awkward with other furry creatures at times, and we always joke that our GSD is teaching him how to dog. He gets excited to see other pups, but when they try to play, he seems at a total loss on what to do about it. Never have we ever had a problem with dogs or people while we are out with Thor, which means that most of his training needs are at home. He loves fetch and playing with toys, and he's the king of the head tilt. We will be working with Thor to get him closer and closer to the calm, confident dog we know he can be, but he needs an adoptive family that will pick up where we leave off and care for him for nothing short of forever.   _______________________________________________________________________ Update 6/13: Our sister stopped by with her kids (3-6 years of age), and the boys started running like crazies as little boys are prone to do. :) Thor immediately started barking at them; however, we gave him a quick correction, and he stopped just as fast as he started. We had no further issues while the kids were over, even when the one hit our big ole foster fella in the face. He just sat with the adults, let everyone pet him, and watched the boys bounce around until they left a while later. There was no aggression, further barking, or any sort of growling.