Loki's biggest issue (and this is what I'm afraid is going to hold him back from finding a good home) and main reason it's not going to work out with us, isn't his energy level. It is a urination issue. He is fully house trained, and will never purposefully use the bathroom in the house, but he does something that we've been told by our vet is called "submissive urination". Sometimes when he is approached, greeted, scolded, or when you reach out to pet him, he will suddenly pee. He started this around 8 months old and hasn't stopped since. We have tried everything we can think of to solve the issue. According to our vet and the internet, this is something he could have grown out of by 2 years old, or something he will never stop doing. Right now, it's looking like it may not be something he stops doing, but I do know from watching him over the years that he doesn't even realize when he's doing it. The vet and the internet have been adamant that he is never to be scolded or punished for doing it, as it's not a super controllable quality and is a natural thing that some dogs do. Apparently wild dogs do it all the time and on purpose to show submissiveness to the pack leader.

We recently hired a dog trainer, who thought that by getting some of his behavior issues out of the way first, any underlying issues like this may be able to be solved next. The best advice we've gotten from our trainer is that German Shepherds are working class dogs and Loki needs a purpose in life (a job). His daily time (about ten minutes a day) on the treadmill and walks are his "job" and that once he realizes he has a purpose outside of just living, his behavior should begin to improve. While he's made progress with his overall behavior, the urination when he is approached hasn't stopped. It's also very inconsistent. We can't seem to find a pattern to what causes him to do it. Sometimes he goes weeks without doing it and then randomly he will start back up again with it for weeks at a time. I don't even know if it's something that would follow him into a new home, or if it's just us, but it's gotten to the point where we can’t even keep him in the house anymore, because wiping pee off us is one thing but having to pour money into replacing furniture and expensive rugs is a completely different thing, and we just can't afford to keep replacing the things he is destroying. I know it's not his fault and he doesn't mean to do it, that's why this is so hard for us. We've thought on this for a year and have finally decided that the best solution at this point is for him to find another home.

As far as Loki's health, he is in great health (although not up to date on shots). He loves running on the treadmill for exercise (a tip from the dog trainer) and he LOVES kids. He is wonderful with my two-year-old. We have another, older, dog that he gets along great with him. I haven't seen him around cats, so not sure how he would react in a home with one. He really is full of love, just needs to find his perfect person. Right now, he is used to being mainly an outside dog that sleeps inside. He definitely needs a fenced in backyard, a treadmill, and someone with time on their hands.