As far as we can tell, Riley is a cattle dog/Australian shepherd mix. We adopted him from a couple on craigslist in early 2024, at which time he was about 4-5 years old. That couple had gotten him from a shelter, before which time they were told he was found wandering in the woods. They discovered after adopting him that he was too active for their lifestyle. Riley fit in well in our family. He is smart, affectionate, loyal, and eager to please.

 

He loves to be active outdoors, especially hiking and running, and needs a minimum of 1 hour of physical activity per day. However, he is generally calm indoors, and even came with me to work frequently and was a very polite addition to the office (I am a mental health therapist.) Riley is quick to learn and is constantly assessing to see what your expectations are so he can meet them. If you put food in front of him and tell him to wait, you can come back to the room in 5 minutes and find that he has not moved.

 

Riley is completely housetrained. He is not destructive and has never torn up any of our belongings. We do crate him when we leave him alone in the house because otherwise he finds the trashcan very tempting; he seems to not mind going in the crate.

 

Important: Riley does not like other dogs! He will lunge and snap at them if they get close to him. He did well with the two cats we already had when we adopted him, but struggled to get used to the kitten we adopted a year later. (We think it was either because she was not part of his "herd" or because he was jealous of the attention we gave her.) He would probably do well in a home with cats, but not with dogs.

 

Riley has gotten along fine with our daughter, who was 11 when we adopted him, and with other children he has met while on walks. Riley barks when people approach the house, but calms down once he sniffs them.

 

We are reluctantly rehoming Riley despite his near-perfection because he has still not gotten used to our baby, who was born in early summer 2025. Riley is visibly anxious around the baby. He has not snapped at her, but he has growled. As with the kitten, we think he is jealous.

 

We think he would be happier, and we would be less worried, if he were in a home that did not include her. The ideal home for Riley would be an active person or couple or family who will appreciate his energy and affectionate nature. We are not asking a rehoming fee; we just want him to be in a home that is a good fit. We can help transport Riley to his new home.

​

Email euribe94@yahoo.com