HEIDI AND BOB "RILEY"'s Page

Hi: I haven't been on much, too busy with my aging parents, teen, pre-teen, and animals!. . . .lol, chaos is good, right? Anyway, I was wondering how Riley is making out with your cats. I lost my Ragdoll in July, and now the Maine Coon isn't doing well, either, with a bulging disk in his very long back. I did get a Siberian Forest Cat kitten in October, and boy is he wonderful!! He can/does go head-to-head with Dexter and it's hysterical! Funny watching a 5lb. kitten attack a 55lb. doodle! The kitten always wins. . . . too many places to attack! They also love to sleep together, groom each other, and I've gotten some priceless pictures of them. I hope your kitties are holding their own with Riley and the house is peaceful! JoRose

Thanks for asking about finnegan. His hair is growing back. He's starting to look like our fuzzy finny again. How's Riley doing?? Hope you all are enjoying your summer! take care

Hi Heidi! Darbey is from a kennel here in Ohio. Her and Riley do look a lot a like! It's funny, though, you can look at 5 different pictures of Darbey and swear it was 5 different dogs! Her "bangs" are finally growing out after a bad hair cut. I need to take more pics too! Don't you just love having a doodle!

Reply to doodle grooming comment. I teach my dogs to stand on a box that is 4 inches off the floor. If they learn to stay on a box, then they are better on a table.
Brush your dog on a table, it is better for your back and the dog is better at the groomers.
I start the training with clicker training. The next stage the dogs must stay there without rewards. By 5 months they will stay there unrestrained for 15 minutes. I always make sure I give them permission to get down. If they decide when the exercise is over, they will generalize that.

Hey Heidi - where is Riley when you are trying to brush him. When Maci was a pup I used to try to brush her and I was getting a real work out crawling all over the floor chasing her around. Before I got my grooming table, my breeder suggested putting a bath matt on my kitchen table and then a sheet over that so she was up at my level. Also maybe give him a bully stick or something that he likes to chew on to keep him occupied. Also, be sure to give treats every so often and tell him when he is being a good boy - may it as pleasant an experience as can be and don't keep him up there too long the first couple of times - let him get used to the idea.

Thank you for the compliments :) Be careful it can be addicting.........
Gina

thanks. We've tried the front seat, the back seat with me sitting beside Alice. We've tried the crate and we've tried her favourite treats but she just spits them out. I think she just gets so nauseous that she can't eat. We've been told she'll likely grow out of this. I'm hoping!

Riley is adorable!!! He looks a lot like Finnegan. Finney weighs about 50 lbs now. Riley looks like he might be a little bigger than Finnegan ( or fuzzier it's hard to tell). How much does he weigh? Do you know of any other brothers and sisters around? Thanks for saying hello!

Hi Heidi & Bob. I'm brand new to the website, but saw your comment on the cat problem. I highly recommend that you let them together asap. It's easier when pups are small and unsure of themselves for cats to secure their status in the hierarchy. As dogs grow and become more bold, it becomes much more difficult. We've had our oldest cat for 19 years (a Ragdoll) and he's "trained" two Bernese Mt. Dogs, a Sheltie, a Great Pyrenees over the years, and now a Goldendoodle. He only has about three teeth left his mouth : ) but his warning "meow" and a reminder from us is all it takes for puppies to quickly learn that Mokie is a "no-no." We also have a 12 year old Maine Coon and it's the same thing. The Maine Coon does go outside, so it's even tougher for him as I can't be there to supervise, but he does fine. Believe me, at the end of the day, cats are fully capable of taking care of themselves against a bouncy puppy. Our Goldendoodle, Dexter, is now 8 months. Try letting him in the room with the cats, but play quietly with him, use treats to keep him interested in you, not the cats. The longer you keep them apart, the more of a "forbidden fruit" they will become for him. If he crosses the line, give him a short (no more than a minute) time-out in his crate. These dogs are just so smart it won't take you long to teach him that the cats are a No-No. Good luck! Sorry this is such a long post! JoRose