Miley in the Mountains

This is our first post since adopting Miley (Go The ExtraMile) one week ago.  We took her on her first "road trip" to our place in the mountains outside of Murphy, NC.  She was a perfect travel partner and slept most of the way going and coming.  Check out the attached picture of how stressed she was in front of the fireplace.  Life is tough.

We also had our first snow of the season and Miley had to check it out.  The coat she is wearing was given to us by Laura, one of the many awesome people at SEGA.

Missing Miley

We had to go out of town briefly so Miley is temporarily staying with another foster family. Am told she is doing well with the children and other dogs in the household, all Greyhounds. After an evening of interest in the resident cat, Miley has learned that this is indeed the same sort of animal she lived with here & learning to ignore this cat also.

After years of introducing fosters of many breeds to my cats I can tell you that some dogs though considered cat tolerant need careful introduction to every new cat they meet. Caution is always advised but usually if a dog can live peacefully with a couple cats then things should go OK with new cats after an initial introduction period. (Your mileage may vary based on behavior of the individual cats involved.) Now I cannot tell you how to get a cat who has never met or is very scared of dogs to accept a new dog. Our cats all came with some dog sense.

We miss you, Miley. Have fun on your vacation.

True Confessions, part 2

Miley is a hoarder.

Like some other Greyhounds, Miley likes to collect things. So far it has only been toys meant for the dogs. Her forever home will need to keep an eye out to make sure she doesn't start collecting things she shouldn't.

True Confessions, part 1

Miley has a drinking problem.

Hey, nobody's perfect. Her forever family may

need an attractive bucket to prevent puddles.

Visiting the old homeplace

After SEGA's first 5K race Saturday we went home to get cleaned up. Once again, Miley had been a good girl when given freedom in the house. I should point out that with just one week of home life under her collar we do muzzle her when we leave. This is for her own protection & an added precaution for the safety of our cats. Remember that racing Greyhounds have not experienced all the things most dogs consider normal in a home. Plus Greyhounds, especially Miley, are intensely curious about new things. They are used to being muzzled when turned out or racing. Muzzles have been a normal part of their lives for years. Whenever we are around she is unmuzzled. Also, will add the we checked the webcam several times and Miley seemed to alternate between looking out of windows & resting peacefully in the xpen. Miley loves the xpen & uses it as her own personal bedroom. Sometimes she chooses the crate instead but more often it is the xpen.

My parents' house is hardly an "old" homeplace but it is where we gather when out of town family members come to visit. With family in town for the 5K we decided to head down there for the evening. So we loaded the dogs, all 4 of them, into the back of the Focus 5 door. That's a lot of canine in a hatchback but everyone did quite well. Miley barked at the puppy several times when she was invading too much of Miley's personal space. This was appropriate & the puppy took the hint & started minding her manners better.

Miley was a big hit with my family. Everyone thought she was wonderful. Miley spent a lot of time exploring. She just has to check everything out.

"Scooch over a bit. I need to get to the laptop to update my blog."

Guess they're not football fans.

Miley, it's rude to point out someone's bald spot.

Mom's kitchen is off limits to dogs. We use their ability to grasp this concept as a measure of the dogs character. Miley caught on extremely quick.

"OK, no kitchen. Just bring the treats over here."

"Maybe I'll just check out the dining room instead."

She really is a smart cookie. She got to meet my parents' medium sized, long haired mutt, Blossom. True to form, Miley acted like Blossom was one of the gang. Intros were unremarkable and everyone was hanging out comfortably in no time at all.

It was yet another successful new experience. Some Greyhounds have strange names that make no real sense to me. This little girl lucked into a name that suits her beautifully. Go The Extramile is a perfect fit.

Home Alone

Miley sure shines as a great house dog. She has only been living in a home for a week. Each day she earns more privileges and each time she shows that our trust in her was well placed. Today was the Inaugural Athletes Helping Athletes 5K Race. We were delivering items for the setup very early this morning. We brought two Greyhounds with us but had to leave two at home. Miley and the puppy had to stay home alone. We decided to see if Miley could once again go the extra mile when left uncrated with basically free access to the first floor of our home for more than just the brief time she has been left previously.

We were gone for just over 8 hours. When we returned I entered a house that was in complete disarray, which is to say everything was exactly how we left it. Not a thing had been moved. There were no accidents. Miley was great. I am really impressed with this hound.

A+

Well, Miley passed tonight's cat test with flying colors. This was not just a test but real life. Our "interesting" cat has been hanging out downstairs all evening. Miley has only shown passing interest in her & immediately turned away when I called her. Just a few minutes ago the cat was running, spinning & chasing something imaginary across the floor. Miley gave her a quick look & then went back to ignoring the kitty. Apparently this little girl has been cramming for final exams. There is never any guaranty on these things but it looks like she will likely be getting an A+ in Cats 101.

What's in a name?

G reat with other dogs
O h so sweet

T ail that wags all the time
H as a beautiful smile
E ven tempered

E xtremely gentle
X enophobic? Absolutely not!
T akes an inch but gives a mile
R eally wonderful on leash
A lways happy to meet new people
M akes friends easily
I nterested in this wonderful new world
L oves to be with you
E asy to live with and fall in love with

Dogs love trucks?

Toyota says dogs love trucks. I've had dogs that love trucks but the Greyhounds all seem uncertain about it the first few times. Miley was no exception. Likely this is because I have a little standard cab and there just isn't much room for them on the seat. (Surely it couldn't be my driving.) Poor Miley, bless her heart, just could not figure out how she was supposed to ride in this new "crate". In the end she spent most of our short ride to the feed store standing up, back feet on the floor, front feet on the seat & nose out the sliding rear window. That is after I convinced her that standing in my lap was not going to give me enough visibility to drive safely. Her chosen stance, while not terribly stable, was an improvement over my other Grey, Venus, who likes to lay on the seat with her front legs hanging off, wrapped around the stick shift, nose sniffing the air from the center vents.

At our destination, Miley stepped out using the door frame as a step. Looked quite comfortable & graceful doing so. The stairs into the feed store were a bit different. After a brief inspection, with a bit of encouragement she ascended with realative ease. "Way to go, Miley! What a good girl." Repeated process on the way out. This time she jumped the last two steps. This is normal for my other Greys. We had to go back in so I let her take the ramp.

"What's in the bags? That doesn't smell like dog food."

She seemed fascinated by the trailer of hay. Likely wondering what in the world that guy was doing with those big blocks.

"I like it here. Do I have to get back in the big crate?"

In spite of her initial hesitation about getting back in the truck, she rode home fairly calmly her tail doing slow helicopter twirls. Again she did the ride with back feet on the floor & nose out the back window but her balance was much better.

When we got home she got to try another set of steps. She gave them an inspection but hesitated a little longer than usual before tackling this latest obstacle. I wanted her up the stairs because I had already seen that one of our hooved stock had gone free range. Once she realized what was coming up behind her, Miley made it up the stairs in record time.

"Glad I could help. Now gimme the goods in the truck."

It's a whole new world!

Saturday after Greyfest I rode home with new people called Fosters. Apparently I am now their foster dog, but they don’t call me foster. They call me Miley. They say I am beautiful & a very good dog. I get to explore the house when people are there to supervise me. I put my nose in a lot of things because I have never seen stuff like this.Things called cats live here. One of them is lazy & boring but the other one runs around and plays. She’s really interesting but I’ve learned if I get too nosy she will swat my nose. I am learning to ignore her. There are other things called windows that I like to look out of. There’s a room with something that looks like a window but is called a mirror. I saw another beautiful hound there looking back at me. She seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see her. When the foster people aren’t around I sleep quietly in my crate.

We go out in the yard a lot. I like to do that so I had to learn how to use the stairs and the ramp. The stairs take work & practice but they aren’t scary. I am getting better at them. The ramp is fun because we can run up and down it. Sometimes I stop part way and look to see how far up I am.

The people seem happy that I am good with the puppy.

I am fine now with the funny looking neighbors, but I barked the first time I saw them to tell them to stay on their side of the fence.

Yesterday a group of people came over from something called a “college reunion”. We all hung out in the living room. The other dogs just napped but I made the rounds to all the humans so I could get lots of pats. The interesting cat sat under a lady’s chair & I learned not to stick my nose under there. Everyone seemed to enjoy getting together & laughed a lot. It reminded me of Greyfest. The lady with the cat under her chair talked about having “battle scars” from owning cats for so many years. I don’t understand that. I know my manners and would never give anyone scars. I really need to stay away from those cats.

I love to flash my pretty smile and I wag my tail a lot because life is so exciting. Am told I will have a forever home soon. I don’t know what that is but I hope it includes a lot of toys & special people who love me. A girl could get used to that.

Extra Mile goes to Greyfest

We gave Extra Mile a ride to the festival on Sat. She had a GREYT day and was an awesome guest!

She rode very well in our car for the hour and half ride down. She was very polite to all the dogs and people. She socialized very well with everyone, and was so excited to meet new people and dogs alike. She got lots of attention, since she is a BEAUTIFUL girl. She fit right in with our group, and was "one of the gang" before long. She was very easy to handle all day long.

Look how well she fit in with her new friends...she's in the middle of Jack and Whitney!

Heather, kennel walker

This girl is one of the cutest most "ready for action" dogs I've ever been around. She is sooo happy and helicopter wags her tail all the time. She is great on a leash, never pulls and is so enthusiastic about everything. She loves to be petted and would make a nice addition in my house. Somebody come get this adorable girl before she becomes number 6. Eda