Flipper

Porter (yes, I finally decided) had a big day yesterday. Homecoming is always stressful and exhausting for a pup and then add a crazy terrier and hyper 4.5 year old into the mix and it makes for a rough day.

Indi tried a few more times to play with Porter and he started warming up a bit, until he flopped over and knocked his head on the wood floors.

Last night was rough. He was hesitant to go up the stairs, even the set of two leading from the living room to entryway, so I carried him up to bed. This was his first venture upstairs which was no smart on my part. He had also been sleeping on and off for an hour or so already, but did I take him outside to tire him out? Nope. I was hoping he was still tired and would just go right back to bed. But with the new location and new crate, Porter wasn't having any of it.

I have the crate elevated next to the bed so his face is right next to mine and I can easily stick my fingers through the bars. None of this helped. He made such a racket that Indi started whining and howling out of sympathy. He carried on for 30-45 minutes and then settled down. Maybe an hour later or so woke up again, so we went out to potty and came back. He fussed for 30 minutes. This repeats itself every 30-60 minutes. Each time he settled down sooner, but he didn't sleep long in between. At one point his paws were wet so he either peed or vomited water. Around 4:30 I heard him vomit (all water), so we got up for good and had breakfast. His stomach might not be used to how fast raw meat digest compared to kibble and I bet his fussing upset his stomach even more.

After breakfast and a few minutes of play he settled down and took a nap.  I tried napping on the couch but slept too lightly since I was afraid he'd getup and get into trouble.


When princess Indi got out of bed closer to 6:30 she wanted nothing to do with him. I guess she wasn't awake yet.

At 9am we set ourselves up out front. I put an ex-pen in the grass and used my puppy cool shade over half of it. QM's friend arrived with her sister and toddler brother. They all were great and gentle with Porter who was mostly interested in eating their chalk. Surprisingly he settled down in the ex-pen really well even when I walked away. After maybe 20 minutes he passed out just before another friend and little brother arrived and Porter was gone to the world the rest of the morning. Nothing was waking him up.

Black dogs are so hard to photograph so I brought in a pro.

Take by Jen Bentley

When everyone packed it up around 11:30 we brought Porter inside for lunch. He has a hard time chewing through the skin and grunts and whines. If I hold the chicken down with a fork he can yank and rip it off and is a very happy pup.

I thought he'd be up and ready to go but he's passed out yet again. This time I was smart and moved him into the crate so he gets used to being closed inside. He's barely conscious of it, but it's a start.

So it seems he's like a newborn and has his days and nights flipped.  Tonight I work on keeping him from napping too late. With Indi we had to tickle her toes to keep her up. I'll also try to run him around right before bedtime and see if that helps tire him out.

Hopefully he'll be awake when the next friend comes over after lunch.

All the kids were great today. They were so gentle with him and (when he was awake) he didn't seem nervous or hesitant at all. Given his breed it's more likely he's going to love people, but I just want to be sure. As he grows I'll have to channel that love into a calm behavior so he's not leaping and knocking kids down.