But how do you *feel* about whining?

Porter went to school with me today. Process of Interpersonal Psychotherapy. It seems Porter will be a "therapy" dog if he's not a guide dog! ;-)

It was quite an adventure, let me tell y'all! He is now totally zonked out in his ex-pen, and I don't think I'll be able to wake him for a while!

There was a bit of whining and 'whistling' (his ultra-high pitched whine) and some *serious* shoelace chewage. But overall he slept or just lay at my feet. Hooray!

A Grand Day Out!

Porter here, re-portering!

I took my first trip out into the world of strangers and foodstuffs today! And boy was it an adventure...

First, we drove to Cafe Laurent because Drea said they were very nice to her there. But they were closed! No baguettes for me or pain au chocolat for mom!

Then over to Cafe Surfas, where there was a GIANT store full of ALL sorts of yummy delights. But what's this? There's no food in the cafe! And mom says something about the Cafe being closed for cleaning?! Barooo! Then a nice guy came out and I was good and SAT so he gave me lots of petting and attention. He was very friendly and wished us good luck. Mom told me that we'd come back and visit him for cheese soon. I don't think I get any of the cheese, though.

Mom needed coffee really bad by now, so we tried one last place: Starbucks! I've been to one of these! I walked this time, though, since we weren't on that big outside mall. I was SOOOO good! And everyone loved me. Once I SAT some nice people petted me. And the people behind the tall counter leaned over to say hello, too!

We went outside, and I went DOWN and UNDER and Mom drank her coffee. I was being so so so good, that's what Mom said. See:




















Then we went back to the car, and back home! Wow, what an adventure! I'm so excited from my big day that I can hardly sleep! Mom says she hopes I sleep soon, but I don't wanna! There's a big world to explore! Let's go!

nom nom nom

Happiness, it turns out, is an "ex-pen." We call it "PlayPen!!!" for Porter, as opposed to puppy jail, as it seems *someone* thinks I'll reflect the words in my tone and make it less Playtime and more Cell-D Lockup. So PLAYPEN it is, when someone isn't deciding to just hang out in his kennel with the door open. (Proof that they really do love their dens! Also that it's cold in the house!)

So Porter is choosing den life to playpen life, and loving his softee toy more than anything. Methinks I need to make a second one with a squeaker in it. Earlier today he finally opened the seam on the adorable toy that GDA sent him home with. That's not too shabby- almost a month! But the softee I made him has stood up to some pretty hard-core nom-ing and many many games of "pull Porter around the floor (sometimes as DemonDoggie)."

Ok, out of the kennel and into the playpen, after a diversion outside. How did Porter know the exact minute it began raining? He is, I swear, psychic.

We had a Wet Dawg yesterday:

All together now!

Labrador shuffle! 'Round the table, under the chair, back through the table, and around the desk!

The energy bursts from these little guys is spectacular!

And then perhaps a little JUMP towards what we hope might be dinner...

Wiiiill it chew?

Some people want to know "Will It Blend?" but what Porter really wants to know is "will it chew?" Thus, I could simply make a recording of myself saying "leave it," play it on a continuous loop, and be right 97% of the time.

Floor? check.

Glass window? check.

Oven door? check.

Cardboard box - the flat side, the corner, the lid? check. check. check.

Porter would also like to know if the cats are chew-able, but he's not getting that chance. This frustrates him more than anything else in the house that he considers chewable!

He seems to like the frozen washclothing at the moment. Maybe he's teething early?

Ooooh, we have a labrador shuffle goin' on! I wonder what's so exciting... http://growinupguide.blogspot.com/2007/11/return-of-rampaige-and-tai-rade.html

Eh, dang, it was the bottom of a chair that was just begging to be torn off. From Porter's view: "success!"

Two month-day!

Happy two-month day to Porter! We didn't have a big party, as we thought we would- between the weather, and all three of us feeling a little under it (the weather, that is) it seemed best to stay home. Porter's poop has returned to a solid-state, and he is back to eating/playing/napping/pooping as his schedule - yesterday was a lot more of the napping than playing. Must be another growth spurt in the works!

Miette and Porter still continue their showdowns- she hissing, he barking. But mostly they're stare-downs:

Growing right before my eyes

I swear that we could put a time-lapse camera on Porter's kennel and actually see him growing in his sleep.

Last night he didn't poop after dinner. Not exciting news to most people, perhaps, but this was HIGHLY unusual. Previously it had seemed that there was only room for one meal at a time in his digestive system. Well not only was there room for both meals, but he didn't go until early this morning- and then a lot less than before.

Why all this poop talk? Because what doesn't become poop becomes dog! And he's clearly using up all his food to grow. His snout is longer, his legs are longer, his body is bigger (but his ribs are easier to feel! Yay!) -in short, he is GROWING!

Yay puppy growth spurts- they also require lots of naps!

Hm, I wanted to include before and after photos- three days ago and yesterday but blogger is being silly. Check out flickr for the pictures! Porter Pictures!

Sugar rush... aka post-lunch frenzy

Wow - feeding Porter is like giving a four-year-old a bag full of sugar! Each meal time is followed immediately by a poop (apparently there's only room in there for one meal at a time!) and then utter mania. The cats both encountered him during the latest frenzy, and he was more than happy to freak them out with his puppy barks and trying to jump up. Of course, there's an inevitable sugar crash, so now he's passed out!

Hey, I just realized that *I'm* hungry too! Perhaps I'll get a read-before-school-starts frenzy after my mealtime...

We do it all for those puppy kisses!

Those puppy eyes and puppy kisses are what it's all about!

I can't believe I forgot to mention- Porter is on a little bit of a diet, so that means lots of exercise for our boy! Patti got him down by a whole pound (thanks to Drea too, I bet!) and I'll have to keep up the good work.

Portly Porter the Precious Puppy

Porter is home, at last! We picked him up from Patti's house yesterday just after dark, and drove right home. He was SO good and stayed on the floor by Matt's feet while I drove. He sat up a bit, and Matt petted his head and ears while resisting the puppy eyes that Porter was making every moment.

When we arrived home, we showed Porter his 'busy' spot, and came inside the house. There was a bit of hissing from the kitties, but nothing too major. After a good few games of gnaw-gnaw-gnaw (a guess as to what that game might be!) Porter was tuckered out and took a nap in his little crate.

When he woke up, Leah and Adam were here, for New Year's Eve! He LOVED meeting new people, and trying to climb over all our legs on the floor! This floor is really tricky- it's wood, and so there's no grip for a puppy's paws! Porter also tries to show it who is boss by gnawing on it. But it's flat, like most floors, and so it's not a very easy gnaw-toy.

Porter went poop once in the house- totally my fault: he was just home and exploring, and I thought he just wanted more room to explore, that's why he was whimpering and tugging. Ooops.

But this morning I heard him wake up- faked him by turning on the clock radio, and then scooped him up for Outside and to Get Busy. And like the best puppy EVER, he pooped again! We cleaned it up and he peed again (well, that was like time 209, so 'again' is a little inaccurate.)


The cats think we've brought an evil alien into the house. Miette keeps looking at him with a "what the hell?" expression. And part way through the night, when she hissed at him, he bounced into puppy play position and barked. That only resulted in Miette and Gus looking at him like an invader alien baby from behind the chair. When it came time for dinner for them, they marched into the kitchen exactly together- safety in numbers!

Porter is so curious and brave. Our neighbor's roof makes a funny noise in the wind, and he's
interested in seeing what it is, but not distracted by it when he's getting busy. There was a board game with funny noises, and other than waking for the first one to see what was up, he slept right through! We even opened confetti poppers at midnight, and he didn't mind a bit- he was already awake and on my lap, and just looked around.

Ok, his food should be soft, so we're having breakfast in just a few minutes!