Porter's Page!

Thank you everybody for your very kind words!

 

Random question; Please tell me that your vet allowed you and your whole family to be with your dog when she passed. We put Mandy to sleep on July 1st, 2019 so it COVID wasn't a thing yet and everything was normal...

We got Porter in March 2020, literally a week before the whole world shut down, and we took him to the vet the first day we had him; We were all allowed in and no masks were required. That is the only time I've accompanied Porter to the vet, because after COVID the staff would meet you at your vehicle and take your dog or car but not allow you to come in, with the obvious exception of pets being euthanized.

Our vet recently loosened up the rules so that one family member can come in, but masks are still required; The last time I picked up Porter's medication, they wouldn't let me come in and brought it out to my truck.

 

This is Porter; He just turned 2 in October 2021 (The paperwork from the rescue listed his date of birth as October 9th, 2019; However, just like with Mandy, they can't confirm that this is his actual birthdate)...

 

Most TW members know Porter's backstory; A puppy mill in Lancaster surrendered him to Home At Last Rescue when he was about 5 months old, and we got him like a week before the COVID lockdowns started...

He is not the least bit mean, vicious, or aggressive; He loves young kids and other dogs, and even coexists peacefully with non-canine animals like my friend's duck. He will attempt to make friends with cats, but if they react to him with hostility, it's an act of war in Porter's eyes.

He is 50/50 with women he's never met, but very standoffish with men he's never met. He is fine with all of my neighbors, male and female, who he's known since he was a puppy. He is also more willing to approach strangers, both men and women, if they have a dog.

This morning, my dad stopped in the hallway between the foyer and the kitchen to adjust something on his Apple Watch; Porter went to greet him, but for some reason went nuts, barking and growling. He has gotten defensive with my dad and even me when we come through the front door sometimes, but he quickly realizes who it is.

Last summer, we brought him up to my Grandma's lake house in Maine; Porter quickly warmed up to Grammy, but whenever she came down in the morning wearing a different nightgown, he'd go nuts!

Due to the ongoing pandemic, getting him a trainer or even some sort of canine psychologist has been put on the back burner, but what do the people of TW think?

 

He is also scared of, among other things...

• Packages that are brought into "his" house.
• Anything with bells on it or makes a sound affect that sounds like bells, not including the strand of bells hanging from the back doorknob that we've trained him to nudge with his nose when he needs to go out for a potty break.
• Musical instruments being played live (most notably bagpipes).
• A plastic ball we got him that sounds like Peter Frampton singing, for lack of a better description.

 

Have you tried contacting a local reputable trainer? I know you said covid but I’ve had my rescue with a trainer during the pandemic and sent her to a board and train. She’s a million times better than she would of been with just me trying to
Train her on my own.

 

That's likely the route we're gonna take; We do think he was physically abused, but rather just neglected...