Howdy pardners

Am reading a cowboy book for a bit of escapism.

Set in Texas in the 1870s (of course), our hero rode up to a farm house that had a "dogtrot". In the next sentence the author mentions a porch so my thoughts that a dogtrot was a porch were dashed.

What's a dogtrot? Why is it called a dogtrot? What would us Auszies call it? Do houses still have them?

(Spose I could google this - but where's the fun in that!)

Be seein y'all. Happy trails.

Doc Stales