the Project is half done

It's an old project manager's trick, to make Earned Value look good early in a project - the 50% rule.

In a nutshell, the moment a task on a project schedule is started you get credit for 50% of the work being done. So if lots of tasks are started, the to-date EV is great. You can be only 5 days into a 3 week task and the % done is still half. Sounds great, right? Well it is - right up until the moment that you're actually 90% complete and the vendor is now projecting a 1 month delay... and your % complete is still at 50%. And it stays at 50% until it's 100% - period.

So when I say I've got a project that's 50% complete, take that with a grain of salt. I may in fact be half done, I may not... didn't really do a formal project schedule on this one. I do have a set of requirements and a plan, and so far execution is going great. But as for when it will all be done, beats me. The critical stuff will be done before winter hits, the rest has to be completed before 8 months have passed.

What's the project? Converting a shed to a kennel. Yes, that's right, a kennel. Me. Kennel. Yep.

Years ago I thought people that had dogs that lived outside were people that shouldn't have dogs. And there's a substantial number of people that shouldn't have dogs, at all, no matter where they would live. But I've gotten over the notion that dogs must live inside if they are to live with us at all.

The first step of this realization was border collies; the real ones are called working sheepdogs. Emphasis on WORKING - the energizer bunny on speed wouldn't keep up with them. These are TOUGH dogs to live with, they make crappy pets, and require very dedicated and talented owners to direct all that intelligence, intensity, and boundless energy. A working sheepdog can run - not trot, RUN - up and down steep hills 10 hours a day (or more), working a flock of hundreds, covering the better part of a hundred miles. And get up the next day and do it again. And the next. Think a daily 1/2 hour walk or a game of fetch is going to be enough for one of these dogs? Think again. No wonder most shepherds keep the dogs housed away from both stock and humans - an arrangement that has worked just fine for hundreds of years and is well figured out. My border collies (ranging in age from 7-1/2 to nearly 13) live in the house, but there are days...

Then I met some people with sled dogs. Holy smokes, these are amazing dogs. Impossible to live with for most people, the are glorious in their element. And that element is OUTSIDE in the COLD running and running and running - very fast, very far, in a straight line. I know a couple of people that compete in Obedience with Siberian Huskeys - gluttons for punishment. Kudos to all the UDs and OTCHs out there, you're better trainers than I am. Luckily the Iditarod is on TV every year: pretty incredible stuff. If you want to read an interesting book that will make you laugh your hair off, check out Winterdance. I learned a lot and enjoyed the hell out of it.

The next step in my re-education was Livestock Guarding Dogs. There are countless breeds of dog all over the planet that never set foot inside a house, but live their entire lives with their flocks. These are true working dogs, and other than some early imprinting and training guidance, have virtually no need for humans - their flocks are all they require. I know several ranchers with LGDs who wouldn't have livestock without the dogs. And the data on their effectiveness against predation is longstanding and should be made note of by ranchers and our beloved elected officials negotiating grazing rights. Want to graze your stock on state or federal land? Shut up about wolves and get some LGD's... but I digress.

And then came the realization that - shocker - my dogs already were living in a kennel. Now it looked an awful lot like my master bedroom, and that's where I sleep, but the reality was pretty clear. I already had a kennel, and I lived in it. The dog "stuff" had taken over - taken over the bedroom the mudroom, the garage, the family room, the kitchen, food dishes in every room, stuff in the shed, the barn, the agility field... leashes, crates, toys, dog beds, and of course the dogs themselves strewn everywhere - not to mention endless doghair.

At some point in the middle of all this I started getting "extra" dogs, ones that belonged to friends, a foster or rescue of some variety, but dogs that weren't technically mine but that were going to live with us for a while. And we have a cat. So dogs that come in our home MUST be cat-safe, and with some dogs that's a deal-breaker. Not to mention there's a quantity issue: our house isn't particularly large and we own only so many crates. (At one point recently we had 14 dogs here, one with severe aggression issues. It was a real managment headache to move that many dogs safely.)

And the last straw of reality was raising my new puppy. A dear friend got a scottish deerhound puppy a couple of weeks before I brought home a borzoi puppy; we instantly decided to raise them together. Sighthounds play best with "one of their own" and unlimited free exercise helps ensure proper growth and development. So I converted one stall in our barn to a dog "palace" (and she converted half their lean-to) so the girls could have access to shelter and shade as well as a large outdoor space (now over 2 acres of their own). The result so far is a pair of puppies with great structure and muscle, well versed in play and dog manners, not to mention quite tired at night. I think it's the only way to fly.

So, I made a deal with my husband: he got half the barn, I got the shed. It's 144 square feet, one window, built in shelving, already has power. Should be pretty great one of these days. The conversion from shed to kennel is 50% complete; pictures will be added soonish. A majority of "stuff" has been consolidated on the shelves, permanent sleeping bunks are nearly finished, insulation is being analyzed, the doggie door in process. I'll never get the dog stuff out of the kitchen, and dog hair is just part of my reality, and that's just fine.

And hubby doesn't know it yet, but I have my sights set on the hay shed next...