Unbearable Cuteness of Being

If there's anything more fun than 5 and 6 week old puppies, I don't know what it is. This is the pay-off of weeks of work and worry, months of planning and paranoia, sleepless nights, endless laundry and hope.

The Dva puppies are 6 weeks old and although I've kept their webpage current, somehow the blog got neglected. Sorry about that - guess I was distracted!

Anyway, the puppies met the tunnel this morning. They had the buja board in their play area for several days, and took to romping on it like it wasn't even there. (Somewhere there *are* pictures, but I can't find them right now!) I love buja boards because they MOVE and MAKE NOISE and seem UNPREDICTABLE - all of which teach puppies that these things are NO BIG DEAL and in fact FUN.

On our daily adventures and evening walkies they encounter all manner of obstacles - railroad ties marking off an old garden area, drainage ditch, big dirt piles, cactus - our property could hardly be called "groomed". Puppies learn that the ground is uneven, holes happen, falling down is normal, getting up and having another go is the only way to fly.

As their adult baby-sitter is rotated each day, it has become necessary to ensure the adult dog doesn't steal all the puppy food. So an old section of wallboard with a small dog door is set up to block the in/out of the x-pen barricade. A few days of this - puppies have to find the opening and navigate the hole to get into the big paddock - and they are zooming in and out with ease (in for water and food, out for a big playmate and more room to run).

"In" has other perks - Ripple sez MY rabbit skin.

This morning I simply set the tunnel on the "out" side of the puppy hole - they had to go through the tunnel to get into the big yard.

Four of the little stinkers were out before I had my camera turned on.

Hm, I'll stop and have a sniff.

This isn't a real agility tunnel, but a kiddie version. The real things are heavy, opaque, and expensive. Not what I want puppies exploring with their teeth - which of course is the next thing they do, followed immediately by jumping on it.

Why go around? Over works just fine.

Pretty soon they were running in and out like pros, which is exactly the point.

In.

Out. Repeat.

In the puppy paddock (about 3000 sq ft) they can run to their hearts' content. And explore - the big dog-door into the kennel

Moose (r) peers inside; Chip (l) changes directions.

and the big dog house (room to run in there!)

Hey, whatcha doin' in there?

jump on / run over whatever is lying about

The inverted pool was covering a critter hole; these pups are gamey!

and just generally run like fools.

Dulce (r) in hot pursuit of Vanna (l).

Just another morning in puppy playland...

What the hell took so long?

A change order came to fruition this past weekend.

Following Anthony's graduation on Saturday we had a house-full of family, so the house was as clean as it's been in weeks. The weather was good, so Sunday outside we went for a fencing project.

The "puppy paddock" attached to the kennel building has been significantly expanded, and is now +/- 2,700 square feet (a LOT bigger than our house!) and has the benefit of natural shade from an enormous pinon tree.

Looking east into the morning sun, the tree to the right provides more and more shade as the day progresses. (R -> L: Gin, Ren, Py)

The best part? Four hours work from 2 people and zero new dollars spent; all the materials were already here and just reused. I moved the gate from one corner to another, we relocated several t-posts, hung existing fence fabric, and voila!

Looking north, the gate has been moved from the NW corner to the SW corner of the kennel building. The entire southern fence was moved about 25' to the south, adding 1,000 sq. ft. to the paddock. (L -> R: Ren, Gin, Py)

If the fence looks odd, that's because we double-hang fencing on the posts. My theory is that the double-density with two different materials (welded wire and no-climb field types) makes the hounds' depth perception just enough "off" to discourage challenges. So far, no double-hung fence has been challenged by a resident or visiting dog. (Not that I pretend this would slow down a Beagle - I contend no fence can stop one of those!)

First thing in the morning, only 54 degrees, and the 'zoi are all in the shade. Silly siberian beasts.

This project was a breeze - why didn't we do this sooner? It's great and seems so obvious now.

So, back to insulating the inside as the next task... as we're still at 50% and that's getting pretty old.

Fit for a Queen

And a king, I hope.

Regular readers will remember the shed-conversion-to-kennel project as a work in progress. After getting a serious test-run this winter, a spring make-over was in order. While I won't claim more than 50% completion yet, I will say I'm very pleased with today's progress.

After much hemming and hawing and on-line window-shopping, I finally settled on a doggie-door. Fashioned after the creative use of a basement remodel of some friends in Colorado, I had a 3'x3' sliding window installed. Duct-tape marks the glass inside and out to cue the dogs to the "open" or "closed" status (several other barriers were explored, including replacing the glass with plywood, covering with matting, cardboard, or butchered x-pen wiring, before this obvious solution presented itself). The opening is 18"W x 36"H, perfect for borzoi. Currently the "door" is a screen (cut on the sides and bottom, so it opens), which will be replaced with long strips to make a flap and keep out rain.

Progress was needed, as I'm hoping to breed Day next month, and her intended mate is due to arrive in a few days. One of which is, he likes x-pens. Here's a shot of the x-pen barrier with the new doggie door (in the "open" position") visible in the background:





The right side of the x-pen is attached to a 700 size crate, the door of which is locked open. Day loves crates; here she demonstrates the easy in/out feature:



The crate is on the raised, heated bed, which I hope will be perfect for puppies once they move out of the house.








Just visible in the first picture is a raised dog-bed, to the right of the dog-door. Here's a slightly better look at it:










To the left of the doggie door is a pool-bed, so-called because it's a cushioned bed inside a kiddie pool. Some of my dogs love these, others ignore them, but it provides options for Day and her visiting beau.




I hope by now somebody has noticed how clean the floor is; say "ooh, ahh" for me would you? The inside of my house is not, at present, as clean.

Outside there's been an addition as well. The straw bales that were providing wind insulation have been relocated, rearranged, and a 1/2 sheet of plywood added to make a roof (also based on the friends' in Colorado's set-up):

It's in the center of the puppy paddock, well away from the fences, so any mountain-climbing dogs can improve their view but not escape. The opening will get full sun in the mornings (so will stay nice and dry), full shade all afternoon, and the walls protect against our vicious spring winds. The design will tweak over time, but it's a good start.

Our kennel is a castle! Well, almost... the list of other items still needs to be reduced to zero.

Still at 50%

A reader reminded me that I had promised pictures of the kennel project, so here they are. Lucky for you I swept out the dog hair and dust this morning - a constant battle in the desert. I'm posting no pictures of the outside, as it needs some trim around the door and a good coat of paint. There's a HUGE pinon to the west of the kennel, providing late afternoon shade. The inside remains a work in progress, I haven't decided how much insulating to do yet. Probably the ceiling before winter, maybe the north wall. Or maybe not, the budget will decide.

First up, the reasons I wanted this shed for a kennel building. One, to stop sleeping in a kennel myself (see earlier post on this topic). Two, it's only two dozen steps from the house, much closer than the barn. Three, it's very well built. Concrete slab, industrial-strength built in shelving, and already has power. In fact, the only thing lacking is a doggie door to the puppy paddock and a water supply; one of those will be very easy to add. The other necessary item is a smoke detector with a remote alarm; anybody knows where to get one, please drop me a note.

This first shot is the NW corner; as you can see the built-in shelving has been put to use storing crates and trial supplies. To the left some metal shelving was slid in; each tub contains gear for a specific sport (Rally, coursing, racing, CGC, agility, etc.). The bottom space is roughly the size of a 700 crate; the left side has been fitted with hog panel, the front (above the date stamp) has a top-hinged piece of hog panel to make the front of the "crate." Add a platform bed or thick padding, and voila: sleeping space.

Continuing our tour to the right, is the window. This is set into the north wall of the building, and has been fitted with a bi-directional fan made by Honeywell. We have several of these in our house to move air around during the summer, and they are great. Mechanical (not electronic) controls, so they come back on after a power hit (frequent during our monsoon season); variable speed; independently reversible (for example, one blowing in, the other out).

Out the window you can just make out the perimeter fence of the puppy paddock (so called because that's where the puppies started out this spring). It's about 1,700 square feet, with 5' field of welded wire fence, and has digging deterrent items. The doggie door will go under this window, once I can figure out how exactly to prevent the blasting winter wind from getting in.

Opposite the window is the door, so this is facing south. The red thing is a battered space blanket, necessary to keep out the sun. It's both reflective (on the other side) as well as creating shade. I have a half dozen and use them for an endless variety of things - fence shade, shade on the outside of the van, a waterproof barrier under an x-pen, insulation under same... they are easy to clean, easy to store, and incredibly versatile. A new one will have to be put up every year, which is fine as they're pretty inexpensive.

Just under the red you can see the van; how simple it is now to grab a tub of gear, load dogs, and go for the weekend. Wahoo!

I wanted to be able to leave the door open, for ventilation, but not have the bugs take over. Luckily I found an affordable walk-thru screen. Just to the left, on the wall, you may be able to make out a wall switch; that's for the overhead light. On either side of the door are power outlets, I think there's four, total. The screen keeps out the bugs, but the dogs can walk through it as they please. I, however, have to duck to miss the shade.

Below: the left picture is the NE corner; Py and Ren are having breakfast. (Which reminds me, winter is coming and critters are looking for shelter, I need to get some more RatZappers.) There's ample room for these two 700-size crates, or smaller sizes could go in 3 wide and even 2 high. Options are good... To the right is the SE corner, with the raised, heated platform with edging:



Speaking of options, if Oxota is ever blessed with a litter, we will of course whelp and rear in the house (the space in the family room has long been identified), but when the puppies are old enough to start exploring, this area looks like it could be a good destination. I'm thinking we could take out the crates and run an x-pen from the doggie-door, across the length of the building, to the left of the main door. Access to the fenced puppy paddock via the doggie door, access to shelter and warmth via same. Of course yet more work needs to be done (as well as finding a new home for the ladder - maybe the barn?) before it could go into effect, such as an escape for the dam needing a break, but I have visions of happy puppies... racing out the door, making piles to sleep, and growing up strong and fit. Someday...

Opposite the raised heated bed (installed by the previous owners, who had outside-only dogs), on the other side of the door, is another built-in crate. This would be the north-west corner. Here you can see (because the door is closed) the "finished" product, with the hog-panel door in the "down" position and held in place with snapbolts to the eye-bolts. There's currently sleeping spaces for four dogs, with ample room for two more.

I don't need it all right now, and might never, but the arrangement has already proved its merits with visiting bitches over the past few months. The shelving above is the same industrial-strength as the first picture (which is to the right of this) and holds crates, miscellaneous supplies, and - temporarily - tools being used for the project.

And one of these days I'll get off the 50% bubble and can claim 100% done.

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...