It's the first day of holiday break–a whole week off from work! I was cleaning the side yard and filled the trash can full of old wood in no time at all.

I decided on a project for my new girl Maddie, adopted from the SPCA the day before. The folks there are very kind, I'd recommend the SPCA to anybody. Maddie stays in all the time, so the house is really just for fun.

Heather took this picture of me and Maddie. It's the first day, and I'm already in love.

Here's the first wall attached to the base with 2" deck screws. Note the rear wall is a whopping 48" tall. The front will be 39" with a sloping roof.

And the second wall is attached to the first wall. But wait, I forgot the floor structure. Duh! Took the walls off and called it a day. It's cold and starting to rain.

Linnea and Dave come over to meet Maddie, as they are thinking about adopting a new dog. Well, I've been having problems with wood splitting on the 1 X 1's. Dave pointed out that pre-drilling the holes would help, and he was right on the money!

Decided to cut a base out of an old sheet of plywood. Maddie is eager to lend a paw. It's a good idea to brace the other side so the wood doesn't pinch.

Attaching the 1/4" plywood to the walls with a nail-gun.

Nick stops by, and he lends a hand installing the glass block. I wasn't sure how to support it properly so that it wouldn't fall out.

It's been raining yuck for two days now. Glad to get back to the project! Nick helps with the metal siding, as it's a two person job. It's a good idea to snap chalk lines so you know where to screw.

Nick puts on some drip edge to cover the sharp edges created by the tin snips.

These little wavy gravy things on the cross bars will lend support to the metal roofing. Note the sheepy kitty shelf on the back wall. In case Maddie won't use the house, I figure one of the kitties might on a cold night. Sometimes they just won't come in.

Nick's attaching the roof with 2" metal-to-wood rubber-washered siding screws.

Here's the final house. I put cedar pickets on the front. They should weather in nicely.

All the dog houses I've had occasion to see (like 2 or 3, I think) have always been very, very dark. So, here's a close-up of the glass block. It lets in a good amount of light.

It took a good amount of throwing treats in the house to get Maddie to run in. Snapped a quick one as she ran back out again!

Here's me and Maddie checking out the house on a pretty sunny day.

Total time spent on the project was about 12 hours.

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