It’s true. Researchers have confirmed it, dogs have no concept of scale. In other words, a small dog does not realize how small he or she is. Hence the well-known phenomena of small-dog syndrome. So why am I bringing this seemingly random factoid up? 

Well, I’ve noticed a similar phenomena when working with web vendors. It can be hard for them to anticipate how long it will take to do work for you, especially if the work in question requires the creation of something that’s entirely new to them.

I never cease to be amazed by my dog Lela’s tireless quest for food, or the broadness of her definition of it. To Lela, food is what you eat. And so during the course of the day yesterday I wrested from her mouth one apple core, a piece of neon yellow chewing gum (used) and apparently-not-poisonous mystery berries.

Although her open-mindedness vis-a-vis “food” leaves me longing for hand sanitizer, I can’t help but admire her instincts. In her own weird way, Lela has no preconceptions about what opportunity is. She pursues it with single-minded enthusiasm.

Somehow in the last few years, I became a dog person. I went from completely indifferent towards dogs to interrupting conversations to say, “Aww, look at that dog! Do you see the dog? She’s so cute.”  I have a 3-year-old black Lab, Samwise Gamgee (I know), and naturally, I want to turn every conversation I have into a conversation about my dog. I present to you: Things My Dog Taught Me About My Professional Life (i.e. Totally Not An Excuse To Post Pictures Of Sam).