You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2009.
The summer months are a great time to get out with our dogs and enjoy the warm weather. But because we are often going farther and longer in hot conditions, our dogs are at greater risk of exhaustion and dehydration.
While we often remember to pack our own water or sports drink when heading out on the trail, our dogs are often left to fend for themselves in the ponds, rivers, and lakes along the way. This is often not the best option for canine hydration.
Here are a few common questions we’re asked about dehydration prevention on the trail. Read the rest of this entry »
Get the Ruff Wear water bowl ready—we’ve got company coming over! Canine company!
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Bring Your Dog to Work Day,” the Ruff Wear office has turned into a pseudo dog park for the day. Most of the 13 cubes have at least one dog leashed to their desk for the day, and a call to our customer service lines sends a stereo of barks throughout.
We’ve been told, “studies show that pets in the workplace boost employee morale, productivity and even sales” and we believe it! Having the dogs here has allowed us to test new products, exercise with our canine friends at lunch, and completely immerse ourselves in the canine lifestyle.
Did you bring your dog to work today and would like to highlight stories of the days successes (or mishaps!)?
We are always looking for new, innovative, and fun activities involving dogs. After seeing an increasing number of people around town being pulled on skateboards by their dogs, it inspired us to look at different dog-powered sports…and we found the perfect Ruff Wear activity–skijoring!
Skijoring is a combination of all of our favorite things–mountain snow, skiing, dogs, and bungee leads–we couldn’t resist getting out with said gear and going for it. The result? A whole lot of chaos, adventure, and fun. Here are a few things we learned:
1. Cattle dogs would prefer to herd you rather than pull you on skis
2. Don’t ever assume a dog is tired enough to be let off-leash
3. The force of one Malamute is greater than two 40-pound dogs of mixed heritage
4. Skijoring without a bungee may cause whiplash
5. Caution: unpredictable turns and stops may occur
It was great for a first adventure and we’d love to hear from amateur and experienced skijorers alike!
What’s better than a nice summer hike with your furry friend? We can’t think of anything. But since wet, dirty and smelly dogs don’t always make for a fun car ride back after a long hike, we found a website that features dog-accessible hikes in your own backyard. We’ve featured a few recommendations here, but you can access dog-friendly hikes in your own home state by clicking this link.
Oregon – Rogue River National Forest
“…I love to hike in the Rouge-Umpqua Divide Wilderness area. Our favorite hike starts at Skimmerhorn Trailhead and is a loop trail around grasshopper mountain. Read the rest of this entry »
We get lots of questions regarding how to choose the right pack for your dog, so we thought we’d post a quick guide to selecting a pack.
The Ruff Wear Palisades Pack
First, consider intended use. For multi-day adventures such as backpacking, a larger, more integrated dog pack such as the Ruff Wear Palisades Pack™ is recommended. For longer adventures, consider features such as removable saddlebags, integrated water bladders, larger pockets, waterproof zippers. Also, look for a pack with a compression strap system that cinches the saddlebags closer to the dog’s body. The compression system keeps the saddlebags from flopping around when your dog takes off running. For shorter trips and day hikes, the Ruff Wear Approach Pack™, or similar, one-pocket, no-hassle packs are a great solution.
After a whirlwind adventure that took us from Vail, to Boulder, to Fort Collins and back to Denver, Greg and I are excited to be back to the high desert we call home—Bend, Oregon—to share the adventures of our week-long journey in the Centennial State.
Our travels to Colorado went a lot smoother than our travels home. The weather was great despite our 5:15am flight out, and our trip was topped by the luxury of sleeping in nice, comfy First Class seats when we were upgraded for free because of Greg’s MVP Gold status (Greg is one of the only MVP’s that’s ever made gold status based on number of legs, not total miles!).
Teva Games Dock Diving
Once we landed in Colorado, we headed East to Vail to set up our booth for the TEVA Mountain Games. This was our first time attending the event and we couldn’t believe the fun and excitement surrounding Vail. The next three days were spent fitting Ruff Wear gear on a variety of dogs from Whippets to Bernese Mountain Dogs. We managed to each get away for a few hours to take a look at all the great events taking place, such as the kayaking competitions, free running shows, mountain biking races, and our favorite—Dog Dock Diving! Our only complaint the whole time was that we stuffed ourselves with too much pizza, pasta and German food!
From Vail, we headed to visit dealers in Boulder, Fort Collins, and Denver. We got to see a lot of great stores that carry our gear, and meet a lot of great dogs such as Chewy, from Chewy’s Bonetique in Denver, who, despite his recent toe amputation, was able to model his favorite Ruff Wear gear for us.
Chewy (on right) showing off his Ruff Wear gear
On the seventh day we were ready to head back. We’d seen it all in terms of weather (snow, wind, rain, sun, and even funnel clouds!), so we weren’t surprised that our flight was delayed due to thunderstorms in Denver. Unfortunately, that gave us only three minutes to make our connection flight. Me, pregnant and with a bum ankle, had to send Greg running ahead to hold the plane, and he did so with great conviction! I made the flight with less than one minute to spare!
It was a great adventure and we thank everyone for sharing their time and adventures with us in Colorado!
