You are currently browsing lauren’s articles.
Ten Great Things About Working at Ruff Wear
- Ruff Wear team building events include: paddling, camping, snowshoeing, hiking and, oh yeah, beer!
- Dogs are part of our Product Development team
- Deschutes Brewery, Cascade Lakes Brewery, SilverMoon Brewery & Bend Brewing Company are all in a 2 mile radius from the office
- Our dress code includes flip flops
- You can ski, mountain bike and paddle the river, all in the same day here, with your dog
- My co-workers are awesome people
- We have 23 hours of DMB on iTunes
- We get paid to test dog gear
- Pod Weasels rock!
- The office is 1 mile from the trailhead (Ride on!)
It was three years ago this past weekend that I first met Tiki. I wanted to adopt a dog from the local shelter. My new dog had to be athletic so we could run and mountain bike together, smart, and want to go everywhere I went. It’s a hard decision to make; there were so many dogs, all of them needing loving homes.
When I saw him, he was rolling on his back. I could hear him saying “pick me, pick me!” It was love at first sight. We went for a walk together and I found out he understood “sit”, “shake” & “down”. We went into the outdoor pen – he could run, fast! Quickly, I filled out the adoption papers. Tiki was getting a new home. Read the rest of this entry »
June Dog Tale of the Month – Tiki Dog Learns to Paddle
location: Central Oregon
As long as I’ve lived in Bend, I’ve seen people on the lakes and rivers with their well-behaved dogs on boats and been envious. Since Tiki has been mountain biking and trail running with me this past year, he wants to go every where I go, and he gets bummed out when he’s left at home. This spring, I decided to take Tiki out in the kayak, even though he’d never been in a boat before.
First, I made sure I had a good life jacket for him. I picked out a Ruff Wear Portage in fern green. It fits him snugly but not constricting. He’s not the best swimmer in the world, so I wanted him to be safe in case he fell in the water or the kayak flipped.
- Lauren and Tiki Paddle the Deschutes
We went down to a kayak put-in on the Deschutes River where I could take Tiki in the water first, to get him acquainted with the life jacket. He didn’t seem too fazed by wearing it in the water. I got in the kayak first and settled in. Then Tiki was lifted in. We sat in the boat together for a few minutes, getting used to the gentle rocking caused by the wake. I thought for sure he would jump out, but he stayed put.
Now came the moment of truth – the launch. I still wasn’t sure how Tiki would do once we got out on the water and added the swaying of the paddle with the motion of the kayak tracking against the current. He was curious – sniffing the air, watching the ducks and geese (on the same level as he was), seeing other boaters go by. I talked to him the whole time, telling him what a good dog he was, and how much fun we were having.
I didn’t want to take him too far the first time, in case he wanted out of the boat. We paddled about 20 minutes and then I turned the boat around. He got a little nervous, moving around, and leaning into me, causing the boat to tip ever so slightly. I kept talking (and singing) to him until we made it back to the dock. He was very happy to be back on shore, and ran to chomp on a stick he had found.
Since that went so well, we went back out a few days later. We went to the same put-in and paddled around the same part of the river. Tiki seemed much more at ease the second time around. Upon our arrival back at the dock, the brave Tiki Dog decided to dive out of the kayak and swim back to shore. He swam like a champ thanks to his Float Coat.
My plans for this summer include taking Tiki up to the high Cascade Lakes and paddling around for a few hours at a time. With a little time he’ll learn to just lay down and enjoy the ride. There’s nothing better than sharing the adventure with my dog.
