Stories

A curated collection of stories to inspire you and your dog to get out there.

  • SUP Pup 101: How to Paddleboard with Your Dog

    How do you and your dog start paddleboarding without any experience? Ruffwear employees – and first-time SUP-ers – Brad & Umi and Julie & Beau volunteered to find out. With help from SUP instructor and dog trainer Maria Schulz, they learn all the basics and tackle their first day on the water.

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    Brad and umi sitting on a paddleboard in a lake

  • How To Clean a Dirty Dog's Dirty Gear

    Dogs know how to play, and that means splashing and crawling through nature’s biggest mess-makers. We’ve got you covered with our dog gear cleaning instructions and solutions to your toughest cleaning puzzles. 

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    A man and dog walk on a muddy hiking trail near a waterfall.

  • Go, Hugo, Go! A Journey From Guide Dog to Detection Dog

    Abby Smith had dreamed of working as a conservation dog handler since childhood. But her German Shepherd, Hugo, started out on a different path. As a puppy, he trained to be a guide dog – with Abby as his puppy raiser. When a health test led to Hugo’s release from the program, Abby adopted him and started working as a handler for Rogue Detection Teams. Hugo joined her for the ultimate experiment: can a former guide dog-trained pup swing it in the detection dog world?

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    Hugo, a Rogue Detection Dog, poses with his two family members.

  • Press Play with Noami, Dustin & Amara

    Time to take a cue from our dogs and press the play button. How? We turned to Noami, Dustin, and their sidekick, Amara, to find out. They're some of the most fun and playful Ruffwear Ambassadors we know – and Amara inspires them daily to infuse play into a hectic life.

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    Press Play with Noami, Dustin & Amara

  • The Artist & Rez Dog Rescuer Behind the Desert Sunrise Collection: Vernan Kee

    Vernan Kee, Ruffwear’s Artist Series pick, is a graphic designer, endurance athlete, and rez dog rescuer living on the Navajo Nation. We checked in with him to hear his inspiring story. 

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    Vernan Kee walks with one of his adopted dogs in the Navajo Nation.

  • Barkpacking 101: How to Backpack with Your Dog

    Looking to share your love of backpacking with your dog, or maybe even establish a new love for it together? Welcome to Barkpacking 101.

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    Barkpacking 101: How to Backpack with Your Dog

  • Meet Ruddy: Mt. Bachelor's Newest Avalanche Dog

    Ruffwear’s Content Creator, Erin Swanson, recently made the trek to Mt. Bachelor with our Videographer, Photographer, and Community Manager. Their mission? Learn about (and play with) Mt. Bachelor’s newest avalanche puppy in-training, Ruddy.

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    Ruddy the avalanche puppy in training sits on a snowmobile and looks up at his handler.

  • PRIDE Weekend Adventure with Cory, Rafa, and Bondi

    In this story, Cory, Rafa, and Bondi (she’s the one with the four paws and tail) share their adventure to Portland to celebrate PRIDE Weekend. They explore this dog-friendly city as they celebrate an important life experience.

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    Bondi wears her Ruffwear Float Coat™ Dog Life Jacket while on a raft in the water.

  • Van Life: Coast Road Trip with Bree & Noodle

    In this story, Ruffwear Ambassador Bree shares how her van road trip along the PNW coast offered her dogs a chance to grow in a new environment. One of her dogs, Noodle, navigated trotting along the shores and splashing in the ocean with her scooter – leaving her mark of sandy paw prints and scooter tracks behind.

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    Two dogs and their owner relax in their van.

  • Running in the Rain: Tips from Krissy & PD

    As autumn starts to work its way into our weather forecasts, these tips from as seasoned of a running duo as ambassadors Krissy & PD have us eager to lace up and get out with our ever-eager canine sidekicks – rain or shine.

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    Krissy and her dog PD running on a muddy trail

  • Passing on Legacies

    In “Passing On Legacies,” Ruffwear’s Dove Gibson explores her own journey of becoming that has been marked by the bounty of lessons she’s learned from a lifetime of rivers, her partner, Clell, and her two dogs, Midge and River.

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    Fishing boat rows down Deschutes River.

  • Van Life: Our Golden Doodle Cheat Code

    Ask any vanlifer what some of their favorite things about the lifestyle are, and it’s definitely better than 50/50 odds that they will mention the people they get to meet on the road. When it comes to meeting people on our road-travels, our pup Astro is what we call "a cheat code."

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    Dog and human in forest with van in background