Ruffwear is an outdoor dog gear brand based in Bend, Oregon. We're founded on a passion for inspiring dog and human connections in the outdoors – and storytelling is a big part of doing just that.
We're looking for personal stories that tell the tale of outdoor experiences you’ve shared with your dog(s) – anything from an epic adventure to those everyday moments when you seek fresh air with your canine sidekick.
Have a story like that? Here's how to pitch a story for our blog.
What's a Pitch?
A strong pitch includes a succinct description of the piece you would like to write: aim for two paragraphs. Please be specific. Share both what the story will be about and why you think this story is important to share with our readers. Think of a gripping movie trailer: what will grab our attention and leave us wanting more?
What Are We Looking For?
What makes it a Ruffwear story?
We're always looking for an array of stories that highlight the bond between dogs and their humans in the outdoors. Stories that showcase dogs and humans unleashing possibility through a life of discovery. Stories that celebrate the explorer within every dog.
Stand-out stories might include (but are not limited to): something new you discovered about your dog, you, or the places you explore through an outdoor endeavor with your dog; how your working dog changes the way you can experience the outdoors; the first time you tried an outdoor activity with your dog; an account of an outdoor adventure (or misadventure) you shared with your dog.
Have a story that fits the bill? Pitch us!
Pitch Guidelines
We're looking for original pitches for stories that you don’t plan to publish on a personal site or another website. Already written or published pieces will not be considered.
Tell us why your story is a must-read specifically for our audience. Get to know Ruffwear and explore our blog before creating your pitch. If we’ve already covered a similar story, what makes yours unique?
Ready to send your pitch? Email it to stories@ruffwear.com with subject line: “Freelance Pitch on [your idea]”
We do our best to reply promptly whether or not we’d like to move forward with your pitch. If you haven’t heard back after two weeks, feel free to follow up.
For now, we can only accept writers based in the US and Canada. We'll update this page when that changes.
Next Steps
If your pitch is what we're looking for, we’ll reach out to confirm details with you before submitting the full story. Our stories are approximately 800-1000 words in length. We’ll also ask you to provide 8 - 10 photos to be included in the piece.
Compensation
Compensating writers matters to us. We pay a flat rate of $500 per story, which covers roughly 800-1000 words and 8-10 photos to be included.
Thank you!
It’s writers like you that help us share a wide range of stories that are inspiring, insightful, adventurous, humorous, tear jerkers and tail waggers. The more tales of dog and human explorers discovering the outdoors, the better.
Thank you for considering sharing your story with us. We hope to hear from you!
