Patrick Kruse founded Bend-based Ruff Wear in response to a friend’s challenge to invent something less cumbersome than a metal or plastic bowl to provide water for dogs on the trail.

His solution: a foldable dog bowl made out of waterproof tent fabric.

Kruse decided to take 15 of the fabric bowls to the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in 1994. He came away with 8,000 orders, mostly from the L.L Bean company, and decided to incorporate the business that year, he said.

Since then, Ruff Wear’s product line has grown to dozens of outdoor gear products for dogs, such as life jackets, coats, harnesses, boots, packs and apparel, along with the original “Quencher Bowl.”

Kruse, 50, said all of the products are designed to solve problems reported by dog owners who take their K-9 friends on outdoor adventures like hiking, biking and kayaking.

The business, which now employs 23, has distribution and product sales across the United States and 25 countries, Kruse said.

He founded the company in Seal Beach, Calif., and relocated to Bend in 1996for the outdoor lifestyle and recreational opportunities.

Ruff Wear is not Kruse’s first business venture. He founded his first company, Mariner Marine Works, which made sailing gear, in Seal Beach in 1977 when he was 26 years old. About five years later he founded Salamander Paddle Gear in the same area, with two partners.

For a short time Kruse had all three businesses going at once. He sold the first business when he moved to Bend. He sold the second after Ruff Wear sales took off.

He said all three businesses grew out of the recreational activities he was passionate about and the challenges he and other outdoor enthusiasts faced in taking their dogs along.

Besides being the owner and founder of Ruff Wear, Kruse is also the director of research and development.

He still spends most of his work days doing research, talking to people about problems they face sharing outdoor recreation activities with their dogs and then helping design products that solve them.

“We are constantly improving our line of products and introducing new designs, even at the expense of cannibalizing sales from an existing product,” said Kruse.

Despite being the founder and owner, Kruse is not the highest-paid employee, said Will Blount, president of Ruff Wear.

“Some of our commissioned sales staff are paid more than Patrick or me,” Blount said. “We reinvest our profits to fuel growth.”

The privately held company, which began with a $33 investment in material for 15 foldable dog bowls sewn in Kruse’s garage, has seen sales growth every year since its inception, Blount said, and has operated debt free since 2003.

Ruff Wear sells its products through specialty outdoor pet retailers, chain stores like REI, Eastern Mountain Sports and Cabela’s, distributors in Europe and Internet sites such as Zappos, Backcountry.com and Altrec, said Susan Strible, director of marketing. The company also sells directly to the public at its retail store in Bend.

Kruse agreed to answer some additional questions from The Bulletin.

Q: What was the secret to your success at the Outdoor Retailer Trade show in 1994?

A: I took a dog product into a channel — the outdoor industry — that no one else was selling to. So instead of competing for dollars, we were actually creating a whole new market now known as outdoor dog gear.

Q: How much do you spend on advertising?

A: We spend zero in paid advertising. Instead we focus on grass roots marketing activities, public relations, sponsored ambassadors, events, social media, product training and ski patrol.

Q: Does Ruff Wear donate to nonprofit groups that work to save or enhance wild places or wildlife?

A: We are a member of The Conservation Alliance, which is a group of outdoor businesses that work together to protect wild places throughout North America where wildlife thrives and customers recreate. We also have a donation program that supports organizations and events that support outdoor space where wildlife thrives and people and dogs recreate.

Q: Did you make a ton of money when you sold your first two businesses after you built them up?

A: I would have made more money if I had bought a house and sold it 10 or 12 years later than I did from the sale of Mariner Marine Works and Salamander Paddle Gear. The greatest value was in what I learned from running those businesses.

Q: What is the long-term plan for Ruff Wear?

A: In Europe there are businesses that have been around hundreds of years. I think that kind of longevity is something that is something that is important.

The basics

Who: Patrick Kruse, owner, founder, research and development director

Company: Ruff Wear

Employees: 23

Address: 561 N.W. York Drive, Bend

Phone: 541-388-1821

Website: www.ruffwear.com