Dogs of Outdoor Retailer

Though attending Outdoor Retailer is fun and has a lot of positives, it’s also exhausting and a lot of work is accomplished over 3 short days. Working 10-12 hour days, emails, content creation and the occasional long night out leads to some serious fatigue. During the show you’re normally running from one appointment to the next, often skipping snacks and lunch- it’s stressful. One of the happier sides of the show though is all the dogs you meet hence the Dogs of Outdoor Retailer. Some very famous, with more Instagram followers than the average influencer- some just cute and there for the attention. This year I decided for my own sanity and for the additional content to photograph some of these dogs for your viewing pleasure. I can attest too, that a friendly face lick and fur pat helped reduce stress and anxiety from the show. So enjoy! This years “Dogs of OR” was an on the whim idea. Next year I plan to be more analytical and get each dog’s name and a quote from the owner.

Dogs of Outdoor Retailer: Day 1

Day 1 was all business for me. Jam packed with appointments and trying to get familiar with the layout of this show. If you’re unfamiliar with the Colorado Convention Center it’s about the size of a football stadium but has 3 floors. A walk at a brisk pace front to back takes about 5 minutes. So day 1 was all about work. I snapped the pic above of this dog after my meeting with Mike Girard from Jones/NOW and then and there decided hey, maybe I should start snapping some Dog pictures and do a whole bit on it. This was towards the end of the day and I was running out of the show to meet with Bogner, so this was the only picture I got on day 1.

Dogs of Outdoor Retailer: Day 2

First thing in the morning I’m greeting with this cute pupper. One of the clauses for a dog to be able to attend Outdoor Retailer is they must be well behaved and have good manners. This Dog, whose name I did not get seemed a bit overwhelmed by the noise, but was calm and composed.

This dog is Finn the Mini Aussie, owned by Kelly Thomson. Finn founded his roots right here in Vermont. Though he now live in Colorado, Kelly used to bartend at Lookout back in the day. You may have even seen him in puppy for a few years ago. Finn loved all the attention he received at Outdoor Retailer and I’m sure he’ll be a repeat attendee.

During the Happy Hour peruse I stumbled upon this guy. His owners didn’t even see me. But once you kneel down to setup a shot, most dogs would like to come say hi with a face lick. This guy held his composure, though I did get a bit of motion blur with a happy tail wag. I’m sure he’s thinking, “Finally! Someone is paying attention to me!”

Over at the Black Diamond Booth (where unbeknownst to me Alex Honold the famous free solo rock climber is doing autograph signings) I came across this dog. Hard to tell in this picture but in person this dog had some wolf- like characteristics. And he’ll do tricks for treats!

When I came over to this dog and it’s owner we were by the Patagonia booth. The owner is on her knees with the dog and explains to me (when I ask if I can snap a photo) that she just needs a minute. See this dog, who is very well behaved did not like one dog in particular, a small little cocker spaniel and he was in the Patagonia booth next to us (we were outside). So we took a minute to get the dog settled then set up the shot. When they say all the dogs need to be well behaved to enter the show, they aren’t understating that. All the dogs I snapped photos of were some of the most well-mannered and respectful dogs I’ve encountered. Props to this owner for being able to calm her pup down and keep on going.

Is it really an Outdoor Retail Show without a Bernese Mountain Dog? I saw plenty but this is the only one I got a photo of. He was the size of a small couch too and love the attention he received. If you’ve never met a Bernese Mountain Dog the pretty much keep that puppy personality their entire lives.

Do Not Pet. There were actually a few dogs with Do Not Pet vests on. I didn’t inquire as to why this lab had this vest on. One could summarize that maybe she get’s overstimulated by people touching here. Or maybe she’s an off-duty K-9. At any rate she was more than happy to let me take her photo.

I find walking the tradeshow floor exhausting. And that’s in comfy hiking shoes. Imagine being a Dog and doing that. I feel you tired Golden Retriever. I tried to get a photo down on his level (it didn’t come out well) and he just stared straight past me. Tradeshows are hard work!

Coco was a bundle of love. So much so that his owner had to hold him back for the photo. Hence the confused look on his face. I have another blurry photo of Coco attempting to give me kisses. Coco was one of my favorites.

Poco here is good friends with Finn the mini aussie I discussed earlier. What breed do you think Poco is? I see a bit of Basenji, maybe some Pit Mix, and Lab? Your guess is as good as mine.

Kicker Muse here is very Instagram famous. If you have an Instagram account and don’t follow this dog, go do it. Kicker’s sit, stay commands where extremely good too. Notice how he’s looking off camera? That’s because his owner Andrew Muse is over there. Andrew and Kicker travel around the country in their tiny house skiing and surfing. Not a bad life!

When I first met the dogs of D-Curve a goggle company, and inquired about the table a rep said “this is their table, and they’re not allowed to leave it until we say so.” It’s a great marketing strategy too. Put a large table at the front of your booth and add four very cute dogs to it, and people are bound to get drawn in. Towards the end of Day 3 some of the dogs weren’t having it (and you can see in one photo one laying down in the back of the booth) and started to jump off the table. But for the most part Carousel and Icicle were more than happy to get their pictures taken and enjoy pets from various passer-by’s.

Day 3

At first I wasn’t going to use all 3 pictures of this dog. In fact I won’t even edit 1 and 3. But this serious of shots is just too good. It’s funny too. With all the Golden’s I photographed they all perked up when the shutter went off- but this round of photos is just too good. Even the owners reactions in the background is priceless.

A Blue Heeler/ Terrier Mix this girl did not want to stay still for a photo. Characteristically correct for this mixture of breeds. But a treat dangling above the camera. Oh not that’s something worth stopping for. Thanks for being a good sport Frannie!

Remember that Cocker Spaniel I mentioned from Day 2? This dog didn’t like that particular dog either, who happened to be walking past the DC booth while were hanging out. But she posed for a photo and later was spotted hanging out with the Pit Viper crew ( A brand of 80’s looking sunglasses that are wildly popular among millennials). What mix of breeds do you think this dog is? I honestly couldn’t put my finger on it.

Yes! Husky sighting! Stalking dogs like the paparazzi do to celebrities is something I started to do on Day 3. I would seek out dogs, follow them for a moment and when the owner stopped at a booth would come over and ask if I could pet and photograph their best friend. Nevica also wasn’t too keen on posing for a photo (hence the slight blur in the face) but she was beautiful and enjoyed her pets post photo taking.

Rex The Shiba Inu was more than content to pose for a photo. I saw him as I was walking into the cafeteria to eat lunch. Luckily he was still there when I finished up and I was able to snap his photo.

What an interesting mix of breeds. German Shepherd, Sheepdog, maybe Belgian Shepard? He definitely did not want to pose for a photo but was to much fun to not take his picture.

This dog is a mascot for the company Bula, and he was pooped when I came across him. Granted it was the final hour of the show on Day 3. So I don’t blame him. Being this cute is hard!

The owner of the scruffy dog in the flannel was the one who said he went to a festival in California, took 300 dog photos, got the name of the dog and a quote from the owner. A good idea for me to attempt next year at Outdoor Retailer which will probably result in twice as many photos.

The dog on the left almost looks like Nyla the unofficial mascot of Basin Sports. Nyla is a purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback and this dog has some Rhody characteristics. I also though it looked like maybe there was some Weimaraner in there too. Rio on the other hand (to the right) was too cute and looked like a dog you’d see in a cartoon.

It’s “Ruff” being this cute. As I left the Convention Center on Day 3 I saw this girl (the last dog I encountered) at the front hall near the Ikon Pass Booth. Cutness overload! I’m happy to have photographed these dogs, and of course have the opportunity to attend Outdoor Retailer. When stress levels got high, a quick photo, pat and face lick just everything better. Next year we’ll have more photos, names for each dog and possibly something else.