BY ALLISON LEE
Dogs are a massive part of many people’s lives, mine being no exception, and, whatever role the dog has, be it on the farm or smallholding, hunting, protecting and guarding, search and rescue, therapy and emotional support or quite simply as pets, all owners want their dogs to be warm and comfortable.
United in their passion for dogs’ welfare, mother and son, Alison and Ed Hoare, have created products that put the dog at the very heart of everything they do.
The journey of Ruff and Tumble first began over ten years ago when Alison, who loves to walk her dogs on the Norfolk coast in all weathers, saw a niche in the market for a product which allowed her to walk her dogs on wet, sandy beaches but at the same time ensured they were warm, clean and dry before she put them back in the car! Although there were drying coats on the market at the time, Alison says she couldn’t find one that she liked. They were either made of synthetic fabric or were ill-fitting and uncomfortable; Alison didn’t like them and, she says, neither did her dogs. So, she set about at her kitchen table, designing the very first Ruff and Tumble dog Drying Coat and her business idea was born.
The coats are made from quality cotton towelling rather than man-made material, making them more comfortable for the dog and efficient at drying. One of the most crucial features of the Drying Coat is the two layers of towelling. Alison explains that this is important because “The under-layer wicks away the moisture from the dog’s fur. Their body heat then pushes the moisture through to the coat’s outer layer, ensuring the dog does not sit in a damp towel. The dog dries first, followed by the coat, which dries itself from the inside out whilst being worn. This makes the Ruff and Tumble drying coats more effective at drying than single-layered coats,” she says.
I had the opportunity of asking Ed, Alison’s son, who runs the day-to-day business, if he would do anything differently, and he told me, “I regret not patenting our Drying Coat designs. In the early days, we were advised against wasting our money on this. When we started the brand, ours was the only Drying Coat on the market; today, almost every dog brand offers one. I appreciate healthy competition and the increased exposure for Drying Coats as a product. However, over the years, countless businesses have appeared, imitating every part of our design. It’s frustrating to see businesses profit from our hard work and design,” Ed says.
Ed went on to explain that all Ruff and Tumble’s products are designed and tested in-house. The Drying Coats and Mitts are manufactured in Turkey, while the majority of the other core products are made in the UK. In 2023, Ruff and Tumble established a dedicated manufacturing team at its Oakham base.
I asked Ed who he saw as his primary customer base, and he told me, “Anybody with a dog is a potential R and T customer! However, the majority of our products are aimed at making life with wet and muddy dogs easier. Focusing on the muddy dogs means that the large majority of our customers are working breeds like labradors and spaniels, the dogs who love to swim and romp in the mud. We’ve had many well-known celebrity customers over the years, but our most recent and arguably most well-known is Jeremy Clarkson, who owns several of our Drying Coats and Burnham Bolster Dog Beds.”
Ed is passionate about his work, and he clearly believes in the products he and his mum have designed. “The greatest high of the journey I experience every day when I arrive at work,” Ed tells me. He goes on to say, “I arrive at a 10,000 square foot warehouse/office and a team of amazing staff. This reminds me just how much we’ve achieved, having started with my mother and brother around a kitchen table.”
One of the most significant achievements to date, Ed told me, was opening their first-ever shop in Stamford in 2025. He admitted there have been a few disappointments over the years “The most notable that come to mind are when we had to race home from Crufts to save as much stock as we could when our old warehouse flooded. Or back in 2022, when we lost our Instagram account to a hacker and lost years of work.”
Clearly, Ed and his team have put these mishaps behind them as they focus on providing a carefully curated collection of merchandise that they design in-house, ensuring that everything on offer is, as Ed says, “the best of the best.”
Ruff and Tumble is now a successful family business, selling products worldwide from New Zealand to Iceland. If you would like to see what they can offer your dog, please visit their website.
Allison Lee is a smallholder from North Yorkshire who has written for the Yorkshire Times and other publications. Her website can be accessed here.