We may have a new owner, but the dogs are still in charge!

There's been a small change at It's A Dogs Life, but we are absolutely still passionate about all things dog and the outdoor lifestyle they make sure we can enjoy together.
Mark decided a short while ago to hang up his work beanie and use that extra time to enjoy the outdoors and to spend more time with his family.  Enter stage right ME (Stuart) and I figured you should know a little about my background and why I’m so excited to have taken over! No, I’m not going to bore you with all the finer details, but just like Mark, I am passionate about dogs and the outdoors, so am absolutely stoked to take over the reins of It's A Dogs Life.

Having initially started working in outdoor retail and then moving through the ranks from being a “wet behind the ear’s” outdoor instructor, through to centre manager and finally a consultant for the governments NCS youth programme, it was kind of inevitable that I was going to own a dog - I mean who works in the outdoor industry and doesn't have at least one, right?

My first Collie X (Ozzy) and then my next dog (a Czech Wolfdog, called Dak) completely changed my life.  They became part of my passion for outdoor sports and, in a crazy twist, my reason for the discovery of sled dog sports!  That's right, in a country that see's very little snow I decided to take up a rather unusual snow sport.
My passion for it grew exponentially, to the point that I bought quite a few more dogs and was lucky enough to spend large parts of the winter travelling the UK and Europe racing and even representing Great Britain at various world championship and international sled dog events.  As if my life wasn't busy enough with all of that, I decided to start a small active dog equipment company called Arctic Wolf, initially making things on my kitchen table and then growing it to have its own UK factory and a small network of retailers across the world.

Jumping forward to the present, I'm fortunate enough to have a very good friend of mine who has taken over the running of Arctic Wolf. I do still have a small factory manufacturing dog products for that brand and for other British and European dog brands and, although my racing days are over and my dogs retired, I still enjoy plenty of time with them and my family.

My aim for It's A Dogs Life is to continue to create some of the best and most fun lifestyle clothing available for like-minded dog lovers and outdoor enthusiasts and allow us to enjoy life with a smile on our face and fresh air in our lungs.

If there's one thing we should always take from our dogs it's that, it's not about how much or how loud we bark, but how much our tail is wagging.

Stuart