About

The Short Version:

We design and make unique, quality products that keep dogs active and engaged!

The Longer Version:

Our own dogs keep us motivated!

We design and make toys, games, puzzles, travel products and other quality dog products at fair prices.  We have a passion for dogs, and thus feel that they deserve fun, functional products . . . products that last longer and challenge their minds and instincts so they can be happy and healthy, which in turn enriches all of our lives!

The Full Story:

How We Got Started

Back in the days before we had kids – the dogs were our kids – and we were a wholesale distributor of pet supplies in Southern California.  Little did we know that our immersion into the pet business was helping us to build the foundation for our future.  We worked lots of hours and learned as much as possible, and we became familiar with what was on the market from just about every manufacturer in the industry as it passed through our warehouse.

What We Were Missing

Of course, we’ve always been an active couple, and taking our dogs along was mandatory.  As we traveled and played with our dogs, we learned a lot about what was (and wasn’t) available – we needed stuff that just wasn’t out there.  There were huge voids in the marketplace! Why did our dogs have to settle for boring, ugly, low-quality toys? Why was it nearly impossible to find travel gear?  We usually ended up throwing dog supplies and food into plastic grocery bags in order to take them on our adventures!

How We Solved the Problem

First, it occurred to us that our dogs might enjoy cute well-made plush toys, and we were right!

Thus our Plush Puppies brand was born.  Kyjen was one of the first companies to make plush toys specifically for dogs.  We didn’t just slap the Plush Puppies name on kids’ plush toys with their plastic eyes and weak stitching.  Instead, we designed plush toys that had lots of features that were attractive to dogs that love to play, and we made them safe and longer-lasting for our furry friends!

Around this same time we came up with the idea to create a complete line of travel gear for dogs, and our Outward Hound brand was born. We found practical solutions that made traveling with dogs easier and more convenient, whether on the trail, in the city, on a boat, or in a car.  Now we could all be active!

Today

Over a decade later, with the help of our expanded rock star design team (no longer relying on design sketches on paper napkins), we continue to launch plush toys and travel gear. Don’t think we’re stopping there… we’ve branched out way beyond that!  Here in Colorado, we’re all active dog owners, and we find that if we have a need for a certain product, so do our customers and their dogs. We’re constantly exploring new categories and striving to provide the best of the best in quality, function, and fun.

Every day is “Bring Your Dog to Work Day” at Kyjen, so it’s easy for us to engage in research and development on an ongoing basis (and to recruit enthusiastic toy testers!).

(Your dog can be one of our testers too, click here for more details)

What’s Next?

Stay-tuned for many exciting new Dog Games Puzzle Toys. After all, dogs like the challenge of playing games and solving puzzles too! Why should humans have all the fun?

Instinct Dog Beds are the most enticing reason we can come up with to get our dogs off the couch!  We’re tired of over-priced poor-quality dog beds that don’t look good in our homes… and our dogs are just plain tired after all of this fun!  Thus we’ve put our development skills to work to create stylish comfortable instinctive nesting beds.  Keep your eyes peeled for more décor-friendly designs.

Meet Us!

In order to pursue our mission of keeping dogs (and humans) active and engaged, we have an ever-growing team of talent that makes our business possible and keeps our fans and customers begging for the “next new thing”.  They’re the reason for our success!

Kyle Hansen
President/Founder
email: Kyle at Kyjen.com

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