The idea for the Super Tug came about in a similar way as the development of our Flirt Pole. Always looking for new ways to keep our high energy pit bull dogs entertained and exercised, I discovered instructions for making a device known as a “spring pole”. A spring pole involves using a large metal spring to suspend a rope from an overhead tree branch with a toy attached to the end. The toy is set high enough that the dog has to jump to reach it, at least getting their front legs off the ground. Then the dog can hang, shake, and tug against the resistance of the spring.

So I made a spring pole for our dogs and they loved it! But I quickly found some serious design flaws. The first problem is that the toy is suspended vertically from an overhead tree branch. I was always nervous that the spring would break or come unattached and send a heavy piece of metal flying at our dog’s face or the tree branch would break and fall, but the real problem was having the dogs hang from the toy with their front legs off the ground. This led to two unfortunate incidents.

On one occasion the toy became caught in our dog’s mouth for a few seconds before I realized he couldn’t release it and ran to his rescue. The second incident was worse. On that occasion a piece of the toy tore off while Maxwell, our mascot dog, was hanging and tugging. He came down right on his tail and yelped in pain. Luckily his tail wasn’t broken but the spring pole went in the garbage after that.

I started brainstorming and concluded that a design with the toy being pulled horizontally from the base of a tree trunk would be much safer than it being hung vertically from an overhead branch. Then I decided to replace the metal spring with super strong bungee cord and designed the connection points so that in case of failure, nothing would come flying back towards the dog. After about 10 prototype revisions, I ended up with the Super Tug, The Ultimate Tug Toy for Strong Dogs. Be sure to watch the video to see it in action! Some key features include:

• Perfect for people with strong dogs who like to play tug-of-war but don’t like having dislocated shoulders.
• Braided Fleece Tug is soft on your dog’s mouth and is safer than rope tugs with easily ingested rope strands.
• 2” wide polypropylene webbing strap has the strength of heavy chain without causing damage to tree bark.
• Super strong marine grade bungee cord eliminates the need for a metal spring.
• “Perfection Loops” tied at the ends of the bungee cord eliminate extra connectors and only become tighter with use.
• Designed to hold up to the most powerful dogs but will still work with dogs of any size.
• Great for people with limited mobility.
• Also works great as a training tool and provides the mental exercise dogs need at the same time they are getting physical exercise.
• Replacement braided Fleece Tug and bungee cord sections available for purchase.
• Strap is long enough to wrap around trees up to approximately 30” in diameter.

3.  Twist the threaded nut built into the Quick Link until the link is closed tightly.  The Super Tug should now be ready to use as seen in Photo 3.

4.  Encourage your dog to start playing tug-of-war by holding the braided Fleece Tug by the looped handle.  Once your dog begins to pull, release the braided Fleece Tug and allow your dog to continue playing tug-of-war against the resistance of the bungee cord as seen in Photo 4.