About Bully Pully

01 / The beginningIt started with Clark.Love for one dog became the reason to build.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

I created Bully Pully out of love for my dog. Pure and simple.

Clark has a big heart and a whole lot of energy. A dog like him can be misunderstood by the way he looks—and by the way he acts.

We can dramatically change how that energy shows up by meeting the dog where they are. By understanding their needs and giving them meaningful outlets to move, work, and play.

The holes in the yard. The chewed shoes. The damage to the walls. The barking that never seems to stop. Those behaviors can have different causes, but sometimes we’re looking at a dog who needs an outlet and has found one of his own.

I wanted to give Clark something better: something he could pull against, put himself into, and enjoy. My goal was to help him feel fulfilled, beyond simply being tired—to finish doing something satisfying and be ready to settle.

Clark resting beside a tug and Bully Pully unit — Clark. The reason behind all of it.

02 / Early developmentBuilt. Tested. Reworked.Wood, resistance bands, workshop experiments, and an idea taking shape.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

The early versions were hands-on experiments. Exposed resistance bands, wooden components, and tube prototypes gave me a way to build, test, and keep making adjustments.

Early Bully Pully resistance bands and tug prototype — An early resistance-band and tug setup.

Handheld wooden carriage with resistance bands — The wooden carriage and band connections.

Open Bully Pully prototype with red resistance bands — Inside an open prototype.

Bobby holding an early Bully Pully prototype — One of the early builds.

Early digital design of the Bully Pully mechanism — Taking the mechanism into digital design.

Assembling prototypes together at the workbench — Building together at the workbench.

Enclosed Bully Pully tube prototype on the workbench — An enclosed tube prototype.

Early workshop resistance test — Testing in the workshop.

29 seconds from the early days: machining, weight testing, and outdoor dog play.

03 / Learning another skillI didn’t know how to sew.Clark kept destroying toys. Making my own tugs became the next step.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

Clark could destroy a toy in seconds, and I couldn’t afford to keep replacing them. So the next step was to learn to sew my own tugs.

That led me to Ohio to buy a sewing machine from a man who told me he’d sewn the interior of the original Ghostbusters car.

There was just one problem: I didn’t know how to sew. I didn’t know how to set up the machine or maintain it, either. I’d bought an industrial sewing machine because Clark needed tugs—and now I had to figure out how to use the thing.

That’s how a lot of Bully Pully came together. Clark needed something, and I learned what I had to learn to make it for him.

Bringing the sewing machine home in a van — Bringing the sewing machine home from Ohio.

The industrial Consew sewing machine — The Consew—and another skill to learn.

Hand-drawn triangular tug design — A tug idea on paper.

Sewn triangular fire-hose tug — Turning the sketch into a sewn tug.

At the machine: making and inspecting a tug.

04 / Finding the lookThe first shirt. The first identity.The product was becoming a brand.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

Early Bully Pully lettering concepts — Exploring early lettering.

Early green and purple Bully Pully branding — The green-and-purple identity taking shape.

The first Bully Pully T-shirt — Our first T-shirt: a serious workout for your dog.

Early Bully Pully product portrait — An early product portrait.

The first interview, preserved from the early days.

05 / Early productionClearing the shelves at Menards.Carts full of fittings became units on the workbench.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

I used to clear the shelves at Menards. Tubes, caps, fittings—whatever I needed for the next round of builds. Those carts full of parts became prototypes and finished units on my workbench.

Shopping cart full of PVC fittings — One of those Menards runs.

Components and resistance bands on the assembly table — Parts, bands, and work in progress.

Early production run of Bully Pully units — An early production run.

Holding a group of finished Bully Pully units — Finished units, ready for the next step.

06 / The finishing touchThe chef’s kiss.When the outside process failed, the solution was a home oven.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

The shrink wrap was the finishing touch—the chef’s kiss.

We took the units to a company to see if they could handle that step, but their method didn’t work for our product. One after another, units were getting ruined.

So I figured out how to do it myself. Every unit I sold, I shrink-wrapped in a home oven.

Finished wrapped Bully Pully unit — The finished look.

07 / Learning from failuresKeep the lessons, too.The parts that didn’t hold up are part of the story.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

Development included failures. These are some of the components and test setups from that process—the pieces I had to keep examining and reworking.

Prototype mechanism held in a workshop vise — Examining the mechanism in the workshop.

Failed components collected during development — Failed parts. Lessons to carry into the next version.

08 / Taking it on the roadTSA had a few questions.The Denver trip—and a prototype that stopped at security.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

Development even took us to Denver, Colorado, where we’d arranged visits with different dogs to try the system.

Getting the prototype there was an adventure of its own.

Imagine taking a tube with two caps and a cable sticking out of it through airport security. It looked just like a bomb. Thankfully, the PVC tube was clear, so TSA could see inside.

They X-rayed it, and after a couple of managers, two supervisors, and a couple of sheriffs got involved, we were finally on our way.

I’m pretty sure that clear tube is the only reason we got to keep the prototype.

Airport X-ray screen showing Bully Pully prototypes — Bully Pully’s first flight. TSA had a few questions.

09 / Almost two years into development“What’s a spring pole?”A conversation with a trainer from Dogs Playing for Life.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

Almost two years into developing Bully Pully, I met a trainer from Dogs Playing for Life. I mentioned the tug system I’d been working on, and that conversation was the first time I heard the term “spring pole.”

My mind was blown. After all that time developing, testing, and researching, I hadn’t even come across one.

When I started looking at the spring poles out there, the setups I saw raised safety concerns for me. They weren’t something I would feel comfortable having Clark use every day with me.

That made my goal even clearer: keep developing an outlet with everyday use, safety, and the relationship between a dog and their steward at the center of every decision.

10 / The first expoGetting there was an adventure.Finished units, a long drive, and a back that wasn’t cooperating.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

Then came my first expo. I’d thrown my back out, and the long drive meant stopping to stretch just so I could move.

These photos tell that part of the story too: finishing the units, getting them there, and finally putting Bully Pully in front of people.

Roadside stretching on the trip to the first expo — A roadside stretching break on the way.

An early expo visit — The first expo chapter.

11 / First big expo / Green BayThree people. One big setup.A booth, a lot of assembly, and K9 officers stopping by.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

Our first pro expo setup stood about eight feet high and had around 16 pieces to assemble. These photos show three of us getting it together. Handling it by myself was rough.

At our first big expo in Green Bay, K9 officers stopped by with their dogs and bought around four Bully Pully units. Something I’d started building out of love for Clark was reaching people who worked with dogs professionally.

Working on expo frame connections — Putting the connections together.

Assembling the large expo frame — Getting the frame standing.

The assembled expo display frame — The assembled display.

K9 officers and their dogs at the Green Bay Bully Pully booth — K9 officers and their dogs at the Green Bay booth.

A dog and handler trying Bully Pully at the Green Bay booth.

12 / A simpler demonstrationThe $140 swing set.A setup that showed people exactly how I use Bully Pully.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

The big expo frame didn’t add much to the demonstration. So I switched to a swing set.

The whole thing, brackets included, cost $140—and it let me show people exactly how I use Bully Pully.

Bully Pully display with a swing-set frame — The simpler swing-set display.

13 / Around 2022–2026The daycare was my college.Bully Pully had less of my time. My education in dogs kept going.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

From around 2022 through 2026, I gradually stepped back from Bully Pully as other work and personal responsibilities took more of my time. But I never fully let it go.

During those years, I worked in dog daycare as a general manager, maintenance person, handler, trainer—and whatever else the day needed.

That was my college. The dogs were my teachers.

Every day gave me opportunities to observe different energy levels, personalities, play styles, and needs. I was learning how to care for the individual dog while managing the environment around them.

Messages still came in. People shared stories of new records and dogs they described as better behaved. Those updates kept me connected to what I’d started. I knew I’d be back.

14 / 2026 / Building againIt’s BP time.The same reason. More experience to build from.OPEN CHAPTER · PHOTOS & STORY

In 2026, I began making room for Bully Pully again. I brought those years of hands-on experience with me.

Through building for Clark and working with other dogs, I kept coming back to the whole dog: mind, body, and spirit. The chance to engage. The opportunity to move and work. The freedom to play, express themselves, and connect.

Clark gave me the reason. I became the hands that brought it to life. In a way, he used me the way I use tools like AI: to help turn a need into something real.

Bully Pully is my love for Clark made into something I can share with other dogs and the people who love them.

Built for the relationship.

— Bobby, Founder & Chief Steward

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About Bully Pully

ONE DOG.
AN IDEA.
A JOURNEY.

See How to Install the Bully Pully Tug Unit