At A Glance

While running a medical consulting company, David had a business idea to make, market, and sell a pet toy made for large energetic dogs and founded Tether Tug in 2015. After a long period of steady sales, the E-Commerce company experienced significant growth in the last few years with revenue increasing 300%. Learn how David scaled his business through focusing on product quality (not quantity) while emphasizing transparency and communication in customer experience.

Who is David?

Meet David Hayford, Founder of Tether Tug!

About Tether Tug‍

Tether Tug is a small Midwest company that is passionate about animals and health. We offer truly unique dog toys that focus on giving your pooch the mental and physical exercise they need. The Tether Tug’s unique design allows for full 360-degree rotation and can bend all the way to the ground, providing hours of energy-burning outdoor play. The durable construction can handle any size and breed of dog, and the end toy can be interchanged with other toys to keep the style of play fresh and engaging. Each Tether Tug comes with a 55-inch Tether Tug pole, an in-ground base, quick connector attachment and a Tether Tug Rope Toy.

David’s Entrepreneurial Journey

“You don’t know where you’re going until you get there” is how David begins his entrepreneurial story. 10 years ago, he was running a medical consulting company with his former business partner, a trauma surgeon.They worked on the concept, a pole with a tethered ball for a year and finally launched the product uncertain how it would perform.  The dog’s reaction at the product photoshoot was just the answer they needed – the toy was a big hit.

“My partner and I have since split ways and this is what my wife and I do full time,” David says. “It’s been great. It’s been a heck of a ride. I love working in the pet space.”

What Excites David About E-Commerce

“What excites me most about e-commerce is the constant potential—it’s always there, and I love the challenge of uncovering it,” David shares. He recognizes that driving a business forward often requires making tough decisions, including reevaluating and restructuring the team around you. With the number of dog owners on the rise, he sees a growing opportunity for Tether Tug to become a go-to toy in pet households. Rather than rapidly expanding the product line, David is focused on refining what they already offer. “We’re really trying to excel in a specific niche—active, younger dogs,” he explains. “I just want to keep improving our toy and connect with more pet owners.”

The Team at Tether Tug

Tether Tug’s team is a close-knit group based out of the company’s main office in Southwest Missouri. Alongside founder David and his wife, the team includes one full-time employee and five part-time contract workers who handle product manufacturing. David’s sister, who is based in Mission Viejo, California, manages customer service—a role she took over after he became overwhelmed in the early days. “She’s done an amazing job,” David comments.

Tether Tug’s CX Philosophy

Communication, transparency, and honesty are the core values guiding Tether Tug’s customer experience philosophy. “We tell customers that our products are made by hand, they are made by a small family company in Missouri, and we’ll get them out to you as soon as possible,” David explains. 

Over the years, David has increased his focus on making CX better at Tether Tug – “the big thing is being flexible for change.” The company strives to maintain a ‘folksy,’ approachable tone in customer interaction - this was put to the test after Tether Tug implemented a lifetime guarantee in early 2025 (replacements are sent even if the product was purchased prior to the policy). “It helps our lives easier,” David says. “We’re always going to take care of our customers and talk to them like friends.”

Going the Extra Mile: Making Pet Owners’ Lives Easier

Raising an energetic puppy can be stressful for any pet owner, regardless of age. Tether Tug’s products help ease that burden—especially for older customers who face the added challenge of managing an overactive dog. “They thank us because we’ve been able to change their dog’s behavior,” says David. Some customers are so grateful, in fact, they’ve even sent gifts—like a bottle of Vermont maple syrup—to show their appreciation.

Product Innovation: Quality Over Quantity

The pet toy market is ever-growing with variations of existing products being added each day. Eschewing the ‘more-is-more’ attitude toward business, David is focused on improving Tether Tug’s existing products – there are 10 SKUs in all. “I want to be a stand-alone. Our tether tug, which has an incredible patent on it thankfully, does just that. So how do we keep evolving? How can I make a better product for the customer? How can I deliver a better experience?” he says, noting that the company’s growth over the last 2 years has allowed him to think deeply about important questions regarding innovation and quality.

To best understand how products are performing, the company relies on customer feedback. Based on pet owners’ requests., the outdoor tether tug was adapted to a handheld version. “It was actually an idea of our customers,” David says, pointing out that the elastic design makes playing with your dog easy and pain free.

Balancing Safe Business Strategies and Taking Risks

When Tether Tug launched, David was already financially independent, so he didn’t face the typical dilemma bootstrapped entrepreneurs do—choosing between drawing profits and reinvesting them. However, the stable circumstances led him to playing it safe with business strategies. After a long period of steady sales, the company experienced significant growth in recent years with revenue increasing 300%. Looking back, David believes that growth would have come earlier had he been “more adventurous and took a few more risks.”

How David Plans For Peak Season

Holiday pet gifts is a huge market making Q4 and Q1 Tether Tug’s peak season. “I’ve been caught flat footed,” David admits and eventually learned that “the way you take care of the Q4 is to take care of it during Q1” of that same year. Planning for imported materials, inventory, marketing, and staff support happens months before the busy period. He stresses that the questions “what’s your budget going to look like? How much money are you going to need? What kind of raw goods are you going to have? What tweaks need to be made to your website?” should all be answered well before November 1^st.

The Future of Tether Tug and What’s Next for David

In both his career and life, David is reaching a point where he wants to transition Tether Tug to a “hobby business” and by the end of 2026, wants to step away from daily operations while maintaining ownership. “I’m going to back out as much as I can, show up a couple days a week, and hopefully take longer vacations,” he reveals and goes on to disclose a second option under consideration - selling the business.

David’s Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

“Make sure you have something that people want. And not just want, but is special,” David says to rising entrepreneurs. Commitment, hard work, and knowledge are also critical – don’t sit on asking for help if you need it. David speaks from experience, “we were steady for a while then just took off. That’s because I hired the right guy to do my marketing” emphasizing “that’s the most important thing – as you move forward, have the right people on the bus.”