Florida-Based SwiftPaws is a Shark Tank Favorite, Lure Course Leader

Pet Age Staff / September 23, 2025

SwiftPaws, a Florida-based company with a focus on pet wellness, is an example of an emerging brand that is driving the pet industry. The brand’s products include professional and at-home Lure Course kits and engagement toys built to provide pets with the mental, social and physical fulfillment needed to live their best lives. After a direct-to-consumer launch last year, the brand entered the retailers market at Global Pet Expo, where it received a Best in Show award for pet tech innovation. Pet Age recently spoke with SwiftPaws founder and CEO Meghan Wolfgram to learn about the brand’s journey.

What is lure coursing and what is the importance of at-home enrichment play?
Lure coursing is a sport where dogs chase a fast-moving lure, usually a small flag, as it navigates along a motorized line. Think of it as a fake squirrel that darts and weaves unpredictably, fulfilling a dog’s natural chase instinct. The best part? The human gets to control the speed and direction of the flag, and catching the flag is a hugely rewarding part of the fun. It was originally developed for sighthound breeds like whippets, but when I first learned about it, I couldn’t help but wonder why it only existed for a few specific breeds at organized sporting events.

At the time, I had a high-energy Miniature Pinscher named Pretzel. He loved chasing more than anything, so my dad helped me build our own lure machine. Pretzel loved it, my friends’ dogs loved it, too. That homemade setup was the spark that led me to start SwiftPaws in 2012. What I didn’t fully realize back then was how essential this kind of instinctual play really is. Dogs are biologically wired for a predatory sequence, which you can think of as the steps needed to be successful at hunting and catching food. Modern pet life interrupts nearly all of it. We keep out pets indoors, feed them from bowls, walk them on leashes, and ask them to be calm and well-behaved in environments that provide little to no outlets for their natural instincts. Unsurprisingly, many pets develop behavior issues — not because they’re “bad dogs,” but because they’re under-stimulated and frustrated. That’s where enrichment comes in. It’s not just about having fun; it’s about meeting a core need. Physical & mental enrichment helps reduce stress, improve behavior, and build confidence. It gives pets the chance to think, move, and express themselves. With SwiftPaws, we’ve created a way to bring instinct-based enrichment into regular households. Whether you have a backyard or live in an apartment, our goal is to make enrichment easy and accessible for every pet.

How did your appearance on Shark Tank help with the growth of SwiftPaws?
Shark Tank was transformational. By the time I was pitching to the Sharks, SwiftPaws had already started shipping our first version made for backyard use. Like many startups, we hit challenges during the pandemic like supply chain delays and rising material costs, but we also experienced incredible growth as people started investing more in their pets. Lori Greiner offered me her Golden Ticket. That means she gave me exactly the deal I went in asking for, no negotiating. It was an emotional moment for me and, yes, I cried on national TV. But it wasn’t just about the investment. It was about validation. After years of effort more people were finally seeing and understanding what SwiftPaws was all about. Lori’s belief in the product, and in me, has been invaluable.
The public response was overwhelming in the best way. We sold out just weeks after airing. A lot of people said, “This looks amazing; we can’t wait for a more affordable version,” so I went back to the drawing board. That feedback directly inspired the creation of Chase, and now Pounce, our most budget-friendly options yet, designed specifically for everyday homes and small spaces. Working with Lori has been so impactful. She’s not just a partner — she’s an active advisor. The day before the episode aired, she personally helped me review every page of our website and provided great input. Having someone with her scope of experience in our corner is beyond words.

Why was it important for you to expand from dog trainers to brick-and-mortar pet retailers?
For the first seven years of the business, we sold exclusively to dog trainers, clubs, zoos, and other professionals because they could immediately implement it into their existing businesses, adding value to their programs and communities. There was also a real need for kennel clubs to have machines capable of running the new all-breed competitive events. Those earliest customers used it at events, competitions, and in training sessions. Zoos used it with exotic species, and some customers even included it in K9 conditioning programs.

As we started introducing consumer-grade versions, we found that the demand for enrichment was growing well beyond professional use. We believe every pet parent should have access to a variety of products that support their pet’s mental and physical well-being. That’s why we’ve started moving into retail — to make our products even more accessible. It’s also about the magic of an in-person experience.

SwiftPaws is a product many have to see to understand. When someone (or better yet, their dog) sees our interactive, in-store display, they stop, ask questions, and start imagining how they could use it in their home. Our display lets people engage with the product on the spot, they get to see how it works, and understand how enrichment can be simple, safe, and fun. They also get to see their dog’s reaction to it, which is so much fun to watch!

Retailers are trailblazers in their communities, introducing new products and concepts, they are at the forefront of normalizing enrichment as a core part of pet wellness. Recently, the toy aisle has come alive with interactive toys, enrichment is becoming mainstream and we’re proud to be part of that movement.

What are the products that make up the SwiftPaws portfolio?
At its core, SwiftPaws exists to give pets healthier, happier lives through instinct-based play. Our lure coursing kits reflect that mission by offering solutions for different spaces, play styles, and budgets. The SwiftPaws Chase! kit is a compact version designed for smaller areas. It can reach speeds up to 20 mph and handles up to 100 feet of line. It’s perfect for homes with limited backyard space.

For those with more room, we offer two options: Home Original and Home Plus, each kit more powerful than the last. They are both powered by rechargeable batteries, [can reach speeds of up to] 30 or 36 mph and can run courses of up to 300 or 750 feet long, respectively. That’s enough to run the length of a football field!

Newest to the SwiftPaws lineup is Pounce, an indoor version made specifically for cats and little dogs. Pounce has both manual and automatic play modes, and it provides a lot of playtime fun in our most-affordable configuration yet.

But we don’t stop at coursing-based play. We’ve expanded our enrichment offerings to satisfy a wider range of instincts. The SwiftPaws Flirt Pole and Critter Packs provide more hands-on, interactive engagement. We’ve partnered with Pawzler, a European brand, to bring their modular puzzle toys to the US. And we recently introduced Destructibles, which are toys designed to be destroyed and put back together for safe, supervised tear-apart play, which many dogs crave but rarely get in a structured way.
We know not every dog plays the same way, and our goal is to offer enrichment options to help every pet live a fuller, happier, more satisfied life.

(Photos courtesy SwiftPaws)

View original article here: https://www.petage.com/florida-based-swiftpaws-is-a-shark-tank-favorite-lure-course-leader/