On May 9, 2026, two South African Mastiffs, also known as Boerboels, stepped onto the pulling pad under sanctioned UPF rules and moved a combined 44,078 pounds - 22,039 each. Not one dog. Two. Mr. Wednesday and Sun Wukong. Officially judged. Verified on site by federation judges. A new world record.



Behind those two dogs is a breeder who has spent close to three decades building a breeding program that produced them.

That breeder is Eli Carver of Cold River Boerboels, and this is how he does it.

Meet Cold River Boerboels

Cold River Boerboels isn't a hobby kennel that got lucky. Carver brings over 27 years of hands-on experience training, working, and breeding a breed many people have never heard of: the Boerboel, a South African Mastiff built for guardian work and hard labor.

The numbers speak for themselves. Every dog is registered. Every dog is DNA tested and screened through OFA or PennHIP (for health and genetic integrity) before ever entering a breeding pair. No exceptions.

Boerboels are still rare in the U.S., and the population is shrinking. Carver treats that as a mandate, not a talking point. His mission: preserve the breed's original size, function, and working drive while keeping temperament stable enough for a family home. Dogs in the program live on the farm, working daily around kids, livestock, and other animals. That's deliberate. A dog that can handle chaos on a farm can handle pressure on a pulling pad.

The Breeding Philosophy: No Passengers

Ask Carver what he breeds for and the list doesn't change: temperament, conformation, workability and health. Every pairing gets evaluated against all four. Skip one and the whole program suffers.

This is a working-dog philosophy, not a show-dog philosophy. A Boerboel from Cold River isn't bred to look strong. It's bred to be strong and structurally sound enough to carry serious muscle mass, stable enough to be handled under pressure, and driven enough to give full effort when it matters.

That combination is exactly what shows up on a pulling pad. Weight pull doesn't reward flash. It rewards structure, drive, and a nervous system that doesn't fold under load. Carver isn't producing one great dog. He's created a program that keeps producing great dogs.

The Record: 22,039 Pounds, Two Dogs

Sun Wukong isn't new to the record books. In November 2025, he set a UPF world record on his own with a 16,917 pound pull at the Bully Max Training Facility in Pittsburgh, PA. Most kennels would call that a career highlight and retire.

Cold River didn't stop there.

On May 9, 2026, Sun Wukong lined up again, this time alongside kennel mate Mr. Wednesday. Under sanctioned UPF rules, verified on site by federation judges, the two Boerboels both moved 22,039 pounds. A new world record, and proof that Cold River isn't a one-dog program. It's a pipeline.

A number like that doesn't happen by accident, let alone twice. It's the output of three systems working together: genetics that build the frame, training that builds the skill, and nutrition that builds and sustains the muscles asked to do the work. Carver is blunt about the order of operations:

"Genetics create potential. Training develops it. Nutrition helps unlock it."

Miss any one of the three and you don't get a world record. You get a strong dog that never gets the chance to prove it.

Fueling the Pull: Where Bully Max Comes In

Carver didn't land on Bully Max by accident either. Cold River tested premium commercial diets, homemade feeding programs, and raw diets before settling on a program. The standard was simple: if it doesn't produce results, it doesn't stay in the kennel.


Here's what Carver required before a food earned a spot in his program:

• High-quality protein sources
• No corn
• No wheat
• No soy
• No animal by-products
• Consistent ingredient quality
• Digestibility that doesn't waste calories
• Support for muscle growth and recovery
• Nutrition that works across every stage and workload: puppies, adults, and performance dogs

Bully Max cleared every requirement. More importantly, it showed up in the dogs. Better body condition, better muscle development, better coat quality and better recovery between training sessions.

The Base: Bully Max 31/25 Pro Series Formula

The foundation of the Cold River feeding program is Bully Max's 31/25 Pro Series Formula. With 31% protein, 25% fat and high calorie density, it’s built for dogs doing real physical work. Growing puppies, breeding females, retired veterans, and active competitors all run on the same nutritional backbone. One formula, every life stage, no compromises.

The Supplements: Built for Working Dogs

Kibble is the base. It's not the whole program. Cold River layers in targeted Bully Max supplementation depending on the dog's age, workload, and condition:

Vitality Chews for Immunity & Health — Daily support for immune function, skin and coat health, digestion, and joint health. A dog that isn't healthy on the inside doesn't perform on the outside.

Weight Gain Power Chews — Extra calories and nutritional support for dogs in heavy conditioning phases or with elevated caloric demand. Built for hard keepers and dogs carrying a heavy training load.

Weight Gain Liquid Supplement — A direct way to add calories without inflating meal volume. Used for hard keepers, growing dogs, and dogs in intense conditioning blocks.

Muscle Gain Power Chews — Targeted support for lean muscle development and recovery. For a competition dog, recovery is not optional. It's half the job.

Puppy Growth & Immunity Chews — Early-stage support for growth, immune function, and digestive health. The record-setters of tomorrow start here.

Carver's take is direct: "Nutrition doesn't stop at the food bowl, and it doesn't stop when a dog ages out of puppyhood. It's a continuous program from the whelping box to the pulling pad."

Built One Meal at a Time

Cold River Boerboels didn't back into a world record. Carver built a program. Genetics selected for structure and drive, a training regimen that develops it, and a nutrition plan that fuels the muscles asked to move over 22,000 pounds.

Bully Max is proud to be the nutrition behind that winning program and behind the next record Cold River Boerboels is training toward because as Carver said “Champions aren’t built by accident, they’re built one meal at a time.”

Cold River Boerboels feeds Bully Max 31/25 Pro Series Formula and the Bully Max supplement line as part of their competitive program. Learn more about their kennel at coldriverboerboels.com.