My first BarkBox . . .

My hoomans first heard about BarkBox from our friends over at Leash & Paws.  If it wasn’t for their hearty endorsement, and the four paws up from my pal Chino, I’m not sure I could have convinced them that I really need presents once a month. Let’s face it: I’m pretty spoiled!

After some cajoling (and I’m not sure who needed more convincing – mom, dad or me) the hoomans looked into it and decided they’d try it out at least once, just to see if it was worth it.  So here’s my first review!

Every month BarkBox sends out a new box of toys, treats and other doggy related things. It’s fantastic marketing (let’s be honest!) but it also helps keep dogs like me entertained and helps fund shelters across the United States.  For July 2012, BarkBox included the following:

• YumZies by Nootie
  • All natural, zero grain soft chewy treats. Think training treats. Or delicious squares of melt in your paw chocolate…if I were allowed chocolate. :P If you’ve ever tried Zukes Mini Naturals, they’re kinda like that…only bigger.
  • Ingredients: Chicken, Potato Flour, Pea Powder, Tapioca Starch, Glycerin, Fish Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Pea Flour, Natural Flavor, Natural BBQ Flavor, Salt, Lecithin, Garlic Powder, Brewer’s Dried Yeast, Ginger Powder, Cultured Dextrose, Phosphoric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Mixed Tocopherols (preservative), Citric Acid (preservative), Rosemary Extract.
  • Yes I tried one….and I LOVED them. Big surprise. I go mental for Zukes too. They make me a little gassy so they’re a sometimes food…but overall they get my slurp of approval.
• Spinz Bone by Precision Pet
  • The SpinzBone is a neat toy/treat combo. It’s a crunchy chew toy that sort of rotates in the middle while you eat. I haven’t tried it yet so a more detailed review will come soon but it looks like it could be a lot of fun.  Da peeps keep a careful eye on my food so I can’t eat too many treats at once. Also, they read ingredients…a lot. (Like chicken nuggets are really gonna hurt me…)
  • Ingredients: Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Glycerin, Rice Flour, Water, Powdered Cellulose, Sucrose, Natural Chicken Flavour, Lecithin, Salmon Oil, Parsley Flakes, Annato (Color) & Natural Peanut Butter Flavour.
• T-Bone Steak by Petprojekt
  • What can I say about this?!  I went absolutely nuts when this thing came out of the box. Like I had been denied toys my entire life and this was my first toy ever…!  :)  It’s a thick, rubbery t-bone steak, slightly hollow with a squeaker in the middle. It’s made of non-toxic material (duh!), and is phthalate and BPA free. It’s pretty cool but my giant chompers managed to puncture it after an hour or so, so I don’t see it lasting the month. (Mind you…it is a real challenge to find a toy that can withstand me and so far we’ve found only one…still going strong.)  Still, the faux-meat packaging was a great touch and papa says he’s never heard a squeaky toy sound as though it was in pain. Until now. :P (Made in China, FYI.)
• IncrediBubbles! from Pet Qwerks
  • As nuts as I went for the T-bone, that’s how excited papa was for those bubbles. He INSISTED on blowing them in the living room. (Don’t fink da lady hooman was too happy.)  Anyway, the bubbles last a long time – well, long for bubbles, anyway – so we’ll be taking them to a park and giving them a good run for their money in due course.
• PoopyPacks by Metro Paws (I can NEVER have too many of those…)
• Plus a discount code for PetFlow (pet food delivery).

So there you have it. My first BarkBox.

I was really happy with everything, including the speed of shipping. Ordered on the 10th, shipped on/by the 15th, arrived in my greedy little paws by the 25th. Not too shabby!  Plus it was a great surprise for the hoomans, too, who forgot all about the order. BOL!

Next time I’ll just use their credit card…