Dog Subscription Box Services: Fad or Future?

By Laura Pakis, Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Blogger,

Dog subscription box services are a growing trend and may be the solution to having enough toys, treats and health items on hand for your pup. Like wine or fruit of the month clubs, you can get a doggie box delivered to your home every month. And there are a surprising number of companies to choose from, each providing a variety of goodies for your canine companion

The belief is dogs get bored with the “same old, same old” just as we humans do.  And they are usually more interested in new or perceive new toys as reported in Cesar’s Way. Since we all reward our dogs with new toys and treats, why not subscribe to a monthly dog toy box.   But by having dog subscription boxes delivered to your home, are you truly saving time and receiving the fun, healthy treats and toys that you want?

When I first started writing this article, I only knew of Bark Box and Bullymake Box, but as I researched I found several others and a few who are now out of the business.  I’ve tried the two mentioned and quickly learned that not all subscription dog boxes are the same, especially when you have two heavy chewers in your family.  And I found them a bit expensive since I don’t usually buy my dogs 4 new toys a month.

So the jury’s still out on dog subscription box services.  I will say researching the various services available and finding the ones which have the option to choose toys or treats (as well as getting value for your money) should help you decide on the right service for you.  And a box full of different treats and toys each month may just be the answer to having a happy content (and slightly spoiled) canine.

I will continue testing other boxes with the dogs,but for now here is a breakdown of Bark Box and Bullymake Box.

BARK BOX $29.00/MONTH free shipping/auto renewal

Every BarkBox has at least 2 innovative toys, 2 all-natural bags of treats, and a chew, curated from each month’s unique themed collection.  In addition they add something for the dog owner such as photo frames, stickers, etc.

Their basic selection is based on non chewers and heavy on cutesy.

They do have a Heavy Chewer Program which is a free upgrade to the subscription that delivers their most durable toys.  These toys consist of stronger materials such as puncture resistant fabrics (like ballistic-grade nylon) instead of plush. Even with a special request for HEAVY CHEWER the toys provided only lasted a couple of hours with Penny and Autumn.   I did learn they have a SUPER HEAVY CHEWER option which I have now requested to try.  Should have more to share on that in a couple months.

The Super Chewer BarkBox comes with an additional cost depending on duration of subscription about $39/month.  They do give a guarantee with these toys, “If your dog defeats a toy, we’ll send you another for FREE!” which is what they will do for any of their toys 🙂

In addition, Barkbox has a separate store to purchase the toys and treats you like and have the option of getting an extra toy for $9/month which is about what the other subscription companies offer.

Their guarantee:  If your pup doesn’t totally love an item in their BarkBox, we’ll send them a replacement for FREE! No muss, no fuss, no disappointed pups.  I did not take them up on this guarantee since the dogs destroyed every toy in the basic subscription.

For videos of Penny and Autumn with the Barkbox visit our YouTube page.

BULLYMAKE BOX $39.00/MONTH free shipping/auto renewal

Each box contains 2-3 “extremely rough and tough chew toys” and 3-4 “delicious and nutritious treats”, including some of their own toys made in-house.

Their basic selection is based on dogs with heavy chewing tendencies.  The toys are supposedly “the toughest around”. They are made from a variety of materials and all toys have a 14 day longevity guarantee.

You pick your dog’s weight in 10-pound increments, and receive toys and treats specifically tailored for heavy chewing dogs (no plush toys).  They have an option for dogs with allergies as well as one not to receive treats (which I chose).

Penny destroyed one of the toys they sent so I decided to test their guarantee.

To receive a new toy you need to send a photo less than 1M of the destroyed toy to Bullymake within the 14 day period of shipment.  Alternative ways to send the photo are 1. Private message the image to Bullymake on Facebook Messenger along with your email or 2. upload the image to https://imgbb.com and send the link of the image to Bullymake.

The replacement toy takes about 7-10 days to be shipped “because this will be handpicked separately”.  Since I had made the request I now need to wait 30 days before I can ask again for a replacement…what happened to the 14 day guarantee?

Be sure to check back on Spike’s Dog Blog for more subscription dog box reviews in the coming weeks.  Next Penny, Autumn and I will review Pet Gift Box, Pet Treater Box,  and PupJoy to name a few.

 

 

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by Laura Pakis, Certified Professional Trainer and Blogger

We continue to test the dog subscription boxes for value and practicality. This month, at our request, Pettreater.com provided us with one free box of goodies for testing with two oh-so-picky dogs, Penny and Autumn. We tested this service to help us conduct a thorough review. Autumn and Penny enjoyed the variety of treats and toy inside their box and we were surprised by how much came in the box.  This may have been due to it being a special Halloween box with extra treats.

A Pet Treater subscription costs about $24.99/MONTH with a trial box option available without auto-renew.

In order to sign up for their service, you are asked to select from small (up to 20 pounds), medium (21-50 pounds), and large (51+ pounds).   In addition, they ask for breed, age, sex and name of your dog as well as if your dog is a heavy chewer or has allergies.

Each box contains treats, toys, and helpful items for dog owners (leashes, poop bags, grooming supplies, etc.).  This is different from BullyMake Box and Bark Box who include stickers, paper frames and other less useful items.  The box we received contained a Bungee Tug a Pup and Wacky Wheel Squeaker (both of which plush toys are still around even with the girls heavy play), a nylon backpack and two Ghost Hunter K9 Unit dog scarfs, Beef Bars, Carob flavor Sandwich creams, a Emmy’s Gourmet Canine Creation in the shape of a jack o’lantern and Shore Tails Fish Skins (which Penny felt was the best tasting treat on the earth). All treats were made in USA or Canada.

They do offer some unique benefits including the offer of rewards on www.13deals.com, a variety of coupons for a free Pet Bed with your first box with coupon code FREE-PTBED! Or, if you’d rather save money off of this box, use coupon code LOVE-PT5 to save $5.00 off your first box.  And for every month you are a Pet Treater member, pets in shelters across America receive some extra help from their partners at Greater Good, Rescue Bank, and A Shot at Life.

Each month your dog will receive treats.  Can your dog handle the caloric intake to their diet?

Even with all these PROs you need to consider the amount of calories from the treats you are adding to your dog’s diet. If you fed your dog all these treats in a month it certainly would make a difference for those who may already be on the plump size.

Beef Bars package 2,805 kcal/kg
Exclusively Dog Cookies 17% crude fat
Emmy’s Gourmet Canine Creation one cookie 597 kcal/kg.

If you are still sold on purchasing a dog subscription box, from those we have tested we feel the Pet Treater is of good value and quality.  We’ll keep testing more in months to come and share our results.  And, as always, we’d love to hear your experience with dog subscription boxes.