October 2012 BarkBox and PawBox Review!

Heyyy dog lovers!

So I was feeling really under the weather today (experiencing the beginnings of what I hope isn't a cold), but fortunately, Boomer and Sookie's BarkBox and PawBox came in! It was so difficult to wait for the boyfriend (Henry) to get home so we could open it together, but I somehow managed. I'm gonna try and make it really brief this time since my last one was a *bit* long.

Both BarkBox and PawBox are a subscription box for dogs, but PawBox is going to soon offer a box geared towards cats too. 

My BarkBox was shipped first, but since they are based off the east coast (and I am not), they both got here at the same time. It took an awfully long time for my Barkbox to get here; shipped on the 15th and got here on the 24th = 9 whole days, while PawBox shipped out the 22nd and came on the 24th = 2 days. I've been spoiled by Amazon Prime so anything more than two days is a long time for me. I was able to score an almost 1/2 off deal from Groupon, which has actually been offered multiple times so I would keep a keen eye out for that. I paid $60 for a 6-month subscription which would usually be $105 normally. So I am basically paying $10 a month, instead of the normal $17. I was also able to get my first month of PawBox for 1/2 off through Coupaw, instead of the usual $10 a month it would cost. 

BarkBox is shipped out on the 15th of every month, and it includes 4 or more products ranging from toys, shampoo, food samples, treats, etc. What I like about their box is that 10% of the proceeds from each box goes to supporting a rescue group, which is such an awesome thing for them to do. Again, normally $17 a month including shipping.

PawBox doesn't have a set date they ship out. I actually think that's smart of them because it  adds to the surprise element. Sometimes I feel like I wish these subscription box places didn't send out tracking numbers because I'm such an impatient person that I get antsy once I know it's been shipped out. They are also based in San Diego (I'm pretty sure, since it was sent from there), where Henry is from, so kudos for that. From what I gather from the website, they send out a mix of 5 luxury miniatures every month. And again, they are normally $10 a month including shipping, a cheaper alternative to BarkBox.

So let's get to the unboxing part!

BarkBox Unboxing:

Boomer was so excited! ><

What was in the box! Feelgood Turkey Trail Blazin' Bitz Treats (made in Canada) - $6, Lollycadoodle wool toy snake (made in Nepal) - $5, Moody Pet Humunga Stache (it really was, Sookie couldn't even fit the ball part in her mouth) - $12, Tropiclean Clean Tooth Gel - $8, a prescription discount card from Honest Discounts, and a roll of poop bags from Metro Paws - $2.

My little Sookie waiting for her new treats.

She was being so patient. :) 

The treats themselves kind of looked like pieces of cereal; really crunchy.

Action shot of the Lollycadoodle wool snake! They loved this thing!

How I got them to look at the camera was a miracle.

Probably the best Humunga Stache shot I got, even though it's blurry lol.

The next few pictures are all the attempts of us trying to get a perfect one. I had Henry get the Mario mustache that he got from Loot Crate last month so we could get a father and son stache' shot!

...It had to have been the most difficult photo shoot EVER. 

He did NOT want to stay still.

Quit strangling my dog!!

Aw.. finally. Sheesh.

Here is a totally legit video that I made in 20 seconds using the Magisto Video Editing app for Android.

October BarkBox Fun!

Who let the dogs out?! Woof, woof, woof, woof.

Overall, I was really really happy with the BarkBox as my dogs LOVE new toys and from what I've seen, BarkBox includes at least one in there each month. They went for the snake right away and at first, they had no idea what to really do with it, but as you can see in the video, they got the hang of it really fast. It's actually still holding up pretty well, as it's been an hour and Boomer hasn't destroyed the whole thing yet. We're only letting Sookie play with the Humunga Stache since she's usually pretty gentle with her toys, but Boomer would definitely destroy that thing in a second. They could really use that Tropiclean tooth gel too, since their breath is staaanky. Hopefully it works! I also love that they included training treats since we can always use more of those. And they don't make your hand smell. I always give my dogs a treat before I leave and I hate having to wash my hands afterwards because they're usually so smelly. The poop bags we could have probably done without just because I already have a TON of them that I buy in bulk on Amazon. But I know that some people probably love that they include poop bags in the box. I definitely thought this box was worth the normal price ($17), and I'm ecstatic that I got such a great deal for it at $10! We had a lot of fun with the box and we are definitely a group of happy customers!

Pawbox Unboxing:

Dr. Harvey's Veg To Bowl pre-mix food, scented Doggie Walk Bags, a bone-shaped biscuit from Fido's Cookies, 2 sample packets of Isle of Dogs Shampoo, and a Lickety Stik sample.

The actual box and tissue paper was really cute.

Overall, I liked the PawBox too. I really liked the shampoo samples, because it comes in really handy for when we go on road trips with our dogs and don't have to lug around a bottle of their shampoo. I also liked the lickity stick sample since we have bought a full size before and they love it. It's also really handy for times when you don't want to get your hands smelly. But be warned, the liquid in there itself is staaaanky. I would definitely use it in a more open-aired room lol. It kind of smells like highly concentrated chicken broth. The Fido's cookie treat was really cute, and another thing we could bring on our trip to San Diego in the near future. Again, probably could have done without the poop bags, but hey, I guess it's something you'll always need to buy. Like toilet paper. And as for the food sample, we actually feed our dogs grain-free food because Boomer is apparently allergic to something (we suspect chicken, or grains) so we buy the Kirkland Salmon brand which they really seem to like. We also recently bought some Nature's Instinct raw food in Rabbit as a way for them to not get bored of the same food all the time. I guess you aren't supposed to mix a raw food diet with a dry diet if it has grains in it, although I haven't looked it up yet, but that's just what the guy at the Pet Planet told me. We will probably end up letting them try it with some meat anyway (not chicken). It's kind of like an oatmeal type deal where you cook the pre-mix with hot water and then stir in some protein and just feed it to them like that. It's not very convenient, so I probably wouldn't buy that particular type of food as a daily thing. I thought the PawBox was worth the sale price of $5 that I payed for it, but I probably wouldn't want to pay the normal $10 a month for it, as the box was mostly made up of samples. I will probably try it one more time for next month to see if it's better.

If you're thinking about spoiling a pup with a BarkBox, click here and you will get $5 off your first subscription! If you're thinking about trying out samples with a PawBox at a more reasonable price, click here and you can save $5 through Coupaw (you just have to sign up first)! It's a reeeally fun thing to do. And who deserves a gift every month than a family member who loves you no matter what? :)

Thanks for reading! (Apparently, the "trying to be brief" thing didn't work lol)

TheRxNina

.: Update 11/01/12 - Thank you to whoever it was who signed up through my BarkBox link! You got my pups another month of their awesome BarkBox and you've made them AND me, so happy! :D We appreciate it! :.

.: Update 11/13/12 - Thank you to the second person who used my referral link! I hope that the next BarkBox will make your pup(s) as happy as it has made mine! :) We appreciate it! :.

.: Update 11/21/12 - This is incredible! Thank you for the all the people who are signing up through my referral link! I am so happy to see that my reviews are actually being read lol. Again, my pups are going to have a couple of extra fun months of Barkbox because of some wonderful readers and now fellow Barkboxers out there. Hope you all enjoy your new Barkboxes! Will be doing November's review soon! (Another awesome box) :.