December 2012 "Just Right" BarkBox Review!

I was so happy to finally get my December BarkBox! I actually got mine in January because something happened last month where I didn't recieve it... it said it was delivered, but I never got it. So I contacted BarkBox to see what I could do, and they were so sweet about it and offered to send me December's Barkbox without charging me again for it! That started off my New Year pretty well... Thank you BarkBox! I saw what was in the December box through other customers and thought, "I really Boomer and Sookie to try it!" So finally, they can.

Quick rundown on what you should know about BarkBox:

- $29/month including shipping, price goes down with the more months you buy at once ($17/6 months)
- 4 to 5 goodies in each box
- 10% of each box goes to a dog shelter
- Delivered by USPS

- AWESOME referral program (Get one person to sign up, and get one month of barkbox for free!)

Dog Stats:

Boomer
Breed: Catahoula Leopard Hound/Dachshund mix
Weight: 45 lbs
Sex: Male
Age: ~1 and a half years old
Temperment: Scared of everything. Ferocious when it comes to destroying his toys. Always has to jump on you. Always.

Sookie
Breed: Chiweenie (Chihuahua/Dachshund mix)
Weight: 14 lbs
Sex: Female
Age: ~1 and a half years old
Temperment: Brave and curious. Plays with her toys gently and prances around throwing them in the air to herself. Complains and groans when she's sleeping next to you and you move.

December Medium BarkBox Unboxing!

Boomer and Sookie were excited to see what was in their box!

And don't worry, Boomer always looks sad. It's his floppy lips.

What was in this month's box?

Holiday Feast Treats from Bocce's Bakery, Oatmeal Shampoo from Fresh Dog, 12" Holiday Moose Toy from Simply Fido, and Wheat-Free Red Velvet Puppy Cake Mix and Frosting from Puppy Cake

Total Value:

$29.10

Holiday Feast Treats From Bocce's Bakery ($5.70/3 oz):

Another treat bag! I feel like I'm accumulating so many treats that we just don't get through in a month. This one is nice though because it's made in a local bakery in New York, and it's preservative and wheat-free. This flavor had a mix of roasted chicken, pumpkin, and cranberries; a limited edition for the holidays. Boomer and Sookie like it, which is a good sign, since they aren't very fond of biscuit type treats usually. I thought it was also cute that these bags were made especially for Barkbox since it says "Bocce's <3 Barkbox" on the front.

Natural Oatmeal Shampoo from Fresh Dog ($1.41/2 fl oz):

I got to try this on Sookie last week and it seemed to work well. I usually have to use a special shampoo for Boomer since he was prone to allergies before, and we just don't like to take chances on his dry skin. The small size was a little disappointing. I wish we had gotten a bigger size, since this would only be good for 2 or 3 baths (maybe just one if you have a big dog). It didn't smell like oatmeal to me though, definitely smelled the almond part of it much more. I still felt the need to use conditioner on her afterwards, but that's probably because it's Arizona. I'll probably save whatever is leftover for a trip.

Wheat-Free Red Velvet Puppy Cake Mix and Frosting from Puppy Cake ($6.99/box):

I haven't had the chance to try this yet, but it sounds like such a fun idea! I'll probably end up baking something this weekend, since we didn't throw them a birthday celebration back in May. It's pretty cool that you can microwave it. This flavor came in Red Velvet, but they also have banana, carob, and peanut butter. I'll update with some pics of our awesome cupcakes and probably a video once we actually find some time to make these!

12" Holiday Moose Toy from Simply Fido ($15.00):

This was super cute. I was worried though, since it's more of a Boomer-size toy than a Sookie-size toy. Sookie enjoys tiny toys that she can prance around with like a gazelle. This one was almost the same size as her, and I knew that it wouldn't last through a game of Tug-of-War with Boomer. It turns out, she does like to cuddle with it. But it's just too big for her to run around with. Boomer only likes playing with toys when we are willing to throw them or play "keep away" where he brings it to you for you to throw, but then holds onto it for dear life when you actually go and try to grab it. I guess that's a common behavior though, hearing from friends! This one is still in pretty good shape too. The arms and legs aren't stitched directly into the body. Instead, the arms and legs slide through a hole in the body where you can pull it all the way to one side where the arms would then be uneven. Unfortunately, Boomer chewed through a bit of the arm piece before we could stop him, so I don't know how long Moose will have his arms for.

Overall, I liked December's Barkbox, since I thought the cake baking would be fun to do and we can finally throw them a belated birthday celebration. The only critique I have is that I wished we had gotten a bigger size of the shampoo, or a fifth item since the shampoo wasn't full sized. Then it wouldn't have looked/felt so empty. I thought the value was not good this month since you would normally pay $29 for the box itself. I find that the purpose of a subscription box is to be able to try new items at a big discount. Since you don't control what is in the box, having a higher value than what you paid for it kind of makes up for the items in the box that you didn't care for or enjoy. But that's just my take on what a subscription box should be. Luckily, I got mine through Groupon and for about half off. But looking from the perspective of someone who paid the full amount, I would probably not be a happy camper. Although, I personally do very much appreciate that they sent me this box for free in place of my missing one. I think Barkbox has great customer service. I've never had a bad experience with trying to contact them about anything or had to wait very long. And if they somehow do miss your email and you haven't heard back in a few days, you can drop them a nice, quick post on their facebook page to remind them. I also love that they have an awesome referral program where if you get just one person to sign up through your link, you get a whole month free. Usually, you have to get 2-4 people to sign up for other boxes to get a free month. I still love my Barkbox since it makes my pups really happy. And they always have high quality items in the box, where the treats are usually made in the US, and they try to get toys that aren't made in China (although they say that sometimes they do have toys that come from there, but that they always test out each toy/treat with their own pups to make sure that it's the best).

If you'd like your own BarkBox for the pup in your life, click here to sign up and get $5 off your first subscription! It's always a fun time opening the box with my pups since they always love the items that come in them.

Thanks for reading!

TheRxNina