BarkBox Review May 2016

Hello! Meadow got her May BarkBox yesterday, and it's a winner! The theme this month is Country Fair. The toys and treats this month are spot on for the theme. Since Meadow's birthday is this month, I got an email a couple weeks ago from BarkBox asking if we wanted to add a Birthday Hat toy to her box this month. Another toy?? Of course!! So Meadow got an extra toy in her box along with her themed-items.

Before we get to the items in the box, a couple pictures of Meadow opening her Barkbox:

First up, we have the Bark & Co. Polka Dot Party Hat ($10), which was an add-on because it is Meadow's birthday this month. I received an email a couple weeks ago which gave the option of adding this toy to her May BarkBox for an extra $10. Of course I added the toy! The more toys the better! The Polka Dot Party Hat is available in the BarkShop. The large hat is about 9 inches tall. It is basically a hard plastic triangle covered with fabric. Because the whole thing is one big squeaker, no matter where Meadow bit it, it squeaked. She LOVED this toy! It was the first toy she picked out of the box. She even brought it with her in the car when we went on a quick errand to the gas station.  Unfortunately, this toy wasn't super durable, and Meadow seemed to be in a toy-destroyer-mood when we opened the box. It survived for about 20 minutes of almost non-stop squeaking before she bit through the plastic, and killed the squeaker. Then, she found a seam in the covering, and it was over before long. A few photos of Meadow enjoying this toy:

And here's what it looked like after she ripped open the cover:

Notice Meadow jumping up in the background to grab her toy as I'm taking a picture.

 

After she tore open the cover, we took the plastic out and let her play with the empty "hat" cover.

Next, we have the cutest toy in the box - Bark & Co. Slobbery Sunflowers ($12). After last month's BarkBox contained a Velcro toy, I'm excited to see another one this month! The Bark & Co. Slobbery Sunflowers toy is available in the BarkShop. This is basically five toys in one. There are four separate sunflowers - each of which has a squeaker in the flower. The bow has a Velcro closure that can be pulled off by puppy - or the flowers can just be yanked out of the bunch - like Meadow does. These flowers are incredibly cute, but I will say, if Meadow was left to work on these toys without close supervision, she would almost certainly destroy them in about 10 minutes. In fact, when I gave her the bouquet, the first thing she did was rip the "bow" piece out of the bow.  They're definitely not going to hold up to any amount of heavy chewing. We will use this as a reward toy for "calm" and "gentle" playtime - I don't want to see this toy wrecked right away - it's just too darn cute! Meadow was so excited to play with this toy, we played some focus and attention games with the flowers with her, and of course - we got pictures ~

Meadow also got a Think! Dog Dingo the Scarecrow Toy ($12). This toy is a Bark & Co. exclusive, and it's available in the BarkShop. This guy is adorable. He's about 9 inches tall, and he has a squeaker in his body. The cool part is that the scarecrow's arm and leg are one piece of rope that "slides" through the body. Meadow can pull on the limbs without necessarily ripping them off. For a smaller dog, this might make an OK tug toy. For Meadow, this toy wouldn't be strong enough to play tug. She's a 55 lb. pit bull puppy - she's STRONG! Meadow definitely liked this toy - there's lots to pick at and pull on, but she set to gnawing on his hat, so this toy got put away to be a "special" "calm" toy. And of course, a few pictures of Meadow play-testing this adorable scarecrow ~

Meadow's Extra Toy Club bonus toy this month was the Bark & Co. Gus the State Fair Goldfish ($9). Gus is available in the BarkShop. This toy is really cool! There's a small plush goldfish inside the hard rubber ball. According to the card that came with the toy, it floats, and it should hold up to heavy chewers. We haven't tested it's float-ability yet, but this toy will get packed to go with us to the lake. I didn't realize that it squeaked until I gave it to Meadow and she started chomping on it. It bounces - but it's kind of a wimpy bounce. I'll be curious to see if the seam between the two halves of the ball splits over time. Meadow hasn't shown a ton of interest in this one yet, but I suspect she will over the coming days.

And now for the edible goodies -- First, the very first item Meadow grabbed out of the box was the Butcher's Block LLC Trachea Chew ($3).  This item is also available in the BarkShop. It's noted as 8 inches long on the website, but I didn't measure it before I gave it to Meadow, so I'm not exactly sure how large it was. What I can say is that the Butcher's Block Trachea Chew is definitely on our "purchase again" list. I'm slightly creeped out by "animal part" chews, but I know Meadow loves them, so I try not to think about it too much as I'm handling these things. The trachea was slightly greasy taking it out of the package, but didn't have an overpowering smell like bully sticks or other "animal part" chews. Meadow chowed down on it - clearly loving it - and it took about 30 minutes for her to finish. The trachea was crunchy, and didn't break off into sharp or hard pieces. It was a little crumbly, so it could make a little bit of a mess - not a big deal in my book. These tracheas are from Nebraska-raised beef - no foreign beef here! There's also a variety of Butcher's Block brand chews available on Amazon. 

 
Next, we had a package of Craft Dog Treatery Donut Bites, 5.5 oz. ($8). These treats are available in the BarkShop. I can't seem to locate a website for Craft Dog Treatery, although according to the packaging, these are distributed by Mountain Country Foods in Oklahoma. The ingredients are lamb, chickpea flour, vegetable glycerin, ground peas, ground flaxseed, tapioca starch, sugar, sweet potato, cheddar cheese, salt, oil blend of sunflower and coconut oils (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), tumeric, phosphoric acid, lecithin, sorbic acid (to preserve freshness), xanthan gum, and natural caramel color. These soft treats are about the size of a penny, and are a good size for high-value training rewards. Meadow thinks these are delicious!

And, last but definitely not least, Meadow got a package of Think!Dog Nana's Natural Chicken & Sweet Potato Natural Jerky, 3.25 oz. ($8). These Jerky treats are a Bark & Co. exclusive available in the BarkShop. These semi-soft compressed "jerky" sticks are about 4 inches long, and there are 6 pieces of jerky in the 3.25 oz. package. These treats are made in the USA with USA-sourced ingredients. The ingredients include chicken, sweet potato, rice flour, hearts of palm extract, potassium sorbate, and vinegar. Meadow gives these yummy treats four paws up!

About BarkBox

Meadow has a one-year subscription to the Big & Bold Box (50+ pound) BarkBox with the add-on premium monthly toy. She weighs in at around 55 pounds, and is a medium-to-heavy chewer. She destroys some stuffies and treats others like babies. A one month subscription - or basically - a single box - costs $29.00. You can also sign up for a six-month ($24/box), or twelve-month subscription ($20/box). Having studied the options available for dog subscription boxes, we dove right in with a 12-month subscription for Meadow. You can also add an extra premium toy for $9 a month. If there are toys and treats that your dog really loves, you can order more through the BarkShop.

To get a FREE box added to your subscription, use Meadow's BarkBox link, and Meadow will also get a FREE box. OR, to get a FREE "mystery gift" added to your first BarkShop order, use Meadow's BarkShop link.

Who says you can't have fun with a destroyed BarkBox toy?