If you have got a furry friend, you know they are basically the children that we love and share our lives with. There is no better feeling than having a crappy day at work and as soon as you walk in the door, you have an overly excited, tail wagging jumping bean who immediately makes you smile and forget everything that went wrong that day. Well, if you share these feeling you will understand why I caved and had to try Barkbox!
I love watching Casey Holmes and her adorable pups. Back in December she was doing vlogmas and she had signed up for this subscription box for dogs and it definitely called my attention. You can get toys and treat for your fur baby and have fun opening the box like it’s Christmas all over again. They have a good assortment and mix of product for your pups and if you compare similar treat bags at the pet stores like Petco and Petsmart, the price is fairly competitive.
Barkbox is $25 with free shipping ($5 shipping for US territories, sighhhh) and you have the option to get premium toys for an additional price in each box. I did not choose this option as my pup Bella does not play with toys (although we are trying to change that). You get a selection of treats and toys specific to the theme of each box. I signed up in January, and there was an offer running where if you signed up for a 6 or 12 month plan your first box was $5. Also they participate in Ebates, so you get $7.50 cash back when you purchase (refer to my previous post for details and info on Ebates!)! I think it is adorable that you can see each theme everywhere from the box to the tissue paper and the treat bags. A+ on presentation Barkbox!
January’s theme was traveling so they included a luggage squeak toy and a Barkbox airplane toy (I will get into this further on with a funny story). They also included the cutest puppy passport with pages and images from around the world. Finally they included 3 types of treats, 2 of which were organic and a jerky type of chew bar. The treats are very different, one is more of a crunch type of treat and the other is more wet/chewy type. I like that they have organic and GMO free options and the ingredients in these are very promising. They also have a shop on the site, where you can re-purchase products from each box, which I think is great! 
Needless to say, I was super excited to receive our first Barkbox, even more so than my stitch fix. Why? Well because Bella, my adorable 6 year old mix is very hard to shop for. She does not play with toy, she is scared of most of them, and since we adopted a cat she stoped playing with/eating her rawhide sticks. This made my heart break because I do not want her to be bored, I want her to be active and happy. Barkbox gave me hope! When it came I was surprised to find 2 toys but it worked out for the best because she actually licked and smelled the luggage case and the cat went absolutely crazy for the airplane, he even squeaks it!
I really like the service. My only complaint would be that I wish they incorporated a feedback mechanism for each order/box. This would help if something doesn’t work, or if your pup does not like a certain meat or, like Bella, does not play, then that they do not send as many toys. This would be my only con to the whole service in general. The treats are high quality and the pack size is very nice, enough to last you a month or two depending on how frequent you feed your pup treats.
Finally, my favorite part about Barkbox, is that they participate and donate to animal shelters across the country. A certain dollar amount from each box goes to shelters and organizations, and with referrals you have the option to get a free box or have that free box sent to a shelter dog. This is the option that Casey chose, and that I chose as well. Recently I have felt the need to do charity very deeply, and I do a lot with my school and student organizations but I want to do more. I do not have the money to actively donate to everything that I want, so something as simple as this fulfills me greatly.
I forgot to mention customer service! I got the chance to speak with their customer service because of an issue with my subscription and they were very helpful and appreciative. They have a chat option on the site which provides a fairly easy and quick communication with the company. They definitely care a lot about their customer and are only hoping for the best experience possible for them. I think it’s adorable that they even interact in pup language!
Overall, I think if you are interested in trying out subscription services for your pet, Barkbox is a great alternative. The price is definitely fair for what you get and the items they provide are very high quality, so you are getting your money’s worth. The service is organized so that you get things at a certain time each month and are able to enjoy each box’s content.
Next on my list is to find a subscription box for Pepe the cat, who apparently loves dogs toys in addition to all cat entertainments! Any suggestions?
Have you tried any other subscription boxes for your pets? Which ones would you recommend?
Thanks for reading!
XOXO
-Jani <3
Leave a Reply