Treat Tuesday: Loving Pets Meaty Marrow Bones

Want to get your hands on some more of Loot Pets'  Night of the Living Chimichangas but don't know where to find them? They are also known as Meaty Marrow Bones by Loving Pets. I found both small and large sized Meaty Marrow Bones at my local Ross Dress for Less for $5 each. The small ones are exactly the same as the ones we got from Loot Pets, but with way more in the bag. The bag of large bones contained four chews.

Good For: Giving Sisci and Ru to gnaw right before I leave for work. Dogs with poultry allergies.

Not Good For: Dogs that like to swallow things in big pieces. Dogs with beef, wheat, or rice allergies.

How Much We Like Them: I bought these as soon as I saw them because I knew there were the same as the Loot Pets chimichangas. It was a lot of effort to save a few of them for this picture.

Treat Tuesday: Loot Pets Ruff 'Em Ups

The Ruff 'Em Ups Fruity Protein Puffs for Dogs arrived in our March Versus Loot Pets box by Loot Crate. They were made by Loving Pets and appear to be a special edition of their Puffsters treats. These are made with chicken, so Brisbane couldn't enjoy them. However, Sisci and Ru liked them more than I expected. These are really light, low-calorie treats.

Good For: Fatty-fat dogs. Teaching a dog how to catch treats. Handing to the dogs on my way out the door without getting my hands all gross. Low-value training treats when I don't mind them spending a while crunching up each cookie.

Not Good For: Dogs with poultry allergies. High-value training treats.

How Much We Like Them: Ru liked them a lot more than I expected, maybe because he didn't have to put much effort into eating them since they're so light and airy.

Treat Tuesday: Loving Pets Pure Buffalo Treats

I found these Loving Pets Pure Buffalo treats at a local Ross discount store. Most of the stuff I find at Ross is discount store quality, from brands like Kensington Kennel Club. I also see a lot of low-quality treats branded American Kennel Club, and all of my Mod stuff came from Ross as well. Still, I occasionally find something unexpectedly awesome there, like these Pure Buffalo goodies from Loving Pets. Most or all of our Loot Pets treats have been from Loving Pets.

Photo by Sebastian Wallroth

I couldn't help but notice something, though. The packaging is very much American midwest-themed, with images of prairies and farm houses. The dog on the bags is even wearing a cowboy hat. It's enough to make you think these were made out of American bison instead of these bad boys. Yup, anytime you see the word "buffalo" on an ingredient label, think "Asiatic water buffalo". That explains why the Loving Pets Pure Buffalo horn chews look like all the other water buffalo horn chews on the market. Deceptive marketing tactic? You bet! I'm not particularly annoyed by this one though, it turns out I'm ok with taking advantage of the general public's lack of knowledge about bovine species.

Loving Pets Pure Buffalo Beef Paddy Whacks

Good For: Long-lasting, high-value chewing. Not being horrendously smelly. Being slightly less exciting than a bully stick, but more exciting than a rawhide or Himalayan yak chew.

Not Good For: Dogs that have just had mouth surgery and still have stitches. Dogs that try to swallow their treats whole.

How Much We Like Them: Well first I had to google what the hell a "paddy whack" was because I suspected they were making this up. Turns out it's a neck ligament. Also turns out the "This Old Man" song lyric actually refers to this animal part. Who knew? Anyway, Sisci Godzilla really loved chewing these, and so did Brisbane once his mouth had healed.

Loving Pets Pure Buffalo Lung Steaks

Good For: Cutting into tiny pieces for super high value training treats. Making other shoppers at Ross give you dirty looks. Making the cashier ask you to please leave the store with your purchase. Smelling really, incredibly bad. Adding to treat trail mix to make the other treats smell horrible. Gifting to people you don't like.

Not Good For: Training without making your hands and general atmosphere emit a miasma of undefinable horror. Carrying around Ross as you browse the throw pillows and picture frames.

How Much We Like Them: I think I may have found something more exciting than freeze dried liver. My dogs love stinky treats, and these are so epically awful that I was forced to apologize for them everywhere I took them. The cashier at Ross was seriously offended that I brought them within smelling distance of the front of the store. The stench doesn't have a lot of range, but when you get close enough it's amazing. I need to find more of these.

April Loot Pets by Loot Crate: Quest

Our Loot Pets subscriptions box from Loot Crate arrived yesterday, just in time for Brisbane's birthday! The theme this month is "Quest", and there was something in there for everyone! For me, the most exciting thing is that they changed the fit of the dog shirts so Ru can now wear them. So Happy! This is the first month that LootPets boxes also include a matching human shirt. Normally I avoid being all matchy matchy, but Ru exists largely for comedic purposes so the matching shirts work out.

But seriously, when was the last time you saw a scratch and sniff sticker?

As soon as I opened the box, I knew this was going to be a good crate. The box was lined with bacon paper, sealed with a bacon scratch and sniff sticker. I sniffed it. It didn't smell like anything. I scratched it. It smelled like bacon.

There was no Loot Pets Magazine this month. Instead, we were introduced to the products via a sheet of trading cards. These were cool enough to send me into a fit of hand-flapping glee. For a moment I even considered whether I should separate the cards or not, as it might decrease their value years down the line. Then I told my vintage toy collector brain to shut up. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hoping the cards are a permanent change.

This month's shield-shaped charm features a 20-sided dice. I can't decide whether this one or the Alien vs Predator is my favorite. Maybe Brisbane will wear the D20 charm and Sisci will wear the Alien charm. Maybe they'll only wear them on special occasions. Do dogs have special occasions?

We got a bag of beef jerky Questrips, which is a delightful portmanteau word. If you don't know what a portmanteau word is then I am clearly a bigger nerd than you. These are semi-soft, and made of pretty much just beef, perfect for Brisbane! The card and actual package both say they are from Loot Pet Labs, but I suspect they were made by the Loving Pets company. A quick trip through their treat selections reveals some very familiar snacks, including sweet potato crisps, some puffed chips, bone-shaped chicken jerky, and some chimichanga-shaped dental treats.

This month's toy is a strip of crinkly, squeaky, floppy bacon. It's big, it's stuffingless, and Sisci thinks it's pretty awesome. She's a fan of crinkly toys, unlike the boys. The bacon toy is made by Jakks Pacific, who made the plush cheeseburger we got in our July Pet Gift Box. I guess they make a lot of food-themed toys.

In lieu of Loot Pets Magazine, this month we got a Battlepug graphic novel. In case you can't tell from the picture, this is a novel about a fearless barbarian who rides a horse-sized pug. Yes, really. It's a real graphic novel too, with binding and art and a copyright page and everything. And a burly dude riding a giant pug. I don't know if I'm going to be able to read this with all these tears of mirth streaming from my eyes. A giant pug. I just pick it up and start laughing. Check out more at Battlepug.com because this is actually a thing.

Lastly, we received a pair of matching Adventure Tim shirts that fit perfectly. I wasn't sure which size to order for myself because unisex t-shirts tend to either be too short or too wide, but the XS fits me perfectly. The small dog shirt now fits Ru perfectly, too! All of his previous shirts have been far too wide in the neck and body, as if they were made to fit a pug or a French bulldog. I need to break out the sewing machine and take them in a bit so he can wear them. In the meantime, we have Adventure Time shirts. Not that I'm

Matchy matchy.

particularly a fan of Adventure Time, but I don't dislike it either. I just haven't experienced much because I don't have time to shoehorn another obsessive fandom into my life.

The Loot Pets March Crate: Versus

Our March Loot Pets crate arrived yesterday, and it has a Mirror Spock dog shirt so my life is basically complete. This month's theme is Versus, and while I was expecting nothing but superhero stuff, I was pleasantly surprised. I think it's fitting that our Versus crate showed up with Brisbane is battling cancer, and he's even got a perfect split-personality good/evil haircut for the occasion.

Briz can't have either of the treats in this crate, but he's limited to very soft canned food right now anyhow. Maybe next month's crate will have something for him. This month's crate brought us some Turduck'nstein Menacing Meat Treats and Ruff 'Em Ups! Fruity Protein Puffs by Loving Pets, makers of the Invasion of the Sweet Potato Crisps and most of our other Loot Crate goodies. These both have poultry in them, so I will have to talk Sisci and Ru into eating them because Briz is allergic.

Sisci is already in love with the Phunny Batman plush. This one comes to us from Kidrobot, makers of all sorts of weird toys. Their plush facehugger from last month's regular Loot Crate almost made me sign up for a crate for myself.

There is a package of Loot Pets Exclusive Captain America collapsible dog bowls that look super convenient. These are packable enough to stick anywhere, and I won't really worry about losing them. They seem sturdy enough, hopefully they hold up nicely.

If that Spock shirt weren't in there, the Alien vs. Predator collar charm would definitely be my favorite thing in this month's crate. I mean, where else would I ever find something like that? It's instantly recognizable, and will have people scratching their heads for years wondering where the hell it came from and who on earth would manufacture it.

The Mirror Mirror dog shirt is so amazing I may actually haul out my sewing machine and alter it so Ru can wear it. I need to do that with all the dog shirts from Loot Crate. I'm guessing the Loot Crate Lab is staffed by owners of pugs and bulldogs and other wide dogs with short backs. Based on the number of pictures of dogs with huge-necked t-shirts sliding down their shoulders, I'm not the only one with a longer, narrower dog.

Loot Pets February: Dead

Our February Loot Pets Crate arrived today, and this month's theme is 'Dead'. Zombies! Zombies everywhere! We got another exclusive collar charm, an actual Walking Dead dog toy, and two bags of treats.

The official licensed Walking Dead decapitated walker head comes to us from The Coop, the same company that brought us last month's Space Invaders leash.

There are two bags of treats this month, unfortunately both chicken-based, The Zom-Bone Survival Treats are a sort of chicken jerky, hopefully Sisci and Ru like them since Brisbane is allergic. The Night of the Living Chimchangas chicken sticks really remind me of the Pedigree Jumbones I used to buy for my cocker spaniel years ago, but with way better ingredients. Both of these goodies come to us from Loving Pets. This is the same company that brought us Invasion of the Sweet Potato Crisps.

This totally rocking Deadpool shirt comes from Fifth Sun, makers of all sorts of officially licensed shirts. Unfortunately it will never sit any of my dogs without some major alteration. All of our Loot Pets shirts have been extremely wide, as if made for a pug or French bulldog. I don't have any short-backed stocky dogs, everyone here has a long back and would look ridiculous wearing one of these midriff shirts. Maybe I'll try ordering a size smaller next time to see if the fit it a little different.

LootPets January: Invasion!

We got our second Loot Pets box by Loot Crate, and the theme this month is Invasion! There is so much awesome packed into these subscription boxes, it's difficult to convey. It's clear how much thought has gone into each and every item in the box, and there's something to love about everything. Even stuff Brisbane can't have is wonderful in one way or another.

There is an exclusive X-Files t-shirt designed for Threadless. Yes, those are UFOs abducting people. Ru is going to look smashing in this shirt as soon as it gets warm enough for him to stop wearing sweaters and enormously fluffy coats.

That 6' Space Invaders leash is by A Crowded Coop, a company I was previously unaware of. It turns out they make practically all of the cool geek and pop culture stuff out there, like Ru's Star Trek Collar, the Original Series communicator poo bag dispenser that lives on my purse, and a ton of the awesome stuff found at ThinkGeek.com.

Our last box had some awesome stuff by Quantum Mechanix, and this month we got a Battlestar Galactica disc that's just the right size for Sisci. We've been working on our disc skills, and this is a nice one to toss without worrying about it bonking into something.

The Invasion of the Sweet Potato Crisps are by Loving Pets, they're definitely more like puffed chips and less like dried root vegetables. Normally I would be grumbling about getting sweet potato treats now that I know Brisbane is also allergic to sweet potatoes, but Loot Crate is forgiven because of the illustration on the bag. It features flying alien sweet potato crisps frying people with their laser eyestalks. The crisps themselves are wavy and unlike anything I've seen before. Sisci is willing to eat them, so hopefully they won't go to waste.

The last thing in the box is a silver flying saucer Loot Pets collar charm. These things are wonderfully collectible. Actually the boxes themselves are pretty darned collectible, too. The inside is printed in a matching theme, it's almost like finding a handwritten note from my mom in my lunchbox (Note: My mother never actually wrote me lunchbox notes, and I packed all my own lunches anyway, so this is pure speculation). The boxes are just the right size for storing various odds and ends. Thank you, all you passionate geeks who invented the Loot Crate concept, for these small but significant details that make your subscription boxes extra-special.

The July Pet Gift Box

Oops, we got another Pet Gift Box. I was planning to cancel our subscription after the first one, but the site only lets you do that during a one-week period at the end of the month. I missed that window of opportunity, and realized it last week when I got a "your box has shipped" email. While this month's offering has only one food item that Brisbane can't enjoy, and nothing outright dangerous, the toys fail to impress me.

This month's theme is "barbecue", it's also "nostalgia" for me, but not in a good way. We have some dog treats made by Nathan's Famous. You know, the hot dogs? These are made in the USA from beef and corn syrup solids. They really remind me of the dog treats we used to buy at the grocery store for my cocker spaniel. You won't find them on the Nathan's website, the brand identity was just licensed by PetBrandz.com.

The other bag of treats is also made in the USA. The Grill-icious treats are made by Loving Pets Products and contain nothing but chicken and sweet potatoes. Definitely treats I would use if Brisbane could have chicken.

The weirdest thing in the box are the three packets of "petchup". These are condiments for dog food, with ridiculous names. Petchup, Muttstard, and Bark-B-Q. Surprisingly, they actually appear to be quality food additives and something I won't mind dribbling onto dog dinners. They are made out of broth and contain omega fatty acids, glucosamine, and prebiotics. I have no idea whether the actual products resemble the condiments they are named for. It Muttstard really yellow?

The best toy in here is the plush cheeseburger by Jakks Pets. The brand name is PhotoReel, I guess it's supposed to be made out of pictures of a bun, meat, cheese, etc. It's squeaky...and crinkly. My dogs hate crinkly toys. It's also made in China.

The other two toys...quite frankly they remind me of the cheap toys my mother used to buy at the dollar store for my childhood dog. There is a couple of plastic sausages on a rope, made by Pet King. They sell cheap pet toys from China.

The last item is a small squeaky rubber steak. It's small enough that I wouldn't be comfortable letting Brisbane play with it. I am absolutely certain my cocker spaniel had a few of these 20+ years ago. My friend recognized it from a Simpsons episode from 1989. It is made by Amazing Pet Products in...you guessed it, China. Our first Pet Gift Box was pretty awesome. This one fails to impress me in any way, the quality of the products is severely lacking. The cheap Chinese toys are going straight into the trash.