The October Pet Gift Box

Our October Pet Gift Box was full of Halloween fun! I had canceled our subscription, but they offered me a box for only $13, so I went ahead and ordered one for October just to see what we got. I love Halloween, so I was hoping for a bunch of themed goodies. I was not disappointed. Well, sort of. Working at a pet store, and having attended numerous retail conventions, I know cheap toys when I see them. This time around we didn't get anything that looked like it came from a dollar store, but it's definitely on the value/economy end of the scale.

I saw some treats by Exclusively Dog on the Clean Run website recently, so I was very pleased to see these pumpkin-flavored Smoochers in our box. These are soft treats made with yogurt. They are safe for Brisbane's egg and poultry allergies. The card that came with our box says the suggested retail price is $10.99, but Chewy.com says the regular price is $4.99.

That little ghost popping out of the tower is a latex Zanies toy. It's not one of the nice foam-filled latex toys, it's the super-flimsy kind that makes really horrendous noises. The card that came with our box says this Peek-A-Boo toy has a suggested retail price of $8.99, but Pet Edge says it's $6.99.

The big green Frankenstein head is by Vo-Toys, a company that has been around since World War II. They're known for competitive price points and basically selling a lot of pet stuff really cheap. I actually remember their cheap small animal stuff from the terrible pet stores of my childhood...so not much has changed. Everything is made in China, of course.

There are a couple of Halloween-themed pumpkin Bark Bars by American Health Kennels. These are made in the USA and are incredibly cute. I might even believe the claimed price of $4.99.

My favorite thing in here is probably the Halloween bandana. It may be small, and made from stiff, cheap cloth, but it's really cute. I'm hoping it softens a bit with use.

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.

Treat Tuesday: Dino Tracks Cookies from Daisy and Oscar's Gourmet Bakery

These adorable Dino Tracks cookies from Daisy and Oscar's Gourmet Bakery (D.O.G. Bakery) arrived in our dinosaur-themed June Pet Gift Box. They are poultry-free, egg-free, and quite tasty, according to the dogs. They are also quite dense and crunchy.

Good For: Special occasions. Handing to the dogs as I walk out the door and not getting my hands all stinky.

Not Good For: High-value treats. Breaking into tiny pieces for training.

How Much We Liked Them: Enough to scour www.DogBakeryOnline.com to see if they sold them or whether they were Pet Gift Box exclusives. Not enough to contact them and ask where to get more.

The June Pet Gift Box: Jurassic Bark

On the recommendation of one of my readers, I ordered a Pet Gift Box for Brisbane last month. I had been thinking about canceling my BarkBox subscription and was looking at other options. Although this month's theme is Jurassic Bark, and I love dinosaurs, I don't think we'll be getting another one of these.

This is going to be good!

I actually knew what was going to be in this month's Pet Gift Box well before it arrived. This is because it took a total of 11 days to get here. Although I received the "your box has been shipped!" email on June 8th, the package was not processed until the 12th. It departed the original shipping location on the 13th, a full five business days after it had supposedly been shipped. From there it took another six days to arrive at my house.

Three days prior to the arrival of this glorious box, I received an email stating that the product information card might be wrong, with an image of the correct card included. Thus I knew well ahead of time that this month's theme would be dinosaurs. I approve. I think it goes well with the space-themed BarkBox.

What was inside? A bunch of cool stuff! It's worth noting that, although Pet Gift Box specializes in products that are new to the market, they do not put the details of those products on their information card. This means I actually have to have the package or tag in hand when blogging about them.

We got a purple Prehistoric Plush Pal stuffy by PetLou. Briz loves it, I think it's pretty cute myself.

 There are some adorable Dino Tracks Cookies with perfect little three-toes footprints in them. These are from Daisy and Oscar's Gourmet Bakery, or D.O.G. Bakery. Made from flour, oats, water, pumpkin, and peanuts, these are safe for Brisbane and made in the USA.

There are two different flavors of Beastie Bars in here, beef and chicken. These are made with fruits, vegetables, and honey so they are grain-free. I'm not certain my dogs need on-the-go snacks, but the idea of dog power bars is pretty cute. These are also made in the USA.

Is that a raptor claw? Nope! It's an XL Turkey Leg from Pet 'n Shape. I have serious concerns about this all-natural made in the USA chew. As an informed dog owner and experienced raw feeder, I know that raw bones in their natural moist condition are generally safe. I also know know that dry bones, whether cooked or simply allowed to sit out for too long, can splinter and hurt my dogs. This is a dry turkey leg, complete with great big thick leg bone. It is strong and solid and no doubt would splinter into sharp and nasty pieces when chewed. It looks pretty cool, but there's just no way this could be safe.

That purple bag (matched the dinosaur!) contains Paleo Tummy Health dog treats from I'd Rather Be With My Dog. These are grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and made in the USA with coconut oil and ginger. They are also made out of chicken. I will have to give them away.

This was a really fun box, and I'm glad I got this month's box since I really wouldn't have liked some of their more recent themes. The total value of this box is supposed to be $35, but I will end up giving away or tossing half of it. I paid $28 for this box, but only got $17 value out of it, and I truly think the turkey leg presents a serious safety concern. I have emailed the company to express my concern for the turkey leg. I don't think we'll be getting another Pet Gift Box anytime soon, but it was definitely a fun experience.