Ferocious Fun with the PetLou Purple Dinosaur

This PetLou tyrannosaurus stuffy arrived in our June Pet Gift Box, and has become a beloved part of our dinosaur collection. Upon perusing PetLou's site, I recognize several of their products from my local pet stores. I'm pretty sure Brisbane had a stuffed octopus from PetLou when he was a baby.

Photo by Erin Koski

This is my absolute favorite item from the two Pet Gift Boxes we received. I love dinosaurs with the fervor of a preschool child. As much as I loved our purple tyrannosaurus rex, I wasn't certain it would last. Brisbane immediately carried it off and has been known to pounce on it when the mood takes him. Sisci has also fallen in love with the purple dinosaur, and loves carrying it around.

My impression of PetLou is that they are a company that specializes in quantity of quality. I see a lot of their toys in stores, and they are both cute and cheap. This did not give me much hope for the purple dinosaur's survival. Cheap toys tend to develop splits quickly, and once the stuffing is exposed the dogs just can't help but disembowel them.

I have been pleasantly surprised at how well the purple t-rex has held up. Despite being tossed, fetched, gnawed, and left out in the yard, it remains in pristine condition. It went through the washer and dryer just fine, and doesn't seem to be collecting dirt or stains like some light-colored toys.

Pros: Durable! Will hold up to quite a lot of biting gracefully. Adorable! It's a purple t-rex. Inexpensive! Pet Gift Box said the  MSRP for this toy was $8.99, but they seem to be selling online for $6-7 mostly. Also, it squeaks/

Cons: Probably made in China. Uncertain brand/company integrity. The "About" page on the PetLou website is inexplicable in Latin. Not good Latin, either.

Bottom Line: I can probably be tempted to buy cheap stuffies from China if they're cute enough.

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.