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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

June 2014 BarkBox

The June 2014 BarkBox was one of the best ones we've gotten so far.  Not only did we have a great time opening it, but Sunny and Rosy have continued loving the toys and treats we got in it.  This month the differences between the small and medium boxes were greater as I believe the medium box-ers got a Paris themed box.  Ours (small version) didn't have a clear theme.  Maybe monkey butt?  Because clearly monkey butt was the highlight of this box!  So here's our review of the June 2014 BarkBox!

Items in the June 2014 BarkBox were:
  • R2P Silly Bums (Monkey) - This was by far the most disturbing and hilarious toy we've ever gotten from BarkBox.  It's a furry squeaking toy that is just a monkey butt. No head, nor arms.  Nope.  All you get is a big red monkey butt!  The lack of a head kinda disturbs me but now I'm used to it.  But I prefer it if the toy is face(less) down.  Rosy went bananas (pun intended) for her monkey butt!  And every now and then Sunny joins in on the monkey butt fun.  I just like saying monkey butt.  Monkey butt.  MONKEY BUTT.  R2P makes other animal versions and some of those are available on Amazon or other pet store websites, but the monkey butt is a but rarer to find.
  • Pet Qwerks Red Tree Frog Toy - This toy is very cute but sadly it gets neglected compared to monkey butt.  Sunny doesn't like these kind of toys because she prefers those with wide and soft limbs/tails/snouts/heads/miscellaneous parts that she can suck on and the frog is too small and stiff.  Rosy might warm up to it eventually, but for now her attention is on monkey butt.
  • Healthy Dogma Blissful Banana Crisps - The packaging for these treats is adorable!  And I love the dome lid but practically it's a pain when you first open it.  When you first open it and it's full the banana crisps tumble out.  Once you get the treats to a lower level then opening and closing it is easy.  I love these crisps because they're grain- and gluten-free since the only ingredients are bananas and coconut oil!  So simple!  I love grain free treats, but usually they're all meat based so having a fruit based one is a great alternative.  These are also made in the USA.  Sunny doesn't normally like fresh bananas but she LOVES these!  I'll definitely be buying more of these in the future.  Rosy likes these ok, but when I feed them to her nowadays she'll hold them in her mouth and watch me to see if I'm reaching for something tastier before she runs off to eat her crisp in her corner.
  • Hare of the Dog Jerky (Rabbit with Aronia Berry) - Another great treat in our BarkBox!  These are also made in the USA, and are grain-free and made with no preservatives.  We've gotten biscuits from Hare of the Dog in past BarkBoxes and the girls like those ok but they really loved these jerky treats!  I saved them for special reward treats after nail clippings and groomings and every time I hold out the bag Rosy starts doing a little hopping dance!  They can be a little crumbly and are greasier than the biscuits, but the girls love these much more.
So that's it!  Usually we get 5 things in our box but the toys and treats we got in this month's box were so fantastic that I'd rather have these 4 than 5 okay things.  And now, time for pictures!

Yes, it's here.
Excitement!
Checking out the goods.
Of course Rosy goes right for the monkey butt.
So I pulled out the monkey butt first!  On a random note, I love how the toys we got have easy to remove tags.  Nothing worse than trying to dig out the end of one of those plastic Ts in a stuffy your dogs will be chewing on!
Getting some of that tail action.
How about the frog??
Get him Rosy!  Get him!
"Hey Rosy, ditch monkey butt and play frogger with me!"
"Hey, I said play with me, not steal from me!"
"What is this deliciousness that is emanating from this bag?!"
Treat time!
Look at Rosy's ecstatic lil face!
And now look at Sunny's Dumbo ears!
Happy tongues!
"Get it Sunny! Get it! And get me some!"
While the girls were begging, they weren't drooling.  The wet spots on the ground were from water dripping from their muzzles after they had a good long drink.  It was very hot that day!
Bananarama!
And now we begin Sunny's interpretive banana dance.
With a Rosy banana interlude
And now back to the main banana program.
Dance for me Sunny!  Dance!  Dance dance dance! 
After the treat sampling was done, Rosy decided to check out monkey butt.  Sunny decided to check out Rosy's butt.
"It looks like a butt but it doesn't have the usual delicious butt aromas?!"
 Rosy can't get enough of the monkey butt!  (I can only imagine how search engines will direct traffic to this post with certain search terms)
See how freaky the headless- and faceless-ness is?!
Rosy went so crazy with monkey butt it started smelling badly quickly from all her noshing and so we had to give it a spin in the washer and dryer.
Even Sunny enjoys a good monkey butt every now and then!
There's more to life and BarkBox than monkey butt, but it definitely made for the best photos so this post may seem like monkey butt was the best item in the box but all of the things we got were great!  Can't wait for next month's!

If you're interested, the monthly subscription service is available at BarkBox

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

May 2014 BarkBox

So I'm not too late with reviewing this past month's BarkBox!  We really enjoyed this month's box as it was filled with great toys and treats again!  Unfortunately none of the treats were grain free but they were all of high quality so I give them occasionally to Sunny and regularly to Rosy since she has no food issues.  So here's our review of the May 2014 BarkBox!

The items in the May box were:
  • Barkworthies Bully Stick - Aw yesh!  The girls' favorite chew treat!  I got one in the April box too so the girls were finally able to enjoy a good bully stick nosh one Sunday while I was busy in the kitchen and didn't want to be harassed by sad-eyed, tail-down, begging pugs.  As I've mentioned before, these are great because they last a decent amount of time (less so with Rosy since she's a fierce chewer) and they don't smell as bad as other bully sticks.
  • P.L.A.Y. Carrot Toy - This is a cute lil plush squeaky toy made to look like a carrot.  We've enjoyed P.L.A.Y. toys in the past and once got a zucchini toy, but the girls don't play with that one as much.  This carrot is getting a lot more action, mostly from Rosy.  But it still isn't one of her top toys.  She usually prefers toys with more limbs and stuff going on (like her precious pink yeti from a previous 
  • Caitec Amazing Knobble Ball - A squeaking ball that can also float.  It's very cute and makes a very intriguing squeaking noise that initially got the girls' attention, but they haven't played with it since.  Sunny and Rosy aren't really "ball" dogs.  I think this is such a cute and great toy in theory but probably not a great fit for my stuffy-obsessed pugs.
  • Snicky Snaks (Applie Cobbler) - Bone-shaped dog treats made in the U.S.  These are organic and are wheat-, corn-, and soy-free.  We got the apple cobbler flavor and both Sunny and Rosy loved these!!  They're in a plastic bag inside the box and the paper lid is cut in a way so that when you close it it kinda snaps into place as it fits into a little slit.  I love that because I hate it when dog treats containers don't have a great way to close it so then I end up having to transfer it to a ziploc.  This isn't airtight of course, but it's enough to keep the treats for a while.
  • Plato Organic Chicken Dog Treats - To clarify, that's chicken treats for dogs.  These are also made in the U.S. and are organic.  And they're also wheat-, corn-, and soy-free.  These treats are a bit big so I snap them in half for my dogs.  Sunny and Rosy love these!  I don't give them to Sunny that often because I like to keep her on a grain-free diet, but I do whoop these out after a cleaning or nail trimming session as a reward because otherwise Sunny gives me major stink eye and the cold shoulder.
So all in all a pretty great box!  Not one of our all time favorites because the girls didn't love the ball and they've liked other stuffies more in the past.  Plus the treats, while delicious apparently, were not grain-free.  But we still enjoyed everything and have gotten great use out of most of the items so far.

Now time for a ton of pictures!

As soon as the girls realize their BarkBox has arrived, Rosy's tail goes into helicopter mode!  Sunny always does a downward tail when she's begging.
"Yippee!!!!!!!!!!"
Patience man, patience!
The pug sharks close in for the kill.
At first the high-pitched squeaking of the ball immediately drew Rosy's attention.
"Wait a second...this isn't food!"
Squeak, squeak!
"Is that a real carrot!?!"
"Ugh, no it's not a real carrot!  Take it away and give us the real thing!"
"Wait, I didn't mean it!  Don't take it away!"
The bully stick is always a favorite.
Rosy wants to make sure I don't go anywhere as she takes a deep sniff.
Hey, no grabbing!  Rude!
Look at Sunny's lil cross-eyed gaze!
Uh oh, trying to sneak a bite!
Now time to try out the treats!
"Get em Sunny, get em!  Save one for me!"
Aw how considerate of Sunny to gently grab the treat with her lips.
Rosy is not so polite and used Sunny as a step stool.
More treats!
Yeah, Sunny really liked these in case you couldn't tell.  So grabby.
*Slurp*
Pug attack!
Dance for me!
Eye on the prize!
A few days later and Rosy is enjoying the carrot stuffy as she watches TV.  She likes that it's small enough that she can carry it as she jumps onto the couch.
Sunny is kinda ambivalent about the carrot.  
And then they both enjoyed their bully sticks!  I give Rosy the bigger one because she chews much quicker than Sunny.
We love BarkBox!

Boxes available at BarkBox.