BarkBox review – monthly subscription box for dogs

Each box contains four to eight high-quality items

Note: This is a sponsored post.

Wondering what to get your favorite dog lover for her birthday? Or wondering what to get her dog for his birthday?

One awesome gift idea for a dog and his owner is this – a subscription to BarkBox.

What the heck is BarkBox?

BarkBox is the gift for dogs that keeps on giving!

For just $25 per month (or less!), your dog will receive a monthly box in the mail filled with four to eight high-quality, hand-selected goodies and essentials. The box will be different every month!

These items could be anything from treats to toys to the newest dog products. The box might also contain essentials like shampoo, poop bags or a leash. You never know what you’ll get. That’s the fun part. It’s a great way to keep you and your pup entertained, and as BarkBox says, it will “make your best friend happy!”

How do I sign my dog up for BarkBox?

It’s very easy to sign up for BarkBox. It takes less than five minutes.

First, go to BarkBox.com and click “Get Started.” Next, you will be asked to select the size of your dog. Maybe your Chiweenie would like some bite-sized treats, but your friend’s mastiff prefers giant squeaky toys. Get what I’m saying?

Next, select a plan. The first option is $25 per month for one month. Otherwise, you have the option of $21 per month for three months or $17 per month for six months. No matter which plan you choose, it will automatically renew and you do have the option of cancelling at any time. There is free shipping on every box. Boxes are always shipped on or around the 15th of each month. Our January box arrived on the 21st.

BarkBox.com is easy to navigate. It has a minimalist design which I love, and a cute logo. I appreciate sites that eliminate all useless clutter. It makes it more relaxing for me, the user.

More about BarkBox

BarkBox is a company based out of New York City, owned by three dog-crazy entrepreneurs – Carly Strife, Henrik Werdelin and Matt Meeker.

The company was launched in December 2011, just in time for the holidays.

Even if you don’t have a dog, BarkBox makes a great gift for the dog lover in your life, said Strife.

“Our mission is to make dogs happy,” she said. “We want to thrill all dogs, not just our own.”

She said the company aims to do just that through its product, its donations to rescue groups and through initiatives such as beautifying dog parks, sponsoring adoption events and educating the community on responsible dog ownership.

Signing up for BarkBox is a great way to discover new products and support small businesses, Strife said. BarkBox looks for small businesses with unique offerings all dog owners should know about. The company also looks to the experts to identify high-quality products engaging to the owner and the dog.

Dog owners should sign up for BarkBox because according to Strife, “your dog will love it!”

BarkBox also donates to dogs in need. For each box shipped, the company donates $3 to local animal shelters or rescues. Each month BarkBox sponsors a different organization, and it is always open to suggestions.

Here is what my mutt Ace received in his first BarkBox:

Ace received five items in his first BarkBox, which I thought was generous!

Perhaps the best part was how the products were hand-wrapped and presented so nicely with a handwritten note. It makes a huge difference when you know someone took the time to do this. I haven’t even thrown away the product-description list yet because it’s just too pretty 🙂

I’ll start with Ace’s favorite items, and you can check out more photos at the end of the post.

Ace’s favorite items were the two bully sticks from BestBullySticks.com. What’s better than a penis from a free-range, grass-fed bull? Well, two of course! I don’t know that I’ve ever met a dog that doesn’t like a good bully stick. And I like them because they are healthy for my dog’s teeth and gums.

Ace also appreciated the treats called Charlie Chews. He is not picky about treats, but as an overly concerned dog mom I loved to see that these treats are 100% organic! He received about 10 of these treats wrapped in a cute bag.

A Happy Paws Dog Massager from StickyPaws.com was also included in our box. I have to say, this was a fun gadget to receive since it’s something I would never buy. I tried the massager on my own shoulders and on my dog and my cats! We were all kind of indifferent about it, but it was still a fun gift! And BarkBox even included a free battery for us – nice touch!

The next item is called Heal My Paws. It is a moisturizer designed to help heal cracked paw pads in the winter. This may sound a bit strange, but my dog really does get cracked paws when he runs and plays in the snow. And even if we never use this product, it comes in a really cute tin. Small and shiny!

The final item is called Puppy Dust from PuppyDust.com. It’s a great marketing idea because it’s designed to help picky eaters. In my house, if a dog decides not to eat what I give him then he just doesn’t eat. But I know many dog owners cater to their picky eaters by adding all kinds of extra goodies to the food. This product is perfect for those kinds of owners. And for dogs like Ace who will eat anything? The Puppy Dust is a special treat.

So you can see, we received quite the variety in our first box. BarkBox did a nice job of selecting products that will go to such a large variety of dogs. There was something in that box for every dog to enjoy. Even my cats were interested in the products! Perhaps there should also be a MeowBox?

How could BarkBox be even better?

There is no such thing as a perfect company.

Here are my suggestions for BarkBox:

1. Add a blog to BarkBox.com and share pictures of happy clients enjoying their monthly gifts.

2. Add a section to the site or at least to Facebook where members can rank or review the month’s products.

3. Do more to promote the sponsored rescue or shelter for that month. For example, I visited the “For a Good Cause” page expecting to see a link to the sponsored rescue, but there was no such link. It’s nice for people to know exactly who will benefit from their purchase.

If you have feedback for BarkBox, the company would like to hear from you.

“We love dogs and want to continuously improve our product and brand,” said Strife. “We are incredibly open to any feedback or suggestions from our members or anyone in our extended dog-loving family.”

Have any of you tried BarkBox for your dogs?

What did you think?

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