Dec. PetBox Unboxing/Review

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Sadie has had so much fun in recent weeks with the PetBox we received in late December - this was a perfect blend of goodies for her and practical and fun items for us.  It's pretty funny - now that she's gotten a couple of these, she recognizes the box and get's very excited to see it.  Once it's opened, she wants to dive in nose-first before I even get an opportunity to see what's in there.  Getting her to hold still for actual pictures was impossible - it was all I could do to keep her from dragging the whole box under the nearest table!

Check out what was in this month's PetBox subscription box:

Pawganics - Toy Cleaner

I love this - it isn't for use on plush items or fabrics, but it's a cleaner for rubber and vinyl toys, to get rid of the inevitable grime, gunk and dog drool a well loved toy collects.

It contains no harsh chemicals, so it's safe to use without rinsing on those items you know are going straight back into your dog's mouth (or your child's mouth if your home is shared by small humans as well as pets.

Because it's for toy items, this is also scent free - nothing is there that's likely to make your dog reject their chewy after you've 'messed it up' by cleaning it.

PetBox sent a nice large 12 oz bottle of Pawganics Toy Cleaner, so this is likely to last a good while!

Merrick Pet Care - Li'l Brush Bones

While we're talking about dog's mouths, let's talk about the dog's mouth!  I don't want to tell embarrassing stories about Sadie, but since she can't read, I will - on a recent walk, she pulled a dead decomposing mouse out of the underbrush and acted like we were killing her when we made her drop it.  Being a rather typical dog, not all of her habits are particularly dainty.

So... yea. Sometimes, the doggy breath gets funky.  In addition, she's a senior dog and her teeth are an important health issue.

So, something she believes is a treat but will help keep her teeth plaque (and mouse-remains) free, and also freshen her breath is already on the top of my favorites list!

I almost changed my mind when I opened the bag, because there is a smell with these, and I wasn't sure I wanted that odor panting in my face, either.  But, I needn't have worried - some alchemy makes them neutralize her breath's dogginess without replacing it with this.

And she loves them - each bone is about 2 1/2" long, and made of a very sturdy chewy blend of various food-grade ingredients, including beets and herbs.  They're gluten/grain free, have no chemicals going on and are made in the US.

But what she loves is that it's a great BIG treat she can chew on for a couple minutes and feel properly spoiled before bedtime. We will most definitely be buying more when this package runs out.

These three items were also in the Holiday Box I'd bought for my mother-in-law's dog, Harley (sent out around the same time as this one was):

Old Mother Hubbard - Jingle Jangle P-Nuttier

These are small holiday shaped treats that make for a good light snack, although I'd prefer to reserve them as an occasional treat rather than a regular part of Sadie's diet. (Mind you, she strongly disagrees!)  There are sugars in there that our fat old girl just doesn't really need. The ingredients are listed as: 

"Whole Wheat Flour, Oatmeal, Wheat Bran, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Crunchy Peanut Butter, Cane Molasses, Maltodextrin, Eggs, Apples, Carrots, Caramel Color, Garlic, Salt, Natural Peanut Flavor, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative)."

Very popular with her, so I know she'll enjoy them whenever we let her have one.  I notice that Old Mother Hubbard also has Valentines Day and Halloween shaped treats, which is a really fun idea and a great way to appeal to your favorite dog's owner as well as the dog!

Classic Products - Octo-Ball
The head of this toy is a sturdy tennis ball that will hold up to being gnawed or carried, and the legs are unfilled, making this usable as a tug o war toy.  It has taken up residence with Sadie's other stuffed toys in her dog bed.  She generally has one toy she's decided needs to get kicked out, but this one has stayed tucked in there, near her head.  I have yet to actually catch her playing with it, but she does seem to enjoy cuddling near it.

Pawsitively Wholesome - Sadie's Sweet Pawtato Chips

My favorite thing about this is that the name says it all - the ingredients are sweet potatoes. Just sweet potatoes, which are good nutritious food for dogs.  Sadie loves them, and she made very short work of the contents of this bag.

That's the part I like least - the bowl in this picture is 3" across and what you see in it is the contents of the bag, just as it was emptied into the bowl. A tiiiiny little portion, and the bag did not protect them even a little bit, so they were crushed into dust before they arrived.  I think this is primarily an issue with Pawsitively Wholesome's packaging, but since I see on their site that they sell samples in these same bags (and for no small cost, either), I'm going to suggest just buying a sweet potato and baking up some slices for your dog, instead.

Puppy in Motion - We Stop For Parks Sign

We also received this cute little window sign for the car.  I confess - it is a blatent lie!

While Sadie loves riding in the car and going for walks, she is not a fan of parks, at least not the dog park variety.

I think she'd like them better if they were more full of people who wanted to pet her and less full of dogs that want to stick their noses near her butt.  She has rather strong opinions about that.

(I can't say that I blame her)

But this sign is a cute little lie, isn't it?

Finally - and saving the best for last:

ZippyPaws  - Hide-an-Egg Burrow Dog

This is a really fabulous, well designed and well made toy and I'm so happy that PetBox introduced us to this brand.  The legless dog has round openings that are just the right fit for Sadie's snout, and stuffed inside are three plush 'eggs' for her to pull out. 

The plushiness appeals to her, and I love that it exercises her curiousity and puzzle solving skills. To 'sweeten the pot' on introduction, we pressed a couple of the P'Nuttier snacks deep down into it between the balls.  She happily dragged it around the house, worked at it until she'd rescued the treats, then continued to play with, pulling out the balls to see what else might be hiding in there.

Since then, she's played with this every day, sometimes getting the balls out, sometimes (but not always!) finding a treat hiding inside, often just dragging it around by its tail.

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and after unsuccessfully standing near her treat jar demanding treats, she left - or so I thought.

When I finished doing what I was doing, I turned around and her toy was carefully set on the floor right near the treat jar, while she lay nearby watching what I'd do.


Obviously I had no choice but to reward that.  It was a whole lot cuter than just yelling at me!

Like I said, all in all, this was a really fun box, and both of us are greatly looking forward to finding out what's in store for us in this month's PetBox!  I'll be back in a few weeks to tell you all about it!

Note: A few folks have asked what the outcome was of the Holiday Box error I'd mentioned last time.  Briefly, a computer glitch at PetBox led to a few people getting boxes they'd ordered as gifts being sent to their home instead of to the recipients, and this happened to us, with two boxes we'd bought. Due to how soon it was before the holiday, we paid to ship them off to where they belonged, and then waited to hear about what sort of resolution there'd be.

Eventually, after asking about it, I was sent a copy of an email that had apparently been sent at some point after the error was made. I checked my email and didn't have a copy of it (but I've had computer issues off and on so it's possible it went lost).  The upshot of the email was that they'd send out a replacement box for those that didn't just mail them on if they replied to the email to say so - so I am a bit disappointed that we never saw the email in time to just do it that way, and I'd have preferred a correction that didn't require an 'opt in' but instead simply provided compensation for a known error, but done is done, and everyone enjoyed their boxes.  As I noted before, there were extra PetBox points offered to subscribed members for buying these holiday boxes, so even after paying for shipping and spending time in the post office during the holiday season, we did not actually lose any money due to the error.