Unboxing/Review: January Petbox

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This past month's Petbox was a real winner for Sadie!  By now, she totally knows what's coming when the blue box arrives, and has no patience at all for waiting for me to dole out the month's goodies!

When I first opened the box, I had to try to push her away long enough to get a look for myself at what was inside.  In fact, she nosed her way into it, and grabbed hold of the first thing she could get - a longnecked squeaky toy shaped like a cow that (mysteriously) proclaims "Poop Happens", and ran off with it.

That's a first! Not only is she usally not so certain that something belongs to her that she will snatch it without permission, but she doesn't even like rubber squeaky toys all that much!

This is the Pet Speak Long Neck Cow from Ethical Toys. The vinyl on it is very soft and lightweight, so squeaking the bulbous body is easy (and loud).

She happily played with it for several days, but I will admit that when we had houseguests that included a six-year old and two-year old that fell in love with it themselves (and cracked up at learning how to spell 'poop'), I was happy to send it home with them for their own beagle.  I already put up with an old favorite toy that screams like a dying tyrannosaurus, and I just wasn't going to have anymore of that squeak. (But kudos, strange cow, for getting our old dog to find her inner puppy!

But that wasn't the only grabby behavior from Sadie - her second dive into the box netted her a Beef Ear from Copper's Classics.  This time, she was dead serious - she grabbed it, still in it's plastic wrap and refused to let go - my husband scooped her up to try to get her to give it back and that face you see is Sadie growling at us for trying to take it away!  Eventually, we wrestled it out of her grasp long enough to unwrap it and she ran off to enjoy her favorite thing in the whole world!

Sadie has a long history with pig ears - when she was younger, Michael used to play a hide and seek game with her to make her hunt them down, a game they both enjoyed mightily and only ended when we decided the regular pigear habit probably wasn't the most healthy thing for an overweight dog past her prime.  This was as if she was saying "At last I found one! THIS IS MINE! MIIINEEE!!!"  She was in total ecstasy over this, and we'll probably have to reintroduce the occasional beef ear into her life now.

While she gnawed on the beef ear, I was finally able to look at the rest of the goodies in the box.


The Bison Chewies by Prairie Nature were huge hits and will definitely be reappearing in the house - I don't always care for the way pet treats smell, but these smell delicious - like very good quality smoky beef jerky.  They come as cut up pieces of a chewy (not hard) smoked meat stick, and we were rewarded with a happy dog dance every time we brought out the bag.  Made with good quality food items, I feel good about offering these to her, and she adores them.

I also like offering her the Smart n' Tasty Seafood Medley Treats (although they smell as fishy as you'd think).  These are grain-free, full of the nutrients she needs and she likes them fine.

The fish and seafood shaped snacks are on the thick side and crunchy, and one or two is a substantial enough snack to keep her happy.

Fortunately, I haven't noticed that the scent of the snack has translated into fishy doggy-breath!

I really like it when Petbox supplies a full-sized bag of a treat or other product, and there are always at least one or two items that come in a generous size.

The Ruff & Tuff Snake Chew Resistant Toy was the really big hit in this box.  Made with a tough canvaslike material, it is solid and sturdy and contains a squeaker in the head - but its real strength is that it is a fun toy to play tug of war with.

Sadie loved getting in a rowdy game with this, both with Michael and with our young houseguests who enjoyed running away from Sadie with it so she could chase them.

After many of these games, it did eventually develop a couple of splits long the cording, but so far  the stuffing isn't leaking out, and Sadie still enjoys it when someone picks it up and invites her to play.

I have to say, this is my favorite part of Petbox - it has reinvigorated our dog, by providing stimulating toys and healthy treats and supplements, long past the point where we'd thought she'd mostly given up active play.  When I began this series of reviews, I wasn't sure any of the toys would appeal to her, and I'm so happy to be wrong about that.

The Smart n Tasty Twizzies Chew Stick is a big generous stick that is chock full of good things:

"Pork meal, pork liver, pork gelatin, natural flavor, pork broth, mixed tocopherols (preservative), rosemary extract"

A few hours before our houseguests were ready to leave, the boys were getting antsy, and Sadie was played out - she started feeling nervous and exhibiting signs that she really needed them to chill out.

I decided that might be a good time to bring out the Twizzie, so she could spend some alone time.

She took it off to a corner where she could still watch the boys (by now, she was in full 'nanny dog' mode' and gnawed and worked through almost the entire thing over about 20 minutes, which gave all of us - especially Sadie - a much needed break.

By the time she was finished, they were ready to make  their goodbyes, and she could give them a last bit of doggy love before crashing hard for a long nap.  All in all, a successful visit, made much more exciting and fun for everyone by Petbox!

The last item in this month's box was a sample size of Evanger's Low-Grain Chicken & Brown Rice Formula dog food.

We've decided to hold this back to have on hand for a day trip, rather than packing up her regular dog food.

There is no wheat, soy or corn in this product and it is full of good herbs and vegetables as well healthy supplements, and Evanger's carries a large variety of both wet and dry dog foods and other products, which all all made in the US.

All in all, there were no losers in this box at all (well, maybe the parent that has to hear that squeaky dog toy we regifted....), and I was very impressed by the range and quality offered!

Our next Petbox box has arrived and yep, once again, there was much Sadie rejoicing at the sight of her favorite blue box!