Barkbox June 2015 Small Dog Box Review and Free Box Offer!

Barkbox has had some pretty adorable themes, I can’t lie. Although PetGiftBox is doing really well in the theme area, too, with their “Jurassic Bark” this month. But the theme for Barkbox this month is “To Infini-pee and Beyond.” It’s all about space, the final frontier. Not Toy Story. A Toy Story Dog Box would be amazing! Anyway!
This is the Small Dog box for dogs ten to twenty pounds. One of the things that sets Barkbox apart from other dog boxes, is the fact that they have a separate box for dogs under ten pounds. I think it’s almost inappropriate to think that a 6lb chihuahua is going to get the same use out of a toy that a 18lb rat terrier will. Too many boxes lump the tiny dogs in with the small. Okay, rant over. Haha!

One of these days I’m going to have to do a huge comparison post for all the dog boxes I get. I get questions fairly often about which one I think is best but it really just depends on what you’re looking for (along with how much you want to spend). Since I blog about subscription boxes, I’m constantly hunting for deals so I rarely pay the full asking prices for any of the boxes I get. I try to mention those deals when I see them. (Please see my PetGiftBox post for the awesome Groupon deal they’re running right now).

The Cost: $29/month

What You Get: Every month you will receive a box in the mail with four or more carefully selected products and presents for your dog – anything from toys, bones and all-natural treats to hygiene products and innovative new gadgets!
Barkmade Shuttle – This is one of those giant, tough squeakers covered in a space shuttle suit. It makes the most awful squeaky noise and Bugsy can’t get enough. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to work with ten thousand squeaks happening right next to your chair. Luckily, by the second day, the squeaker was dead but the toy was still intact and in use. Bugsy is still begging for it to be thrown down the stairs for him. Over and over. And over.
Value: $8
Barkmade Flexi Dog Bowl– Food grade silicon makes up this handy dandy food/water bowl. I kind of want to use it to make a cake. That would be the cutest dog cake ever. Dexter’s birthday is July 5th… Hmm…
Value: $6

BarkMade Space Rover Bandana– This is far too small. Do they know how big a 20 pound dog is? I mean, maybe my dogs have big necks but I can barely get it to tie once, much less twice to hold it. Pfft. It’s cute. But useless to me.
Value; $5
Bixbi Peanut Butter Pocket Trainers– I love it when we get big bags of treats. I also like getting small training treats that can go in a pocket without crumbling to bits. That non-crumbling part is important otherwise you have no treats and a pocketful of dust when that other dog goes walking by. These are perfect. They’re almost rubbery but they’re softish so they don’t have any dusty crumbs. They’re also the perfect size.
Value: $8

Etta Says Crunchy Duck and Sweet Potato Bar– This is interesting. It’s made of duck, sweet potato and rawhide. I normally do not give rawhide to my dogs because I don’t want them to swallow a chunk and then have an emergency. I don’t think my heart could take it. So. No rawhide. But this appears to be ground up rawhide? I’m okay with that. I actually like this as a treat because it takes awhile to eat and both dogs can have sweet potato and duck.
Value: $3

VERDICT: So here’s the thing about Barkbox. I’ve been noticing that they have had a lot of “BarkMade” items. I’m guessing this means Barkbox is paying a factory to make these toys and label them. I can’t decide if I find that annoying or not. On one hand, it means I won’t discover new toys that I can repurchase if necessary from a pet store near my house. On the other, the toys have been really cute and well loved. Plus Barkbox does seem pretty committed to providing good quality toys. It does make me think that if they are going to have so many unbranded toys, they should lower the price. Or am I just being too sensitive about this?
I still think that Barkbox is a great box of toys and treats for dogs. I was so surprised to see that I had received a dog bowl since I haven’t received that type of accessory for a long time. I do wish that I hadn’t had to sacrifice a toy for it, though. I would have gotten rid of the bandana and put in another toy.
Of course, I’m super happy to have these treats, the dog bowl and the Space Shuttle was a big hit with Bugsy so there is still lots to love about the box.

If you would like to spoil your dog with a Barkbox, you can do that here. You can use my referral link and get a FREE box added to your subscription.
If you use Ebates, make sure to activate it and get your $3 cashback, too. If you don’t use Ebates and you shop online a lot, I highly recommend them as a cashback site.