Review: December BarkBox!

Penny has been a devoted BarkBox subscriber for the past 6 months now, and we have yet to be disappointed! Yes, I said "we". Human confession #1: I avoid all types of possible spoilers and look forward to Penny's BarkBox more than I look forward to any of my own subscriptions (which include Birchbox and Glossybox, things a gal should be pretty excited about).

First, let me tell you that every time a BarkBox arrives, Penny follows me around like a 70-pound heat seeking missile, her nose jammed up to any of the box's open crevices. She KNOWS that brown box is for her. Even if she is in her crate when I am holding the box, she will instantly perk up. If that doesn't tell you how awesomely curated this box is, I don't know what will!

1. Bocce's Bakery FEAST

We love Bocce's Bakery in our household. It's a small business run by fun people, and they have the most amazing flavors, ranging from Maine Lobster Roll to Truffle with Mac 'n Cheese. All of the ingredients they use are human grade, and the folks from Bocce's Bakery say that they often snack on the biscuits themselves! Feast is a special holiday concoction made with chicken, pumpkin, and cranberries. Penny really liked it (she has yet to turn her nose up at any Bocce's Bakery treat). She liked it so much, I hid it and now can't find it for a photo. Instead, enjoy a photo we took for the K9 Scrub Club Bocce's Bakery contest we won a while back:

2. Oatmeal Shampoo from Fresh Dog

What I love about BarkBox is that the items aren't just for your dogs to enjoy, they are also useful things for us humans to use in our every day "dog husbandry". Fresh Dog is a dog and cat shampoo company and smells absolutely yummy! We had the hardest time finding a good smelling oatmeal shampoo for Penny's itchy skin, and finally settled on TropiClean, which has served us well so far (Human confession #2: I actually had to steal Penny's TropiClean oatmeal shampoo once because I accidentally left my soap at a hotel while traveling, and have allergy-prone and dry skin that needs soap-less bathing supplies. It worked well and I smelled pretty good!). We'll be using the Fresh Dog Oatmeal Shampoo for Penny's next bath, just to see how it stacks up. In the meantime, I'm interested in the dry shampoo Fresh Dog offers, for those times when John and I don't have the time and/or energy to wrestle a soapy, wet dog in the bathtub.

Courtesy of FreshDog.com

3. Puppy Cake Wheat-Free Cake Mix (Red Velvet)

I may have squee'd a little bit when I pulled this one out of the box! Penny's birthday is next month, so we're saving it for that occasion. This cute little red velvet cake mix can either be baked or microwaved, and comes with a packet of yogurt frosting. Their online shop is adorable, and they have other tasty cake mix flavors like Banana and Peanut Butter. I'm probably more excited about Penny's birthday because of this cake than she is (if she knew what birthdays were)!

Courtesy of puppycake.com

4. Holiday Moose with Movable Limbs from Simply Fido

Simply Fido is a New York based company that uses organic materials for their products. True story: I was looking at one of the labels on the toy and planning on giving it to Penny with her Christmas presents when she appeared out of nowhere and snatched the toy. This dog is not good at sneaking, but she still took me by surprise like a little canine Jaws. I wish I had some pictures of her playing with this poor little moose (he never had a chance), but it would have looked like a giant brown and white blur. I don't think I need to elaborate on how much Penny loved this toy. The arms and legs slide back and forth for great tug o' war action. The moose was adorable....while it lasted.

Courtesy of simplyfido.com

If you have a dog and haven't subscribed to BarkBox yet, I highly recommend you try at least a month! Subscriptions are $29 if you pay month-by-month, but as low as $17.50 when you pay for six months at a time. The best part is that 10% of the proceeds go directly to local shelters and rescues.