BarkBox

by Megan Kirkland, MSA Reviewer, Mother of Dogs
September 2, 2020| 21 comments

About BarkBox

The Subscription Box: BarkBox

The Cost: $29 a month + free shipping. Save with a longer subscription plan.

COUPON: Get a free extra month when you sign up for a 6 or 12 month subscription. No coupon needed - just use this link.

The Products: 2 bags of all-natural, USA- or Canada-made treats, premium toys, and a chew, all inspired by a quirky new theme.

Ships to: The contiguous US for free; Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada for $8

Billing Cycle: You are billed by the 3rd of each month and your box should ship around the 15th.

Tough pup? Try their Super Chewer box subscription service which has toys made for heavy chewers! Check out our Super Chewer reviews here.

Pros & Cons

I’ve been a BarkBox subscriber for over 12 months now, and you can see all of my BarkBox reviews here!

The Sign-Up Process

Signing up is easy peasy, and actually super cute! It asks very basic info about your dog’s size, birthday, breed, etc. You can enter multiple breeds if your dog is a custom work of art.

Good to Know: If you have a pup like Piper (who has no teeth) email the BarkBox team at [email protected] or chat them and let them know. They will do what they can to make sure some softer treats arrive! (Thanks to MSA readers for this tip!)

The Monthly Boxes

Each box has its own distinct theme with treats and BarkBox toys (based on your dog’s size) inside to match. They are often really funny and the BarkBox team does such a great job in crafting imaginative toys that are also enjoyable to us humans, too. Each toy has multiple fun elements inside such as squeaker, crinkle, balls, and more. They keep my pups interested and no one has managed to destroy anything yet. Even though Charlie and Piper are smaller, I went with the medium box since Tucker is a big guy. He isn’t quite a super chewer, but he still has yet to rip any of these toys.

I also really appreciate how healthy and high-quality the treats are, especially since recipes with wheat seem to upset Charlie’s stomach. BarkBox’s treats are made in the USA and Canada and are all-natural, & wheat, corn, soy, and filler-free. A+! We try to buy our dogs the best food we can afford and it makes me happy to know that hard work isn’t undone with bad-for-them treats. I also have to take a second to rave about the wild flavor combinations that come in these bags. We have received everything from banana to cricket!

Themes

One of the most charming parts of a month-to-month BarkBox subscription is each box arrives with a brand new theme. I can’t even imagine how much fun the BarkBox team has coming up with these. Both of your two plush toys will follow this theme, and your natural treat and chew will (most of the time!) coordinate with the overall curation as well. I’ve found that I’ve had some treat bags show up that are not on theme, but that is because BarkBox customer support was kind enough to make sure Piper had soft treats. It is a worthwhile trade-off!

Here are the last 14 themes:

My absolute favorites were May 2020 (Scooby-Doo!), July 2019 (Hairy Metal), September 2019 (Must Squeak TV!), and our very first box in April 2019 (Shakespeare in the Dog Park).

Plush Toys

BarkBox plush toys always have a wonderful assortment of fluff, squeakers, crinkle, and other surprises like hidden treat compartments and pull ropes. They are also premium toys that have major staying power for most dogs. None of mine have managed to tear anything up, even big boy Tucker. (If you have a toy shredder, I recommend Barkbox’s Super Chewer box ). The toys are also so much fun to play with, especially since I am WFH and spending a lot more time with my pups. They appreciate new toys each month for playtime!

The imagination of these toys is also really enjoyable. A plush golden toilet? A crinkle fluff guitar with a functional strap? A reversible squeaker bib that looks like a tuxedo?! Every month is a new surprise.

Natural Treats

The healthy treats included each month are also equally as creative as the toys, from the clever and punny names to the often surprising (yet delicious) ingredients. The BarkBox team does a fantastic job of creating so many different shapes, tastes, smells, and textures for your dog to enjoy. These are excellent for training, as keeping a stash of natural treats is a wonderful way to reward good behavior. Will likes to reward the dogs with treats simply for looking cute or doing basic dog things like sleeping on the couch, so we go through a lot of treats in my house!

The treats are most usually meat-based (think lamb, beef, chicken, pork) but they are often combined with a selection of more unusual ingredients and flavors. Here are a few recent callouts: banana, lavender, crickets (!!), bourbon, chamomile, honey, carrots, cranberries, and chia seeds.

If your pupper has any allergies or dietary concerns, reach out to BarkBox customer support at [email protected] They will take great care of you and your furry pal!

Chews and More Goodies

Your final item in each BarkBox is likely going to be a sturdy chew! Piper and Charlie are older and don’t have the best (or any) teeth left, but Tucker is a bigger guy who likes to chew! I like to save these for him when the seniors put themselves to bed at night. I would argue they are his favorite (secret) treat in this subscription box. The flavors are a little more subdued than some of the treats, but he likes them just as much.

You might also find a surprise wearable accessory in your box, but this is a little more rare! They are usually part of the box packaging itself but are sometimes fabric. They certainly add a lot to the box though. It is always fun to play dress up!

The Verdict

Every month my entire house looks forward to this subscription. (Well, maybe not the cat.) If you are looking for a dog subscription box, try it! I would say it is totally worth it. Here’s why:

• It is pure fun: Even if you aren’t spending more time at home these days, these new toys give my dogs and me extra playtime. When it arrives, it’s like an event for the entire house which makes it totally worth it. For someone who brings home a ton of boxes, this monthly subscription still stands out as one of my favorites ever.
• It has enhanced my relationship with my pups: Piper and Charlie are both older now so getting them to play requires a little creativity, which BarkBox delivers in spades. I also thought this dog box was perfect for when we introduced Tucker to the pack because it was a chance for them all to play together and socialize.
• It has good value and allows me to skip trips to the pet store where I would 100% spend more money: Aside from the fact that I am leaving the house less these days, decent dog toys are expensive at my local chain pet store. And bags of high-quality treats? Yeesh. The last time I bought Charlie a medium-sized toy it set me back $15.00. Sure, they have some less expensive ones, but we want them to last, right? Bags of dog treats are also quite spendy if you are looking for natural treats similar to the ones from BarkBox.
• The variety is awesome: Those weird treat flavors? I am amazed each month at what arrives. There is always a nice mix of textures too, meaning my pups never get bored. The high-quality plush toys always have a few interesting features that keep my pups interested, whether that is crinkle, hidden treat compartments, excessive fluff, or something else!
• The BarkBox customer support team is fantastic to chat with: Literally, they are. I reached out about Piper’s lack of teeth and they were thrilled to make sure soft treats ended up in each box so she wouldn’t be left out. They also encouraged me to reach out with anything I might need to customize the box to my pups’ needs. You can tell these folks love their own furry friends so much.

If you need even more detail on the BarkBox monthly subscription, be sure to check out all of the MSA BarkBox reviews from the past year or so on our BarkBox reviews page.

Tough pup? Try their Super Chewer box month-to-month subscription service which has toys made for heavy chewers! Check out our Super Chewer reviews here.

COUPON: Get a free extra month when you sign up for a 6 or 12 month subscription. No coupon needed - just use this link.

Did I miss any details for new BarkBox subscribers? What do your pups think of this month to month subscription?