Tags
cat food, cat toys, cat treats, dog food, dog toys, dog treats, giveaways, pawalla, subscription boxes
Reminder — you have until midnight tonight to enter the Honest Kitchen giveaway (click link for details)!
Meanwhile, I have more giving to cram into this month. Up next is a special offer provided by Pawalla.com.
July 2012 box pictured
If you didn’t catch our review, the gist is this: Pawalla.com provides a monthly gift box for subscribers, overflowing with cans of wet food, treats, and accessories (toys, supplements, grooming tools, etc.) for either dogs OR cats. With a certified nutritionist on board and a commitment to provide only high quality and “natural” items, they have impressed us as being one of the best box subscription companies for pets.
Because they were brand new at the time I reviewed them back in July, I’ve been keeping my eye on their Facebook page to see how they’ve been progressing. It’s also a way to get hints as to the contents of future boxes. I’m pleased that it appears they’ve remained consistent, continuing their search for products that will appeal to your pet’s desire for novelty while maintaining their own high standards. They’ve also launched their Pawalla shop, providing a convenient source for reordering anything anything you like from their monthly offerings.
For this giveaway, Pawalla.com has generously provided three gift codes for three lucky winners to try out their very own gift box! This box is good for dog OR cat boxes. All you have to do is leave a comment (with a valid e-mail, not publicly visible, so we can contact you as a winner) answering this question: What is the most important thing that helps you decide whether or not to purchase a certain brand of food for your pet? Your answer can be pretty open-ended and it doesn’t have to be long, but I’m asking you to think about what single criterion is most important to you. Ingredients? Price? Reputation of the brand? Country of origin? Packaging?? You tell me.
One BONUS ENTRY will be provided for anyone who leaves a post on the Pawalla Facebook page with a friendly message that The House of Two Bows sent you. The House of Two Bows will confirm your bonus entry by “liking” your comment on Pawalla’s page. We will check their page to make sure we didn’t miss anyone, but if you want to tag our Facebook page in your comment, that will help ensure that we get you counted.
A couple restrictions apply: Pawalla.com can only ship to US addresses. Should you be a winner in our THK giveaway, you are still eligible to win, however we will request that you pay it forward by using your voucher code as a gift for a friend.
But hey, nobody has to miss out! Anyone can apply the code PAWHOLIDAY to their order to receive $6 off their first month’s subscription all throughout the month of December. After December, feel free to use our referral link.
This giveaway closes Friday, December 14th at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time. So speak up, folks. Let’s talk food. Pet food, that is.
one of the brands we were introduced to via our Pawalla box
The House of Two Bows 雙寶之屋 
Too bad Silas’s food allergies would ruin something like this. Which is also my answer to the question. That is, “Can my dog digest this without vomiting?” That is, sadly, enough to eliminate almost everything. (We are not entering your contest; I just can’t keep my mouth shut about dog food.)
I had to post and ruin your comment count for the giveaway because I was excited to see that package of Sam’s Yams treats. Emphatically recommended for dogs with allergies who still need to chew on something. We buy the enormous size, then put a dab of peanut butter on top.
Yeah, I noted in my review that unfortunately it’s not so hot for dogs with allergies or food sensitivities. Silas really puzzles me though! Bowpi was pretty vomity her first few months with us, and she can be oddly sensitive about certain foods, but I guess I managed to train her digestive tract too.
We give a hearty thumbs up to Sam’s Yams too. It’s fairly easy to make dehydrated sweet potato snacks at home, but ours never come out as hard, and of course they have the extra ridges.
The first thing I look at is ingredients, definitely. We have four cats so feeding them can be quite expensive, so I look for sales whenever I can. We look for grain-free/no fillers, and try to buy foods where the chickens etc that go into the food are treated as best as we can afford.
I liked Pawalla (And The House of Two Bows) on facebook and posted on their wall 🙂 Here’s the link to my post: https://www.facebook.com/Pawalla/posts/451618098228332
I couldn’t figure out how to tag your page in it, sorry! I hope this counts though 😀 Thanks for the chance to win!!
No prob, we’ve got your bonus entry counted!
We wouldn’t happen to be connected online via Inky Geek, by any chance?
“What is the most important thing that helps you decide whether or not to purchase a certain brand of food for your pet?”
Ingredients! For all of my dogs, it is the ingredients that seems to be my determining factor above others.
i’ve had my share of tummy issues and i get really hyper/anxious with certain foods, so my humans analyze ingredient list crossed by either a strong reference from a friend or a trusted website providing reviews and advice on dog foods.
ingredients, nutrient composition AND the reputation/involvement with past recalls are what make me choose my brands. just because a food has good ingredients, doesn’t mean it is safe, healthy, or balanced.
I’d say ingredients and the reputation of the brand. I’ve also gone on sites like ‘dogfoodadvisor’ to read what are supposed to be more informed reviews.
Ingredients, reputation, and country of manufacture are equally important to us. We also like to rotate proteins and only buy the small bags of kibble (which we realize is not the most cost efficient… but it keeps Yuki interested).
It’s hard to choose just one factor that I choose my dog food with… but right now, price is a big factor for me. I look for a decent brand with something besides chicken or beef that I can afford.
Price and ingredience are what in fluance my pet food buys.
Definitely ingredients, except most of our food is just one ingredient now, raw meaty bones and organ meats. So since “ingredients” aren’t really a concern anymore, I definitely focus on price.
What is the most important thing that helps you decide whether or not to purchase a certain brand of food for your pet?
Price:I have three small dogs to buy food for. And I am a college student, meaning simply that I CANNOT buy True Blue (or the other expensive brands) for them to gobble down in one bite. I would go broke.
Company: I buy from a company many of my family have worked at and I trust their processing procedures more so than other companies.
And lastly ingredients: I do not wish to feed my dogs cardboard. I want them to be eating real meats and vegetables, just like I want to be eating real meat and vegetables (still not convinced McDonalds serves real meat…sure does not taste like it).
For me, the biggest factor is ingredients. And this includes everything from the type of protein, whether or not it contains grains and where the ingredients come from. That’s one of the reasons I love The Honest Kitchen so much, they tell you exactly where every single ingredient in their food comes from.
The number one thing that helps me decide whether or not to purchase a certain brand of food for my pets is the ingredients. If the food has good ingredients, then I consider the brand/reputation and the price together. Since I’m a college student finishing my last year, I want to be able to feed my pups good quality food while also not breaking the bank.
The ingredients are most definitely the first thing that I consider followed by flavor and type (puppy, senior, large breed, etc).
Definitely ingredients! Nutrient content and brand/reputation are important too. Price is lower on the list…I’d rather skimp in other areas!
The ingredients. With one dog with major allergies to some grain sources and poultry, I have to scan ingredients every time I buy food for the girls.
For us, the most important things when choosing a pet food/treat is ingredients and country of origin. Price is also a consideration in terms of value.
The ingredients, we’re still trying to work out allergies so controlling what foods my bow eats is key. After that, price since we’re working with a graduate student budget.
Thanks for the entries, everyone! The comments and bonus entries on Pawalla’s FB page have been tabulated, and three winners selected via random.org. Winners will be notified and announced shortly.
I like to make sure it has good ingrediants and provides them with daily viatmins and minerals that they need daily with no by-products . It has to taste good also to them, of course
sorry this is over..oops
Unfortunately, yes. But if you check out Pawalla’s Facebook page, I’ve noticed that they’ve offering a lot of other giveaways at the moment. Good luck!
The most important thing that helps me to decide whether or not to purchase a certain brand of food/treat is the ingredients! I like to make sure that there are no by-products in food or treats. I also prefer that the food/treats are made in the USA.
Oops, I am a week late in entering this contest! Congrats to all the winners! 😀