REVIEW: Bugsy’s Box pet subscription service

Tags

Bugsy's Box, dog food, dog toys, dog treats, Exclusively Dog, made in China, nootie, pugs, subscription boxes, yumzies

Product: Bugsy’s Box pet box subscription service
Quantity: One big box of treats, toys, and accessories
Price: $29/box for a single month, as low as $19/box for a six month plan, shipping to US or Canada included*
Ingredients and materials: All kinds
Company information: 1320 State Route 9 72228; Champlain, NY 12919
Web Presence: Online at Bugsysbox.com, Facebook, Twitter

Everybody’s doin’ the box… the subscription box, that is. We’ve gotten a chance to try out several pet-specific boxes now (see the list under “Mail Order and Other Services” on our reviews tab). The latest to pass through our mail slot is Bugsy’s Box, named after the company owner’s 3-year-old pug who, in their words, “simply takes our breath away while hanging around the office daily.”

How did Bugsy’s Box stack up?

Not very well, I’m afraid.

Disapproving pug is sad that his fellow pug brethren could not do better!

A typical assortment from Bugsy’s Box contains “5 to 7 items which are a variety of high quality, hand picked, well reviewed dog treats, toys, care items, healthy supplements, accessories and more surprises such as coupons which are often included as a bonus” (Bugsbysbox.com front page). Included in this month’s offering was the following:

• Barking Bus animal cookies by Exclusively Dog, 1.5 oz box
• YumZies mini training treats by Nootie, Barbecue Chicken flavor, 6 oz. pouch
• Animal Safari soft toy by PetLou, 9″ size
• Lightweight Loofa stuffingless plush by MultiPet, 12″ size
• Fetch and Glow Ball by American Dog Toys, Size Medium
• Incredibubbles by PetQwerks, Peach flavored 3 oz. vial
• EcoDogPlanet Doggie Bags, 20 count box
• Carob flavored wafer cookies by Exclusively Dog, 3 count sample pouch

The box seemed very full, with a descriptive preview card printed on nice paper, making a great first impression. I zipped off a quick note to the company representative acknowledging receipt, and let him know it could take us a few weeks to adequately try out everything before formulating our honest opinion.

Well as it turns out, our turnaround is much faster because there are several items in the box that do not make it past this human’s quality control checkpoint.

I’ll start with the edibles, always the most coveted prizes here at the House of Two Bows, and three of the eight items in the box. I was initially intrigued by the Barking Bus animal crackers in cute retro packaging. However, on closer examination, I was rather dismayed by the ingredients:

wheat flour, sugar, vegetable fat, corn syrup, salt, natural vanilla flavor, cornstarch, sodium bicarbonate, lecithin, garlic powder

The sample pouch of carob flavored wafer cookies, also made by Exclusively Dog, did not fare any better with maltodextrins, sugar, dextrose, and caramel color on the list, ingredients that I find to be completely unnecessary in dog treats. Despite the assertion that Exclusively Dog treats use “wholesome, natural ingredients” that are even kosher, I take issue with how they are NOT truly “specially formulated for dogs,” as claimed.

We’ve seen a similar trend of dog cookies that look (and smell) cloyingly like junk food for people at PetCo. Exclusively Pets doesn’t appear to use the same formula, but the physical products look awfully similar and follow the same concept.

Top: Exclusively Dog Barking Bus animal crackers; Bottom: PetCo Animal Friends bulk cookies

So this may not be the same thing, but it’s not exactly “hard to find at your local per [sic] store,” as the insert card claims. Since at least one of my dogs already has a hard time battling plaque and tartar, which is fueled by sugar, I would rather not feed these cookies at all.

It turns out that the highest quality edible in this box is the pack of YumZies training treats, of which there was a generous pouch. However, we’ve had these before, and unfortunately, we didn’t think much of them …

Okay, so maybe Bugsy’s Box finds its strengths in other categories. Even though the Bows don’t usually take much interest in toys, perhaps there’s something there to redeem the box. Four out of eight items, after all, are of this category. Let’s see which ones my dogs would choose first!

Since Peepsy likes to shred towel-like items, she must want the Loofa SMILE! plushy! Yes?? *dangle dangle*

Erm, no. Apparently I was misprioritizing her sleepytime by asking her to help review these items. It’s just as well that she didn’t care to put anything in her mouth, as both plushes, with their brightly colored dyes and embedded squeakers, are made in China. Like many conscientious pet owners, we have concerns about purchasing any Chinese-made goods that could possibly be ingested. Perhaps I’d be less adamant about this if the Bows were still teething pups ripping through a dozen toys a month or if we didn’t have other options for mental stimulation, like hiking and other outdoors activities.

The IncrediBubbles and Fetch and Glow ball fare marginally better, being made in Taiwan (a separate country from China with better manufacturing oversight). However, the irony is that the glow ball comes from a company that calls itself American Dog Toys (headquartered in Minnetonka, MN). This reflects badly on Bugsy’s Box when they claim on their insert that “our treats, care items and essentials are all made in the USA or Canada!”

Someone either forgot to edit the placard or didn’t screen the products carefully… At least all the food items, questionable ingredients aside, are made in the USA.

On a more positive note, the specially formulated, pop-resistant IncrediBubbles were so superfluous as to be endearing. I had never considered bubbles as an interactive toy before, let alone a light calorie treat! I mean, they’re peach-flavored, after all! Anyway, Bowdu was surprisingly interested.

… for a while.

I’ll definitely pull these out again for another photo day. It’s rather hard to blow bubbles and take pictures while trying to keep the soapy residue off my equipment. The PetQwerks site assures consumers that the formula is “non toxic,” but it does leave a sticky film that should be considered inedible, given how long it persists. Even an hour afterward, I found intact bubbles sitting on the lawn, and I was plucking plasticine bits off Bowdu’s fur the next day…

Speaking of persistent plastics, we’re down to one last item — poop bags from tapioca-based plastics, made in Indonesia, from Eco Dog Planet.

Dog owners always have a need for poop bags, so this is not a gift to be taken lightly. We like these because they are truly practical and ecological… but not particularly economical, at least not as the most worthwhile item in the entire assortment. For a $29 box (which is the month-to-month price), I expect to be wowed by more than a roll of poop bags that will be used up within a week in our two-dog household.

The overall value of this box, based on generous retail calculations, would be approximately $50, though it could be as low as $27 based on lowest Amazon prices and my estimates. Let’s compare to their going subscription rates (shipping included with all prices):

• Month-to-month, single box rate: $29
• 3-month subscription: $23/box = $69
• 6-month subscription: $19/box = $114

So one would have to commit to at least a three-month gamble for this to make economical sense, if you like everything in the box. Alas, our experience based on one box does not make us very optimistic. Was this a fluke? I really don’t know. I do know, however, that there are several competing subscription pet boxes offering better deals at each price tier.

Bugsy’s Box has its work cut out if it wants to catch up with the competition.

FINAL GRADE: C+

* Note: The House of Two Bows received one box in exchange for our honest review. The opinions contained are entirely my own.

On Sunday evening, I e-mailed the company contact, who is apparently the founder, a summary of my criticisms, and offered to publish his response to accompany this review. I have received no acknowledgment as of the Friday morning that this review was posted. Lack of communication factored into my final assessment. Though this review may very well be buried by the search engines, we do not take the task lightly. We always prefer to see companies with demonstrable evidence of their good intentions or desire to improve, and I’m sorry we had very little to go by here.

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REVIEW: Pawalla Mini Box

Tags

aromatherapy, dog toys, dog treats, gerrard larriet, grizzly pet products, pawalla, salmon, sponsored reviews, subscription boxes, training treats, wigzi

EDIT: On 22 August 2013, Pawalla announced that it is “no longer operating as a subscription service.”

Product: Pawalla Mini box subscription service for pets
Quantity: [at least] one treat, one toy, and one other “surprise” item
Price: $12 / month for a full year subscription; $14 / month for 6 month subscription; $17 a month for a single month [BONUS: new subscribers can save $5 with our referral code; if expired, just leave a comment and we’ll issue a new code ASAP]
Ingredients: all kinds!
Company information: Pawalla.com, 9415 Culver Blvd.; Culver City, CA 90232
Web Presence: At Pawalla.com, Facebook, etc.

The folks at Pawalla.com are pretty good to the Bows. In fact, that’s what the company is set up to do — pamper your pets. They recently came up with a more compact version of their monthly subscription box of “all-natural or organic” dog and cat goodies, and sent us a complimentary box in exchange for a review. This was also a good opportunity to see how far they’ve come since we reviewed their full service kits back in July 2012.

In each Mini box, a subscriber can expect three full-size items, including at least one treat, one toy, and one other “surprise” such as a dietary supplement or grooming aid. For this review, we received:

• Grizzly Salmon NuTreats, one pack (6 oz)
• Wigzi Tasties Treats, Roasted Duck flavor, one pack (6 oz)
• Wigzi Lock n’ Play dog toy, medium
• Gerrard Larriett Happy Jasmine Aromatherapy Freshening and Shining Spray, one bottle (4 fl. oz)

How nice of them to include not just one, but two full-sized treat offerings to round out the overall value (as will sometimes happen at Pawalla’s discretion). A quick tabulation of retail price on these goodies tops me off at about $36, with a third of that accounted for by the Gerrard Larriet aromatherapy spray. Now, whether or not one would actually pay $12 for pet-specific fragrances is another matter… and not even the 25% discount code included in the box was enough to convince me that this company offers anything that my dogs need or want. Perhaps if this had happened to arrive on the day of our most recent horse poop adventure, I would have thought otherwise…

Silly to me, but it was indeed unexpected. And the whole point of the Pawalla box is to offer a variety of surprises with the expectation that there will be enough novelty in each box to make the deal worthwhile. So that one dud aside, how’d they do?

The Bows, as usual, showed greatest interest in everything edible.

It was pointed out to me that the above picture makes the Grizzly Salmon NuTreats look like something I picked up on a morning walk. They’re actually quite appetizing, crunchy bites! We mainly know Grizzly Pet Products as a trusted brand in salmon oil supplements. Nice to know they make a training-sized treat with simple ingredients, as well.

The “star” of this box was Wigzi, a Washington, D.C.-based pet product company. Their Tasties treats are grain and wheat-free, made instead with chick pea and tapioca flour. We got the roasted duck variety (other possible flavors include peanut butter and Wisconsin cheddar), which were eagerly gobbled as one of the “forbidden flavors” not typically fed at the House of Two Bows.

The treats, however, are just a bit too crumbly to insert into the company’s own Lock ‘n’ Play chew toy with a treat pouch, which otherwise serves as an interesting alternative to typical rubber chew toys. Wigzi toys are all made in the U.S. (a rare find in non-edible pet products!) from some special “advanced material… [that] has zero BPAs or Phthalates, uses FDA approved material and is also recyclable.” If an object could glow with pride from being manufactured under superior conditions, I suppose this toy would do just that.

Personally, the Bows have limited interest in toys. The few we keep around are usually functional and interactive, as this one is. Too bad we don’t have a heavy chewer around to test its durability, but it does look — and smell! — unique.

Overall, the Pawalla Mini box looks promising if you know you’re going to spend at least $12 per month indulging your pets with extras. No wet foods or “main course” meals are included with Mini boxes, so it’s a good option for those who already have fairly set menus (perhaps cat owners?), and prefer to explore other, supplemental offerings. In this particular box, we really only made use of the treats, which I feel just barely makes it a $12 value — the lowest price per box for a 12 month subscription at Pawalla’s new tiered pricing scheme. At $14 a month for a six month subscription, my pet(s) better be inclined to enjoy both food and toys. At $17 a box for a one-time affair, we’d better be sure to love everything, and honestly, that wasn’t the case with this box.

Like the full-sized Pawalla box, the edibles here were all corn and wheat-free, with no artificial colors or flavors. Having a certified pet nutritionist on board is reassuring, but more importantly, Pawalla cares to maintain consistent high standards. This would make an awesome “puppy-warming” gift for a new pet with no protein allergies who might still be exploring their taste preferences. New subscribers can knock $5 off their first box with our referral code; otherwise, it’s most cost efficient to just spring for a six or twelve-month subscription.

FINAL GRADE: A-

EDIT: On 22 August 2013, Pawalla announced that it is “no longer operating as a subscription service.”

GIVEAWAY: Pawalla.com gift boxes

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

Sighting: Golden with a soft mouth

Tags

dog toys, golden retriever

Cutest couple spotted at the dog park today — Ingrid and her rabbit.

I never saw her drop that rabbit for even a moment. While normally I am opposed to the idea of dogs bringing along their most prized possession to the dog park, this is an exception. Nobody had an opportunity to steal it and make a scene (rarely do I see another dog try to force an object out of another dog’s mouth unless they’re clearly playing tug), and she displayed no possessiveness.

I guess Ingrid just wanted her rabbit to enjoy some fresh air, too!

REVIEW: PetsLoveToys.com subscription service

Tags

chew toys, chewbies, cloud star corp., dog toys, dog treats, petproject, pets love toys, petslovetoys.com, pig ears, smokehouse, sponsored reviews, subscription boxes, west paw designs

Product/Service: PetsLoveToys.com monthly subscription service
Quantity: One box of two to four items (combinations of toys, treats, and chews), plus many samples
Price: $14.95 / month for small or medium dogs, $19.95 / month for large or X-large dogs
Ingredients/materials: varies
Company Information: established by Brian and Stephanie Barlow; Fountain Valley, CA; Ph: 1-855-4PETTOY (473-8869)
Web Presence: At PetsLoveToys.com, on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

If you’re looking for another way to mark the passing of time (something I’m all too keenly aware of lately), consider signing up for a pet subscription box. No, not gerbils and kittens delivered via USPS, but rather, a monthly batch of goodies for your pet(s) delivered straight to your doorstep. We’ve only recently heard about this crazy concept to maximize our potential to live amongst the MOST SPOILED PETS in the world. At the very least, this should change the stereotypical relationship between dogs and mailmen for the better, right?

Spreadin’ the love is what PetsLoveToys.com seems to be about. We were very excited that they wanted to send the House of Two Bows a big ol’ box of goodies for review.

Their regular ordering cycle works as follows: On the 25th of every month, a new showroom, or gallery of available choices, is revealed to subscribers. You’re presented with three rows of options for your two main units (seems to be 2 – 4 items total), depending on if your pet enjoys toys, treats and chews, or toys and treats. Members have until the first of the month to make a selection, or skip the month and see what else comes up next time. When choices are made, boxes go out, starting from the first of the month.

Our box of selections for August included the following (featured items in bold):

• Chewbies dog toy by PetProject – squeaky neon orange squirrel
• ZOGOflex Jive Ball by West Paw designs – small, aqua
• Cloud Star Buddy Biscuits, roasted chicken flavor, one 6 oz. pack
• Smokehouse Piggy Slivers, one 3.2 oz pack (10 pieces)
• Cloud Star Tricky Trainers treats, two sample pouches
• Cloudstar Wag More, Bark Less chewy treats, two sample pouches
• Cloud Star Buddy Wash sample shampoo, two sample vials
• Pup Chips dog snacks, two sample pouches

Note that this is how much you would get in two boxes for small-medium dogs. Of course, Bowdu thought it was all for him, so I let him take command of the inspections.

I don’t blame him for not wanting to look the garish neon orange squirrel in the eyes. That thing looks like it’s just asking for its face to be gnawed off.

As expected, he showed much more interest in the ZOGOflex ball. Whenever he gets a new action toy (like a ball or tug rope/stick), he’s always torn between guarding it or letting the humans in on the game. After spending a few private moments dirtying up HIS toy, he finally decided to share and let me play with it too.

It’s a very nice ball. Toys in this line feature unusual shapes and durable material, and they’re manufactured in Montana — a state that is thoroughly familiar with dogs and all kinds of exciting wild critters, as I hear. Good to see they know how to make a sweet dog toy, too!

What really got both dogs’ attentions were the edibles. Bowpi, who had been ignoring the whole unpacking process, scampered right over with round, eager eyes when I busted out the Piggy Slivers…

… and both dogs proceeded to make a glorious, crunchy mess in their respective spots as they chomped up their pig ear parts. No worries — they took care of the crumbs, too.

Value wise, you will come out a little on top with savings by ordering through PetsLoveToys. Under normal circumstances, we would have paid $28.40, shipping included, for these two portions. A single Shibasenji-sized subscription would be $14.95, and each additional box comes at another 10% discount, up to three pets total (so 10% off for the second pet, 20% off for the third). A quick tabulation of Amazon and/or local retail prices on these items puts me at approximately $36 or $37 dollars for the whole lot, if I were to buy them separately.

However, I probably would not have chosen to purchase a couple of these items. Upon closer inspection, the scary neon orange squirrel toy was made in China. If it goes in my dogs’ mouths or can be ingested, I don’t want it coming from Chinese manufacturing plants (and I say this as someone with relatives that once owned and operated a pet toy manufacturing plant in China).

Brian, the company owner, acknowledged my concern and said that this is something that the company will work to address as they continue to discover more domestic companies that offer good products at fair prices. This shouldn’t be an issue with edible items, but apparently it’s trickier with pet toys. An ultimate goal is for the company to manufacture its own US-made toys. It sounds ambitious, but I hope they can meet their goal!

We know Cloud Star soft and chewy Buddy Biscuits have quality ingredients, but since we do not usually feed processed beef or chicken flavors, this product was a borderline case for us… though I’ve been letting up on this household rule lately. Anyway, I have purchased this brand in stores when I found them in alternate flavors, and both Bows found this month’s selection quite gobbleable. They especially liked the pumpkin-flavored samples. That’s something we would anticipate in future showrooms. Meanwhile, Brian assured me that the company is looking into novel protein options for dogs who display sensitivities to common meats found in typical pet foods and treats.

Normal subscribers can return unsatisfactory items for exchange or credit (they cover shipping) — otherwise, returns are charged a $5.95 restocking fee.

Really, I can’t complain much, since I chose the items myself. That’s the most important thing about this subscription service — you’re always given a choice in what you get (or you can skip a month and wait until the next showcase), and it shouldn’t be be a box full of unwanted surprises. Of course, the freebies and extras are nice too, but here, your preferences matter.

Overall, PetsLoveToys.com appears to offer the most inexpensive subscription box of several similar services that have popped up in recent months. Others that we have surveyed typically cost over $20 per month, so PetsLoveToys undercuts them all, specifically for smaller dogs. The quantity of items included are fairly conservative, and might be insufficient for more active, destructive, gluttonous, or picky members, but that is counterbalanced by the slight deal you get.

Bottom line: The Bows were happy with what they got! And the company seem quite open to receiving feedback, constructive criticism, and suggestions for improvement, so it’s worth keeping an eye on Pets Love Toys, especially as they roll out more variety, more options, and hopefully other species-specific deals… like something for cats?

Well… they can party with the packaging paper and box. Dogs get dibs on the good stuff.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Sightings: Everybody has a Chuckit except us

Tags

chuckit, dog toys, german shepherds, GSD, labrador retrievers, rat terrier, shiba inu, swedish vallhund

Hmm, why yes… it does appear that everybody has a Chuckit (or at least their special orange balls) except for us!

You just keep me hangin’ on

Tags

dog toys, kong

Every time I see this “pine cone” dangling high in the tree at the dog park…

… I can’t help but cue The Supremes in my head. Lyrics are only slightly related.

Anyway, we’re taking it easy this Fourth of July. It’s a fairly low-key holiday here at the House of Two Bows.

And that’s how we’d like to keep it.