Avenue K9

If a group of aliens who looked like dogs came down in the bone-shaped spaceship and invaded Earth, this is what they’d look like:

If you’d like your dog to show support for and allegiance to the new Dog-Aliens, you may purchase one of their signature glowing dog collars at Groupon by clicking here.

FINALLY! You can all stop emailing me about when hair gel for dogs is going to be invented. Here it is! Available at your local pet store for way too much money:

Stuff I liked about it:

-Neato ingredients such as vanilla, honey, clove and chlorophyll.

-A relatively good amount of treats in a 4 oz bag.

-Anything that says it can help keep Casper’s teeth clean immediately gets my attention.

Stuff I’m not so keen on:

-They seem to make Casper fart…a lot.

Really, the farting thing is my only complaint. Casper will eat them, but I wouldn’t say he LOVES them by any means. Is the better-smelling breath worth the worse-smelling butt? I’m not so sure.

I’m not sure how long it takes to see how much tartar is removed from teeth by these, but if your dog is in need of some dental help and plunking down $300+ at the vet’s office for a dental isn’t in the immediate future, you might want to give these a go.

Heck, take some “before and after” pics and send them to us.

Teeny Treats! I’ve been sprinkling them on top of his food and using them for our “trick sessions” after dinner.

Actually, I’m starting to understand why the vet wrote “overweight” on his last exam notes. Ugh, I’m the worst.

OK, well, it’s not quite as simple as declaring an outright winner here. Barkbox does some things better than Petflow, and Petflow has some advantages over Barkbox.

Price:  Petflow boxes are $24.99/month. Boxes are automatically shipped every month, but you can cancel any time. Straightforward and easy.

If you want a single month of Barkbox, that’ll run you $29.99. Signing up for three or six-month plans brings the per-box price down to $23 or $19 respectively. The catch here is that you’ll have to pony up the entire amount up front. Not a huge fan of that. Personally, I would love to sign up for six months and keep the boxes coming for Casper, but I can’t pay $114 all at once. On the flip side, I think $29.99 is a little too pricey for a single box.

Winner: Petflow

Variety of Items: The Petflow box had a nice variety of tasty, high-quality treats. However, there weren’t any toys or long-lasting chews like a bully stick.

Barkbox also had a great mix of high-quality eats, but also included a couple of toys.

Winner: Barkbox

Overall value:  There were big boxes and bags of treats in the Petflow box, and the treats were high-quality. One item (the keychain) didn’t really add any value to the box.

There were fewer items in the Barkbox, but there was a better variety in the box. The treats were high-quality, but the boxes/bags were small. The toys in the box were awesome.

Winner: Barkbox

Bottom line: We had a lot of fun with these boxes–I realized that Cindy and I got really, really excited when the boxes showed up in the mail and it was time to open them up to see what was inside. There is no clear-cut winner here, just two boxes full of fun stuff that suits different doggie tastes:

If you spend a lot of money on treats for your dog, a “Spoiled Rotten” box from Petflow is just what you (and your dog) need. You’ll get a box full of good-quality treats, and they’ll last awhile.

If your dog likes treats and toys and constantly needs stuff to do (ie: my dog Casper), then you’ll be pretty darn happy with Barkbox.

Our February Barkbox showed up in the mail a few days after we received the Spoiled Rotten box (as a result of having two boxes full of treats and fun things show up within days of each other, Casper now thinks every box coming from the mail is full of treats and fun things).

Barkbox:

Cost: $29.99 for a one-month subscription. $23/month for a three-month subscription. $18/month for a six-month subscription. Must prepay the entire amount for all subscription levels.

Cool things about this box: They typically feature a mix of treats, toys, and chews. Barkbox donates 10% of proceeds to local shelters. You get to specify the size of your pooch, and your Barkbox will be feature size-appropriate toys and treats.

Number of items in the box we received: 5

Item #1: Get Naked Dental Chew Sticks. We used to get these chews a lot for the dog because they never seemed to get sick of them. All-natural, too. Casper says 10/10 paws.

Item #2: Aussie Naturals Wooley Cotton Rope Toy: I wasn’t sure if Casper would like this. Normally, rope toys don’t do it for him. This particular rope toy, however, is small enough to fit in his mouth, and he like using it to tug with me. Casper says 6/10 paws.

Item #3: Wet Noses Dog Treats. There were two small boxes of these treats (each box was a different flavor). All-natural treats that Casper loved. I just wish the boxes were bigger, as there weren’t many treats overall. Casper and I say 7/10 paws–paws were deducted due to the small size of the boxes.

Item #4: West Paw Design Snowman Plush Squeaker Toy. This toy was epic. Very soft and plush, and a great shape that Casper loves carrying around everywhere he goes. He even uses it as a pillow. However, this toy in no way resembles a snowman any longer. The little buttons and eyes were gone in the first ten minutes. I removed the little blue scarf that was around the toy’s neck…seemed a little unsafe. Casper demands I give this toy 10/10 paws.

Item #5: $10 Coupon Code to Wag.com.  Some folks might not get any use out of this one if they don’t shop on Wag.com or plan to, but I get food for my cats from this site, and it just happened to be time for me to put in another order, so this coupon was greatly appreciated! However, I’m on the fence about wanting there to be one more item for Casper in this box, rather than this coupon code.  I’m filling in for Casper on this one: 7/10 paws.

Both humans and pooch were quite happy with this box. The high-quality goodies and high-quality toys were all a big hit. However, I can’t help but wish there was just ONE more item in the box…

There you have it! Petflow’s Spoiled Rotten Box and Barkbox…unboxed. Were they worth the money? We’ll break down the pros and cons and let you know on Wednesday!

I’m pretty sure February was the best month in the history of Casper’s life. Cindy and I decided to jump aboard the get-a-box-of-random-stuff-for-your-dog-sent-to-your-door-every-month craze by checking out two boxes: One from a plucky little upstart called Barkbox, and one from Petflow, a company that specializes in pet food delivery.

Today, we’re gonna dive into the goodies that came in our February Petflow “Spoiled Rotten” box.  Tomorrow, we’ll tell you all about our February Barkbox.

While this will be a straightforward scale-of-one-to-ten rating of each the goodies in these boxes, the real winner here is Casper, who has been enjoying the toys and treats from these two boxes nonstop. Fat. Happy. Spoiled.

Petflow “Spoiled Rotten” Box:

Cost: $24.99/ month for $40 worth of products

Cool things about this box: All the edible products in Petflow’s boxes are made in the USA. If you have a cat, you can also get a box just for cats!

Number of items in the box: 8

Item #1: Luther’s Treats. Dog biscuits made with oats and oat flour, lavender and chamomile. Casper enjoyed their crunchiness.  Casper says 8/10 paws.

Item #2: Clear Conscience Tender Beer & Cheddar Sliders. The treats look and smell like pieces of beef jerky. Full of beefy goodness. These treats need to be refrigerated after they’re opened (I found that out the hard way). Casper says 9/10 paws.

 Item #3: Ark Naturals BREATH-LESS Brushless Toothpaste Mini Dog Treats. I’ll save the detail of this product for a future review, but the makers claim these treats help keep your dog’s teeth clean. Casper says 7/10 paws.

Item #4: Bright Bits Medium Single (Spearmint Flavor). A larger, single treat that is also supposed to help keep poochie’s chompers clean. Not Casper’s favorite treat in the bunch, but still good enough for 6/10 paws.

Item #5: Nutrisca Salmon and Chickpea Stew Canned Dog Food. The CEO of Nutrisca can be seen in a YouTube clip eating a can of this food for lunch. It’s possible that he enjoyed it more than Casper, who was quite “meh” about it. Casper gives it 4/10 paws.

Item #6: Silver Dog Charm Key Chain. It’s a keychain with some cute little doggie charms on it. Some folks might have a use for it, but this one totally felt like a filler item to me. Casper and I are giving this one 1/10 paws.

Item #7: Gimme Gummies. This is a bear-shaped, Kong-esque toy that you fill with treats. This product sets itself apart from the Kong thanks to the fact that you can bake treats right inside it (oven safe up to 450 degrees) or freeze it. Sounds cool. We haven’t used it yet. Casper isn’t a huge fan of digging treats out of toys, but we understand that other dogs love ‘em. Casper says 7/10 paws, based on its cool potential.

Item #8: Natural Balance Turkey Food Roll. In the past, I used these rolls as a grated food topper for Casper’s food. Initially, he’s psyched about having this roll grated up in his dinner–typically, he gets tired of the taste after about a week. Casper says 6/10 paws.

Overall, not a bad box. Lots of yummy eats that Casper thoroughly appreciated. We would have liked to see some sort of stuffed toy or maybe a bully stick to round out this box.

Tune in Tuesday for our review of Barkbox!