monthly review: August BarkBox

I was really happy this month because we got our BarkBox really quickly! I think I get more excited than Ares and Luna do about opening the box to see what they got (of course, they're always more excited to get what's inside!)

Let me explain BarkBox if you don't know how it works: It's a company that sends you four or more products every month to try out with your pups. A portion of each months proceeds help doggies-in-need (a different cause every month). The price of the boxes range from $19-$29 a month, depending on the plan you choose (a 6 month subscription is $19 a month while a month to month subscription is $29 a month).

My apartment has been an absolute wreck lately since Luna has decided that her life goal is to rip the stuffing out of every toy she can get her little paws on so we took pictures outside again this month.
I got a really silly picture of Ares and Luna posing with their box.

 And their haul! Shortly after taking this, I put it on another box so it would be higher off the ground. Luna knocked it over to get to the precious duck strips.

I tried a different way of taking video this month and sadly, I'm pretty disappointed by the quality of the video. Live and learn.

Luna loved exploring the box to find those duck sticks.

Which brings us to the first treats that we tried: Plato natural duck strips. BarkBox says: "Duck is a subscriber favorite, especially for those with allergies. Plato's recipe for scrumptious treats is American duck with brown rice. They break into nice little pieces for training, but our pups are happiest when they get an entire piece."

I think these were Luna's absolute favorite treat - she could sniff them out even before I opened the package and kept trying to run away with the bag. I think it's also safe to say that Ares loved them too. He did a rare little dance for me while Luna watched in amusement.

I was nice and finally gave up the treats and they gobbled them up quick fast! Plato treats retail for $5.19 and can be found here.

Next up is the Primal Pet freeze-dried liver munchies. BarkBox says "Another single-source protein - hooray! Primal Pet liver munchies are made with 100% turkey liver. Sourced and made in the United States without antibiotics or added hormones, these treats are also grain-free, salt-free, and sugar-free. Munch away, dear pups, munch away."

Ares and Luna think any kind of liver treats are the best thing ever - I regularly stench up my apartment, dehydrating cow liver for them - and these were no different. I think Luna thinks all of Ares' desperate treat dancing was very funny. These treats retail for $6.99 and can be found here.

It's not really a treat but we also got Barkworthies bully flakes! BarkBox says "Got a picky pup who won't eat dinner? Bully flakes - made with 100% ground bully sticks, which are much-loved by BarkBoxers - may help convince your finicky dog to finish his meal. Sprinkle over kibble or wet food and let the feasting begin!"

Ares and Luna are typical pugs - they are not at ALL picky about what they eat. In fact, the other day, I got out of the shower to find them eating my Cheez-its! When Luna saw me, she grabbed the bag and made a run for it! 

Anyway, I kept meaning to let them try it with a meal to find out what they thought and to get pictures but my bad memory got in the way of that goal. I think that as long as they don't expire, I'll save them either for a nice treat or in case one of them gets so sick that they refuse to eat. Either way, Barkworthies totally spoils us via our BarkBoxes! These retail for about $6 and can be found here.

We also got a little packet from The Honest Kitchen. BarkBox says "Homemade treats that are versatile enough for summer and winter? Count us in! Ice Pups are a grain-free, salt-free treat mix that can be frozen in an ice tray to beat the heat, or blended with hot water to make a comforting broth."

If these pictures look familiar to you, it's because I got a packet of this in last month's Pawalla Mini. I'm not as upset about this double though because it's more of an extra treat instead of being the main focus of the box. I'm also really excited because now I can use one packet to freeze, and one to heat up and we'll get the best of both world's! One packet is $0.99 and can be found here.

And of course, we always save the best for last. OUR TOY! It's a dolphin from Aussie Naturals and BarkBox says "Whether your pup is a swimmer, retriever, flinger, or a thrasher, Floaties are sure to delight! Made with a tennis ball, rope, and squeakers, these aquatic animals have been transformed into a floating, retrieving toy." 

You probably don't remember, but back in February, in our very first BarkBox, we also got an Aussie Naturals toy. It's a water bottle toy. Funnily enough, it is also a dolphin! Ares and Luna still have it and play with it regularly even though I took out the old water bottle without realizing that I can't find a water bottle the right size to put back in the toy.

Ares was very impressed with it, the ball and rope are in the body of the dolphin, with squeakers in the mouth and tail. I like to lay in bed with Ares and squeak one side, he attacks it, so I squeak the other side. We can go back and forth like that forever, because he doesn't know which squeaky side he wants more! Luna hasn't really shown any interest in it so far. Ares especially would rather die than go in the water so I doubt we'll ever use it for that purpose. The floatie dolphin retails for $11.99 and can be found here.

By my maybe right/maybe not calculations, we received roughly $31 in items this month. Mama and babies are happy campers!

If you want to try your own BarkBox, clickity-click this link to get $5 off your first month.

July pug meet ups

This month, we were lucky enough to have TWO pug meet ups to go to! There's always one on the first Saturday of every month at a random, local, outdoor dog park, and this time, there was one in the middle of the month at a doggy daycare (read: INSIDE!)

Ares and Luna had a blast, as always at the outdoor meet up, although there weren't as many pugs as usual and those that did come didn't stay very long because as you can tell from Luna's face, it was so incredibly HOT. Luckily, this dog park just got a water system put in so I didn't have to bring any water for them (but I did anyway. Because I like to be prepared at all times).

This bugger admiring Luna's tushy is Toby. He's roughly the same age as Luna and is an absolute DOLL!

It's an apricot pug y'all! I have a better picture of her face further down, but this picture really shows her color. I'd never realized how different apricot pugs are in color!

Ares found the perfect mixture of sun and shade. He was in heaven.

 I think Ares was worried that I would bring home the chug that's up for adoption. (He should be worried, I'd bring her home in a heartbeat if I knew my husband wouldn't kill me!)

 And the rest of the pictures are from the indoor meet up. It was a fun facility with a store, grooming, boarding, and a day care. We had one large indoor area that connects to the outdoor area where pools and such were set up all to ourselves. A lot of pugs came to this one.

 Luna's so independent. She strutted around like she owned that place!

Ares has been a little strange at meet ups lately and likes to be held. If I'm not holding him, he's jumping into a stranger's lap. I think he was overwhelmed my a new environment and so many dogs running around.

A pug-impostor cheme to for a visit. It was an adorable frenchie though so I really can't complain!

My favorite part about this middle of the month meet up is that they did free nail trims for all of the pugs! YAY! I had to hide and let Mike handle Ares when he was getting his nails trimmed because he does worse when I'm around. I do know all of the tips to keep him calm though so I let the groomer know before she started. Luna handled it like a champ.