Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Bugsy's Box Monthly Subscription Box for Dogs | Dog Product Review

Jeffie and Rudy check out Bugsy Box 
  I've read a lot of reviews of subscription boxes for dogs, so when Bugsy's Box contacted me, I thought about it for a bit.  

With three large dogs, I questioned whether any of the boxes would really be fun for my dogs.  If there's just one or two dog toys, who get left out.  

Plus, most include supplements, grooming supplies, and even vet supplies.  I'm very picky about these items and like to hand select them myself.

However, I decided to give Bugsy's Box a try and see what all the fuss was about.  You can try a subscription with a $10 savings thanks to a special discount code!  (see below)
 
According to their website Bugsy's Box is a monthly box of surprises for pets.  Each Bugsy's Box includes 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."  All treats are made in the USA and shipping is included in the subscription price.



We received the January Bugsy's Box which included the following items:

VetraCare Liquid Bandage - a made in the USA liquid bandage spray to treat and protect minor cuts, scrapes and irritations.  The formula is alcohol free, waterproof and creates an invisible barrier to keep out bacteria and debris. Amazon retail price $1.99

I'm intrigued with this product and will definitely be giving it a try.
   
Healthy Dogma Treats - 5 oz cup of Apple Cinnamon Flavor Barkers are low fat and teeny in size.  These little dog bone shaped treats about 7/8" long, so perfect for training rewards. Made in USA.  Dogma retail price $6.95

No doubt the dogs will enjoy these.  While they probably will wish they were bigger, I like the small size!

Puppy Puck Toy - a non-toxic rubber NHL official sized puck for dogs.  You can roll it, bounce it or slide it on the floor.  Made in China. Amazon retail price $10.99 / on sale now $5.99

I have to say that I'm disappointed our Bugsy Box contained anything made in China.  I probably will not even open this toy and send it on it's way to the landfill.

Barkworthies 6" BullyStick - 100% all natural from free range cattle. Barkworthies retail price $3.15

I don't give these to my dogs (and this review is not the right place to go into why.)   Besides...  One bullystick.  Three dogs.  This will be passed on to a friend.

Merrick Cowboy Cookout dog food - a 5.5 oz can of this low glycemic "homestyle entree for dogs."  Ingredients include: beef, fresh sweet potatoes, fresh carrots and green beans. Pet360 retail price 24/$38.99 ($1.63/can)

I'll be using this as topper for my dogs' kibble and I suspect they're going to love it.  When I surfed the Merrick website for the retail price, I couldn't help checking out some of their other canned dog food.  The one with brats and potatoes caught my eye.  Frankly, they all sounded good!

 VetraCare Ear Wipes - package of two cleaning cloths to soothe and relieve sore ears.  Ingredients include:  Grapefruit Seed extract and Aloe Vera.  I couldn't find these available for retail sale.

Wish my Lucy was still with us.  She had trouble every summer with her ears and I'd have loved to given this a try.  Thankfully, we are ear trouble free these days, but I'll be hanging on to this just in case.

Puppy Cake Puptato Chips - 2 oz bag of all natural dried (not fried) sweet potato "chips" dog treats. Puppy Cake retail price $4.99

Cute bag looks like human treats!  All three dogs love sweet potatoes and these turned out to be a big hit with Jeffie and Rudy.  Rosie, not so much.

Cloud Star Dynamo Dog Treats - 5 oz ziplock bag of their Functional Treats Hip and Joint formula.  Chicken based and grain free with no artificial colors, flavors or byproducts.  Cloud Star retail price $6.95

Though I'm not keen on the company (Cloud Star) - treats are treats.  My dogs love treats and all three truly love these.



Bugsy's Box plans include monthly at $29/mo, 3 month at $69 ($23/mo) and 6 month at $114 ($19/mo) plans.  Bugsy Boxes are shipped on the 15th of each month.  Plans automatically renew unless you decide to cancel prior to renewal.

As you can see, our January Bugsy's Box contained products that retailed for $36.65 - not including the VetraCare Ear Wipes and the shipping.  Not a bad deal for $29, though not as big a savings as I thought there might be.  Especially because there are two products that we are just not for us: the one toy and the bullystick.  When I factor that in, this box was no bargain for us.  However, if I'd been a 3 month subscriber my price would have been $19 which would have made it a terrific bargain!



However, this Bugsy's Box afforded us an opportunity to try several products that are totally new to us.  That's a very good thing!

You do have the opportunity to choose your dog's size, but truly customized boxes are not available.  For example, if your dog has food sensitivities, it's a roll of the dice.  Though Bugsy's Box notes that there are usually 2-4 different treats in each box so, hopefully, your dog won't be allergic to all the products in any given box.


The dogs certainly gave paws up to the treats they've tried so far.  If you like surprises and don't mind a product or two that you might not care for, the Bugsy's Box is barking good.  The one "catch" is that you definitely need to manage your subscription.  If you decide not to continue with their program, you must cancel.  Otherwise your subscription will continue and you will be billed.

All in all, a fun experiment.  I'd consider ordering for my dogs, as well as ordering gift subscriptions for friends.  Order your subscription today with a $10 discount!  Just use this code:  TALKINGDOGS  Fetch Bugsy's Box now!

* We received one Bugsy's Box in exchange for our honest review of the product and service.  We received no other compensation - financial or otherwise.

Talking Dogs is the official blog of For Love of a Dog Jewelry.  


We're joining the Tasty Tuesday blog hop today.  This is a blog hop that celebrates good food, sponsored by Sugar the Golden Retriever and Kols Notes.  


13 comments:

  1. oh what a nice big pack of tasty treats :)

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  2. Like you, we've seen a lot of these new 'box' subscriptions lately - we haven't tried one either. Maybe I need to do a little research and see which one looks most promising - this is certainly on the list!

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  3. I think that is very cool, and we like surprise treats!!!

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  4. Really good review. Its interesting to see what you got since we've been subscribing to BarkBox for over 6 months now. There is some overlap in the products for sure. We've gotten the Liquid Bandage before, and the sweat potato pupchips too. BarkBox also sends a lot of bully sticks, usually one or something similar per box. I have the same problem with this as you, with 2 dogs, who get's left out. This usually means I have to save these bigger treats or bones until we get one for the other dog. In general I find the toys to be a flop, they usually break for us the same day we open them. Check out my review of the latest box, just posted it today: http://wearwagrepeat.com/2014/01/whats-in-the-latest-barkbox/

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  5. Looks pretty good, but we would rather have more treats and toys and less things like ear wipes.

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  6. Those treats sound tasty! It's too bad about the toy. That's a bummer, especially since Planet Dog has a hockey puck toy similar to that one that's made in the USA, that would've been a better choice. Other than that, you got some great stuff! :) I've been curious and a little tempted by these subscription boxes for dogs, it sounds so fun, but I like picking Petal's stuff out myself, haha. Plus I don't like subscribing for stuff, I won't even sign up for auto-ship on supplies I buy regularly online because I'm afraid I'd forget to cancel it if I ever needed to and then I'd be screwed, lol.

    Hope your sweet doggie are enjoying all their goodies! Thanks for the review. :)

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  7. So many box subscriptions ... with lots of goodies. We were ask to do a review too and curious about the difference so thanks for the preview. Happy Tasty Tuesday. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  8. I kind of love the idea of subscription boxes. I love any mail that I can open and it feels like fun - and the Kol's NOtes dogs would probably wrassle you for that bully stick!

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  9. I should be getting one of these soon. Very excited now that I see what's in it! I can see how maybe a box wouldn't be so fun with multiple dogs. Guess you gotta figure out how to divide it up to be fair!

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  10. Some great stuff in there and review! Never tried one either.

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  11. Thanks for sharing. I to have been seeing a lot of these lately and havent decided which one I would like to use but this will help!

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    1. YDWWYW did a great article comparing several of the subscription dog boxes that might help you decide http://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/which-subscription-dog-goody-box-is-for-you/

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  12. We will be reviewing this shortly...I am intrigued. I wanted to review just to see what kind of things were in the boxes. If I get the same, I will have a similar reaction to some of the products as you had to them.

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