December 2013 Happy Dog Box Review

It is a fact that I am a sucker for dog subscription boxes, like BarkBox.  I recently read a review of Happy Dog Box (on a makeup blog, of all places) and found a coupon code for it, so I decided to order one.  Happy Dog Box tailors toys and treats based on the size of one's dog, so of course I selected large.  We received it today!

The Goods

Cain and Able Between Baths Spritz and Shampoo.  Approximate retail value $12.47.  A conditioning shampoo and full-size bottle of smell good spritz.  These products smell really nice, a peppermint essential oil smell.  I sprayed some of the spritz on the floor, and in true to them fashion, Bruce and Faolan rolled on it, so they both smell nice and minty.

Kyjen Tuff Ones Candy Cane Approximate retail value $7.32.  Kyjen is well renowned for their tough toys, and for less "destructive" dogs, I am sure they are great.  We have received various Kyjen toys in the past, most recently in our October Spoiled Rotten Box.  That pumpkin, while cute, lasted approximately 6 minutes with Bruce.  This will go in the bag of goodies to donate to the shelter.

Jolly Pets Monster Mouth Dog Toy Approximate retail value $9.24.  A very cute, durable rubber toy that is meant to have treats inserted in it.  I like Jolly Pets, and their Jolly Balls are an all time favorite toy here.  This seems durable, and I will definitely let my crew play with it supervised, one at a time.

Flush Puppies  Approximate retail value $0.99 (?)  A sampler pack of two flushable, compostable poop bags.  What dog owner doesn't need poop bags.  Kind of a clever idea, I guess.  But I have always read that dog poop, unlike chicken and goat poop, is not compostable.  These will be used, but not necessarily flushed.

Wigzi Tasties Treats Approximate retail value $10.74.  Anything peanut butter is always loved in my house.  These simple ingredient treats are grain, potato, and yeast-free.  They are made in the USA.  I love them by the label information alone.  A portion of Wigzi's proceeds also goes to rescue groups.  I am 100 percent comfortable and feel good about offering these treats to my dogs.  I am sure they will be readily accepted.

Barkworthies Lamb Loin Strip Treat We seem to regularly get chews from this company, not that I am complaining.  All natural dehydrated chew, that I am sure will be greatly enjoyed by the lucky dog who receives it.  I don't think it will be a particularly long-lasting chew, however.  It seems thin and flexible.

Barkworthies Curly Bully Stick  Approximate retail value $7.48.  I will NEVER complain about receiving a bully stick.  Happy with this, indeed.

 Unfortunately I threw away the wrappers from these darling treats after feeding them to Neeko and Faolan, who enjoyed them greatly.  They had decent ingredients, and are super adorable.  I couldn't resist sneaking a tiny nibble of one, and got mostly icing, which was very tasty.  These are very cute!






I am quite impressed with the Happy Dog Box.  We received NINE unique products, though some were single serving/sample size.  I am always happy to receive dehydrated chews/treats, and the spritz spray smells wonderful.  The cookies were adorable, and greatly enjoyed by Neeko and Faolan.  I am going to get at least one more month of this box before deciding whether or not to continue it.

Disclaimer-I am a Happy Dog Box subscriber.  I am not affiliated with Happy Dog Box, nor was I asked to do a review.  All opinions are strictly my own.

New Year's Resolutions for My Rotten Dogs

I personally don't make resolutions, but I thought it would be fun to come up with silly ones for my dogs.


Neeko

 Neeko resolves to stop hoarding toys...

...and to stop drinking so much.

Bruce

Bruce resolves to stop eating books (and raiding the trash can)...

...and to let us trim his bear claw nails.

Faolan

Faolan resolves to stop looking petrified in nearly every picture that is taken of him...

...and that he is supposed to be in his crate, not on it.

Happy New Year!!!

Black & White Sunday

Happy, handsome Bruce.

My Pet Carnivore Order

My Pet Carnivore is an Indianapolis-based raw food source, who prides themselves on their quality and variety.  I do not order from them as frequently as I would like, as they do carry excellent product, and the owners are beyond nice and extremely knowledgeable.  They donate monthly to various dog and cat rescue organizations, which I love them for.



Anyways, I placed a smallish order with them, and picked it up this week. 



Three containers of Ground Tripe Supermix, an all-time favorite in my house. 

The Green Tripe Supermix is a blend of green tripe, beef, beef bones, beef heart, beef liver, beef trachea, and beef gullet.  I really like that it is packaged in convenient deli containers that are easy to store, open, and serve from.

5 lbs of lamb hearts.  Not cheap, but not super expensive.  A nice way to add a bit of meaty-meat species variety.

Lamb liver chunks.  More organ variety!!

Goat lung and lamb lung chunks.  I will serve some of this as meaty-meat, and more than likely use some of it to make some homemade dehydrated treats.

Two containers of ground green tripe.  I like this slightly better than the tripe I get from Blue Ridge Beef through my coOp, as I feel it is better quality, and the deli containers are much easier to handle than the chubs.

I am always very happy with the meat I get from MPC, and this is no exception. 



With my next order, I am considering

• Whole Ground Beef


• Green Tripe Strips/Chunks


• Ground Chicken SuperMix, which Neeko doesn't like


• Some Rabbit Pieces for Faolan, as Neeko and Bruce don't like rabbit


• I'd like these Lamb Breast Ribs, but they are above my bone-in budget; and 


• I'm considering a bulk box of Lamb Hearts.

Anybody else feed raw?  Where do you source your meat?  Do you have a loose or strict budget that you follow?

Friday Photos

It was a busy, fun week, celebrating Christmas.

Myself and a friend's Italian Greyhound puppy, Macie. She is blissfully enjoying her very first bully stick, a gift from my crew.



Faolan's pretty white toofers.



Our loot from our BarkBoxes and Doggyloot.com!



Cute little boy, taking a treat.



Some super adorable wrapping paper that my awesome old neighbors got me.



Bully sticks as gifts for my family members' dogs.



So, all our snow melted, and we received 4" of rain. I had a ton of mud to clean up...



Our creek after the melt and torrential rain.



Some doggies drug this beach towel out through the doggie door, and used it as a tug toy.



The princess posing.



Sully enjoying his Christmas bully stick.



Bruce and Faolan "cuddling."


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Recent Raw Meals and Prep

Blue Ridge Beef ground green tripe.






Turkey hearts and chicken gizzards.






Goat ribs, beef heart, lamb spleen.






Ground venison, some sort of organ.






Venison.






Turkey hearts, ground venison.






Turkey neck, heart, gizzard and liver, pork tongue, pork kidney.






Goat ribs, pork tongue, pork kidney.






Pork shoulders on sale for $1.19 per pound!!






My Pet Carnivore ground green tripe.






Lamb liver chunks to be individually frozen.






Lamb hearts.






Lamb liver, lamb hearts, and green tripe thawing to be portioned out.






Ground venison, lamb liver.






An all-time favorite, Ground Tripe Supermix from My Pet Carnivore.






Chicken thigh, lamb heart, lamb spleen.





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