BarkBox Review

BarkBox is everywhere. 

I have been inundated by blog posts, reviews, videos, and tiktoks discussing this monthly subscription box. Unfortunately, most of the content I’ve seen has either been sponsored by the brand or the creator was sent BarkBox for free. Obviously, having a connection to the brand impacts the neutrality of the review.

So, I decided to see for myself whether BarkBox was worth the hype or not. 

I subscribed to BarkBox for one year, using my own money. The brand has no idea who I am.

Note that at the time of this posting that BarkBox is more of a BarkBag. About halfway through my subscription, the company switched from shipping in a box to a bag to save costs. You can read why here. In order to access all aspects of the monthly theme, you have to scan a QR code and access it digitally. It’s not as fun as when it all came together in a box, but the new system works fine.

Overall, BarkBox far exceeded my expectations.Let’s jump into the details.

The Quick Pros and Cons of BarkBox

Pros:

• Adorable themes that speak to us dog-obsessed millennials in particular
• Enjoyable for both human and dog alike. I’m always so excited to see the new theme.
• Worth the price (it would be more expensive to buy the equivalent toys, treats, and chews)
• My dog has liked nearly every treat we’ve received (and he’s a picky eater)
• Some toys are enrichment-focused 
• Inserts always have a game or suggestion for playing with your dog
• They have a “super chewer” option if your dog is rough on toys. My dog isn’t, so I can’t speak to this box in particular. 
• Destroying things can be very enriching for some dogs, which is why I suggest letting your dog destroy “acceptable” things, such as cardboard. Because you get two new toys with every box, you can let your dog have a good time ripping into them, safe in the knowledge you’ll have their replacements in a month. (Unless your dog ingests the toys, in which case don’t let them destroy it.)
• Easy to sign up for, reliably shipped, nothing has ever been broken or wonky

Cons:

• The “enrichment” toys all have the exact same mechanism. My dog easily figured it out within minutes for the first toy and all subsequent toys don’t offer any mental stimulation since he knows how to work them. That said, they still work as regular toys. My dog is also an enrichment whiz, so your dog may act differently.
• In general, the toys are all very similar, only differentiated by their theme.
• The treats repeat frequently (I am okay with this since my dog likes these treats and doesn’t need variety, so I don’t personally see this as a con, but it’s worth pointing out.)
• The treats are big. As a positive reinforcement trainer, I use treats in training, but most of the treats that come in the box are too large and calorie dense to be used in training sessions. You can rip them up to make them smaller, but some smaller training treats in particular would be appreciated. 
• Discourages supporting your local pet business.

How BarkBox Works

BarkBox makes subscribing to their service as easy as teaching your dog a nose target (the easiest trick to train!).

You go to their website, take a short “quiz” so they can get to know your dog with questions regarding toy preference (presumably to point you in the direction of their original BarkBox or their Super Chewer box), name, breed, gender, size, allergies, and adoption or birth day.

You can change your dog’s size at any time. I did this after my first six months to see if the large size would offer more appropriately sized toys for my dog—and they did. The large toys are still on the smaller side, but better for him than the medium-sized toys were.

Then you choose if you would like one box or a six or twelve month subscription. If you choose either of the subscriptions, your first box is a double box (which has two extra toys and two extra bags of treats). I chose the six-month subscription.

BarkBox doesn’t make it easy to see their prices. You have to go through their quiz before you have access to cost. (All they say on their FAQ is “prices for subscriptions start as low as $24 per month!”)

In total with taxes and fees, I paid $171.59 for my six month subscription. That ends up being about ~$29 per box.

When looking at other online dog stores for an equivalent number of treats and toys—approximately the same kind of treats and toys—you would pay around $48. So, it does end up being cheaper by quite a bit.

Whether your dog is small, medium, or large, they all cost the same.

Note that your subscription will auto-renew! I did not realize this and accidentally paid for an additional six-months. Because I was going to do this anyway, it ended up being fine, but I would’ve been upset had I decided to cancel the subscription. They did warn me in an email, but they sent me so many emails that I hadn’t opened that one. Note that you can turn off the auto-subscription.

You can always add additional toys or treats to your monthly box. BarkBox will prompt you with a monthly email to do so. I haven’t needed any extra treats or toys, so I haven’t opted to do it.

What I like about BarkBox

While I briefly discussed what I liked about BarkBox above, I wanted to dive a little deeper into my favorite things about the subscription service. 

First of all, it’s fun. I look forward to receiving the box every month and learning its theme. Themes include, New Years’ (complete with a toy bottle of champagne), Spring Flowers, The Ice Age, and Pizza Delivery. The treats don’t relate to the theme while the toys and the insert do. Their cheeky tone is a huge plus; and the mini games they include on the insert, such as dog mad libs, are a good time. My hats off to the writers over there. (Note that you have to access these features digitally now.)

While they repeat treats—potentially more for me due to my dogs sensitivity to turkey—they do still have a variety of options. Plus, my dog hasn’t turned one down and he’s a picky eater. The treats are all made in the U.S or Canada. They always include one additional food-related item; sometimes it’s a kibble-topper, other times a dental stick. 

My dog also seems to enjoy the plush toys, although he’s gravitated more toward the larger ones such as the turkey football. I wish we’d get larger ones more often. This is true even after I changed my subscription to the large-dog size, which are noticeably bigger than the medium-size.

Both the toys and food-items are higher-quality than I expected for the price of the box.

One thing to note: two new toys per month is a lot! I only have one dog, and he doesn’t really destroy toys anymore—probably because he gets his destructive urges out on cardboard. I don’t want him to have dozens of toys available at once, so I’ve ended up with a backlog sitting in my closet. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but once my current subscription ends, I plan to take a break and work through the toys we already have. I may also give some away to family and friends with dogs. If you have multiple dogs—or a dog that destroys toys—this might not apply to you.

Many dogs have a natural urge to shred, and it’s healthy to give them an outlet—as long as it’s not your shoes, couch, or carpet. In fact, if your dog tends to destroy household items, offering appropriate outlets—such as plush toys—can often curb that behavior. (If it doesn’t, it might be a sign of anxiety or an ingrained habit that takes more time and effort to change.) The steady stream of new toys can be that healthy outlet; you can let your dog rip them up, knowing two more will arrive next month. 

That said, some dogs eat what they destroy. If that’s the case for your dog, always supervise their play and take the toy away as soon as they start tearing into it. (In general, dogs should always be supervised when playing with toys you're unsure about or that they might rip apart.)

And of course, if your dog instantly destroys toys, you might be frustrated with how undurable BarkBox’s toys are—and prefer buying fewer, tougher toys from your local pet store.

What I Wish BarkBox Would Do Differently

I am a huge proponent of enrichment for dogs. While BarkBox has some enrichment elements, I think they could dive deeper. They could include a bigger variety of enrichment-focused toys. If that’s cost prohibitive, they could simply add more enrichment ideas to the insert. 

For example, with the spring and floral theme, they could’ve added a section on digging in gardens. Digging is hugely beneficial for some dogs and, while I don’t think people should allow their dog to dig up their garden, I always recommend creating one digging spot in the backyard to allow your dog to dig to their heart’s content. 

Or BarkBox could suggest theme-related behaviors to teach dogs using their training treats. For example, how to teach your dog to play dead in the Halloween box.

If anyone knows a subscription box for dogs that’s more focused on enrichment, please reach out and let me know!

I would also like BarkBox to include smaller training friendly treats. I still have to buy pea-sized training treats, even with my subscription so as to not overfeed my dog. Because of this, it does take me a while to get through the BarkBox treat bags (I’m starting to have a backlog!). As aforementioned, I can break apart most of the treats to turn them into training treats, but that’s an extra step I don’t always want to do. 

Is BarkBox Worth the Hype?

Overall, I think BarkBox lives up to the hype. It’s not perfect—at least not for me and my dog—but it’s still a fun subscription we both look forward to each month. When I asked my partner if he had anything to add, he simply said, “It was surprisingly enjoyable.” 

Of course, it’s completely optional. You can easily enrich your dog’s life by purchasing toys and treats from your local pet shop, or even using household items. 

If you’re looking for an affordable way to keep your dog stocked with toys and treats, I’d recommend giving BarkBox a try. It adds a bit of extra joy to both your and your dog’s lives. 

Buy your BarkBox here.