I know a bunch of you out there are just as dog-obsessed as I am and this is just one of the many reasons I think you guys are the jam. Dogs are the BEST and I never could have imagined just how much joy and laughter Sadie would bring into my life everyday when Ryan and I first picked up our timid little puppy. (Timid? Oh how times have changed.)
When BarkBox reached out to me to see if my crazy dog would want to try out one of their boxes, I thought it would be a neat way to indulge Sadie a bit with some new treats and toys. Sadie is the kind of dog that basically pees herself over a brand new stick, so I could only imagine how thrilled she would be if she got a package in the mail filled with new treats and toys just for her.
So what is BarkBox?
BarkBox is a monthly box filled with treats, toys and goodies for your dog that is delivered right to your door. Each box contains four to six full-size products, with goodies ranging from creative toys and gadgets to all-natural, healthy treats and more.
Any edible products found in a BarkBox do not include formaldehyde and are made with minimal processing, no glycerin whenever possible, organic ingredients whenever possible and are gluten, soy, corn and filler-free whenever possible. Subscribers can also opt for an allergy-friendly BarkBox for dogs that may be sensitive to beef, chicken, turkey, gluten, wheat, soy and corn. (Users will just need to email support@barkbox.com once they’ve purchased their subscription to get added to the allergy box list.)
The toys and treats are almost always sourced from small local vendors that are not easily found in major pet stores and plans tailored to your dog’s size start as low as $18/month.
Sadie’s first BarkBox included the following goodies:
- Barkworthies Junior Bully Sticks
- Harry Barket Tug n’ Toss Toy
- Complete Natural Nutrition Cheese Please Snacks
- Baker’s Best Salmon Maple Glaze Treats
Her favorite treat was definitely the Cheese Please snacks!
She gave me the pitiful puppy eyes the minute she caught a whiff after I opened the bag!
The sole ingredient in the treat is cheese, so I knew Sadie would flip for the cheesy little discs when I opened the package. (She’s a cheese lover just like her mama.)
She also had a blast playing with the Tug n’ Toss toy and threw it all around our apartment trying to entice us into a game of tug of war. (It totally worked because we are suckers.)
The treat I wasn’t sure Sadie would like in the box was the Baker’s Best salmon maple teats because at first glance they looked like biscuits. Sadie doesn’t like biscuits and typically gravitates toward meat and cheese-based treats, so I didn’t think the salmon treats would go over well, but she flipped for them!!
She couldn’t get enough!
Now it’s time for a giveaway!
One PBF reader will win a free six-month subscription to BarkBox!
To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment below answering one (or both) of the following questions:
- What was the first trick you taught your dog?
- What is one trick your dog could never quite master?
I will randomly select a giveaway winner on Friday morning. Please note that this giveaway is open to readers in the US and Canada only. You must have a US or Canada shipping address to receive a BarkBox. If you would like to try BarkBox for your pup, BarkBox is also offering 10 percent off to all PBF readers if you click this link. (The coupon will automatically apply at checkout.)
Good luck!!!
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Disclaimer: While this post is sponsored by BarkBox, the links included within the post are not affiliate links and I am not earning commission or credit from any boxes purchased.
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I have a miniature greyhound, and he has so much energy its hard to keep him still! The first (and really only trick) he has mastered is to sit, and he has had so much difficulty learning to stay! Im not sure we will ever manage that with our velcro dog!
We first taught Bowie how to give us kissed, best trick we’ve ever taught him 🙂
I taught my boxer to wipe her paws at the door, it’s too cute!
The first trick I taught Bradley Cooper was to ‘sit’. And he still has not mastered ‘leave it!!!!
The first trick I thought my pup was to sit. I had such high hopes for her being well trained and knowing a lot of tricks but she’s so spoiled and never has to do them anymore. She would never roll over. She freaks when she gets on her back haha.
I have too dogs and I’ve been DYING to get them barkbox! The first trick we teach our dogs is always “come”. We always get a lot of comments at the dog park because both Finn and Laci are really good at coming when we call them and will even go to someone they just met if they cal their name!
My golden retreiver Sage could never quite master the art of doing any trick SLOWLY. During puppy school we had to show off the puppies’ whole arsenal of tricks and they were timed, most puppies did 4 or 5 tricks in a couple minutes, Sage did about 10 tricks in 15 seconds! She is hilarious when I try to get her to do tricks for a treat and will whip through all the tricks she knows to impress me enough to get a treat!
No one believes me when I tell them I taught my Jack Russell, Honey, how to climb the stairs. She was the runt of the litter and her legs were too short to get her going, so I would spend hours helping her hop up the stairs. Let’s just say many treats were used…
first trick was sit! he never understood roll over haha, actually kind of hilarious to imagine his confusion when we tried to teach him. thanks!
I first taught Jake to sit. He was found when he was around 4 as a dump or a runaway and he didn’t know any commands. He can now do everything from sit and stay to roll over and play dead. He runs with me too! Even with all that on his doggie resume, I can’t get him to turn around. He looks at me like I am crazy when I circle the treat around his head!
It’s not really a trick, but the first thing I taught Dexter to do was sit. My other dog will sit, pray for his meal, and then bark to say amen – but I’ve never gotten Dex to figure out how to bark on command.
Our golden retriever Theo would love Barkbox! The first trick we taught him was to sit. He still hasn’t quite mastered “roll over”. He does more of a roll onto his back to wait for a belly rub!
My boyfriend and I adopted a 2 year old Shih Tzu about 3 weeks ago. My dream dog has always been a Chocolate Lab but with us being in an apartment without a yard we found it unfair to make an overly active Lab stay cooped up all day. We found our Shih Tzu, Dain, online at a humane society where his owners had surrendered him. He came to is with a few tricks up his sleeve. He knows how to dance and sit, also fetch and bring his toy back. We still cannot seem to master the whole “play dead” trick…. but he’s too cute to play dead anyhow.
The first trick my Bailey mastered was shake. An 80-lb black lab shaking your hand looks pretty dapper. He still hasn’t quite mastered fetch, though, even after 7 years. He’ll go get the ball but won’t bring it back to me. You have to chase him around for a while before he’ll give up the goods. Suppose you could say he trained me to chase 🙂
Awwwww Puddin’ would love a BarkBox! We adopted our dog from a friend who couldn’t keep her anymore and the first time I met her she jumped up and scratched my entire leg! So it’s not really a trick but the first thing I taught her was not to jump! I also taught her shake and lay down, but stay is always tricky. The results vary based on the distractions 😉
The first non-obedience command I taught my puppy was to “wave”. He’s a smart little bug…so far we haven’t encountered any impossible tricks. For the longest time I couldn’t get his sister to “stay”. She would wiggle-wiggle-wiggle closer to you because she is such a snuggle bug!
Bella’s first trick was shake. Although, to be quite honest, she sometimes does it without being prompted hoping she’ll get a treat or some extra love. 😉
We rescued our chocolate lab, Logan, when he was six years old and was in the beginning stages of lymphoma, so new tricks weren’t really his thing. But we totally mastered sleeping on the couch within a couple of days.
He never quite got lie down, he would do the action by he would always change the way he would be told. Sometimes just lay would work other times you had to say lie down, sometimes just down. You had to go through the whole list of possibilities and usually by the end he would be doing it. It may have not been him understanding the command at all but just being bored with me talking at him and pointing at the ground.
TItus, our 3 year old 120lb german shepard has mastered everything from sit and shake to fetching my fiance a beer from the fridge! Clearly I didn’t teach him the last trick 🙂
Both of my dogs first learned to “shake.” I want them to learn to “play dead” but they won’t do it! They are little wiggle worms and can’t sit still!
Higbee would love a BarkBox so much! He is a pretty hardcore chewer so it would be good for him to get something new to destroy every month 🙂 The first trick he learned was sit and shake…and now just automatically does it whenever he sees something he wants, as if he is trying to earn it on good behavior. He loves to play fetch, but can’t seem to grasp the concept that he has to drop the ball in order for us to throw it again. We say “drop it,” and he goes into tug of war mode prancing away from us. Adorable…but inefficient for fetch 🙂
I gifted a Bark Box to my sister’s dog for Christmas last year and she loved it! We have only had our puppy a month. He already knew how to sit so the first thing we taught him to do is shake. Working on heel!
First trick was probably shake paw and she could never master sit pretty.
The first trick I taught my dog was to sit and she learned 3 other tricks that same week, high five, lay down, & roll over. After that first week, she refused to learn any new ones! I thought I was a master trainer with 4 tricks in one week, but it turns out those are the only tricks she’ll ever do 🙂 I’ve had my dog for 7 years and she makes me smile every day!! She would love to try barkbox
I wasn’t around for my dogs puppy years (he came with my now husband) but he has mastered sit, shake, and lay down. He also knows soft which is where he has to take his treats from our hand very softly. 🙂 He is a big boy (96lbs) and never quite got the hang of roll over though. His name is Brady and he is SUCH a sweetie!!
I taught him paw! He’s too cute!
I have two dogs! Our oldest’s first trick was sit and he has yet to master rolling over and he’s 7 and can do ever other trick in the book. He flails and it is so pitiful but he tries and we love it! Our younger dog’s first trick was actually ‘come’ and he has a reeeeallllly hard time mastering ‘stay.’ He’s just such a busybody and can’t be inconvenienced with sitting for too long 🙂
What was the first trick you taught your dog? – Bubby learned to give paw as his first trick…
What is one trick your dog could never quite master? – Roll over, lol. With enough coaxing he will do it but usually its a complete fail.
I met my dog through my now husband 7+ years ago….Scotch, our golden retriever was already 6 mo. old, so he was familiar with sit, stay, etc. The first trick I taught Scotch was to shake! He can do either front paw 😉 But, I could never get him to bark.
The first trick my puppy Milton mastered was sit, simple and basic 🙂 For 2 years now we have been working on “roll over” with him but he still won’t do it, the poor guy hates to be on his back. Thanks for hosting the giveaway!!
The first trick my Aussie mix learned was “paw”. She pretty much mastered that the first week we got her! However, “come” is something she is not mastering. Either she doesn’t understand or she pretends not to here us haha
We’ve only had our pup for 5 days, so we’re really only working on housetraining at this point 🙂 And we’re just starting to work on Sit before putting her food bowl down.
Mina
Sit! He would die for a barkbox!
I have three dogs and the first “trick” I taught them was to “shake” (paws) They all picked it up fairly quickly but NONE of them can seem to get down “stay”!!!
I have a beautiful 12 year old Australian Shepard, Macy. I adopted her from my local animal shelter when she was 7! The first trick I ever taught her was to howl. If you whimper at her… almost as if you are whining, she howls just like a wolf! It is the funniest thing ever and actually quite impressive. One thing Macy could never master is to rollover…. anytime you try to guide her by laying her on her side and pull her around she gets very frustrated. We decided to retire that trick early and stick to shake and howl 🙂
The first trick we taught Hank was how to sit. The one however that he can’t master so well is lie down, he always rolls over instead of just laying there!
Aww we have 2 puppies and they both learned sit first, my older dog doesn’t have anything he can’t do really without a little instruction, but the younger girl she cannot master stay or pretty much anything beyond sit and down. It took her months to learn “paw” haha. It was ridiculous!
The first trick Nike learned was to shake. Not only does she shake for treats, she shakes whenever she is confused about what is happening. It is actually quite cute!
The first trick my doxi mastered was rollover.
He hates to sit, he does that half sitting until you tell him multiple times and he realizes he really has to or you push his butt down
I can’t recommend bark box enough!!! My dog adores it and you can’t beat the price!
The first trick I taught my 65lb pit mix Charlie (who thinks he is 20lb Shitzu) was to “go around.” I say “go around” and he will run around me in a circle and proudly sit in front of me for a treat.
As a sidenote: my dad has a vizsla… and my FAVORITE thing is when he wags his tail… since it is docked it’s a WHOLE BUTT wag!
My dog is a one year old black German Shepard. Tobin easily mastered the “sit” command. However, when you tell him to “roll over” he just sits and stares at you until you give him the treat.
We’re still working on some of the basics with our dog – like remembering we exist, even if there is a squirrel across the street. But, she’s great at sitting before getting meals or toys, and before going through doors! (She’s a 1 year old, energetic, overexcited dog that wants to jump on everyone all the time, so thats actually a really big deal…)
first trick was “whoa” for our gsp! he’s a hunting dog and is always looking for birds, so “whoa” is good practice for him in the fields 😉 amazing how long he can stay perfectly still for a bird, when normally he’s sprinting around like a madman!!
the trick he will never get is SIT! he will always sit when we ask him, but only for about 3 seconds because he has no patience and usually finds something better to do. he’s nuts but we love him! 🙂
First trick I taught my dog was to shake. Working on putting a treat on their nose and having to wait till I say “get it!”
The first trick my dog mastered was sit. Unfortunately, we then taught him sit, lay, roll-over, and shake (and to do it in that order). Now when you tell him to “sit”, he will do the whole rigmarole! I think he thinks that sit means to do all these things at once 🙂
When we picked Mo up he already knew how to sit, so we worked hard on teaching him to shake and speak. Now every time there is a treat around, he barks and throws his paw up like a crazy dog!
The first trick Harper, our shepherd mix, learned was sit. She has mastered many other tricks, including high five with either paw, but balancing a treat on her nose is just far too tempting for her!
The first trick we taught our little Max was sit, which he mastered right away!