Recently I tried something new and ordered a Pawsomebox. I’d never heard of subscription boxes before until I read a post by a fellow dog blogger opening their first Pawsomebox. Turns out dog subscription boxes are pretty popular and PawsomeUK aren’t the only ones in town providing them.

In case you’re a newbie subscription-er like me here’s the lowdown. You sign up to a monthly plan which on average cost between £16 & £20 per month (depending on which box you go for and how many months your plan is) and then each month you receive a goody box in the post packed full of surprise items for your dog. The idea is that the value of the goodies in the box is more than what you pay per month and you tell the providers some basic info about your dog so the items are suitable.

PawsomeboxUK has a very enticing website which gets you signing up before you’ve even realised what you’re doing. They claim you get a free box but you actually pay £2.99 and get shipping on the next order free, if you decide to continue. Be aware, if you get a free box but don’t want to continue then make sure you log into your account and cancel or change your future subscription as you are automatically signed up to the most expensive monthly plan.

I’ll admit I was pretty excited to receive the box and Guinness was very interested! It must have smelt good.  Here’s a run through of what goodies the July Pawsomebox provided us with.

Happy Paws Easy-Tie: A buckle loop that is designed to make tying up your dog easier and quicker. I have a click clip on one of my leads for this very purpose and it does come in very handy for tying your dog to a chair leg or table if you’re in a pub or outside having a meal or coffee. The thing I love about this easy-tie is that the buckle locks! I haven’t use a buckle dog collar since Guinness broke out of his as a small puppy and I can only hope this design is used on ALL buckle collars! But uho… Pawsomebox you have failed at the first hurdle. This product clearly states it is for Small/Medium dogs, maximum 17kg! Now I will hold my hands up and say I ticked the “medium” dog size box “Medium” on their website (which happened to have a Border Collie next to it), but I also stated that he’s a Border Collie and male which average at 20kg in weight. I’m gonna let them off as I ticked the medium box, plus as Guinness doesn’t pull or try to escape when tied up I reckon the easy-tie will be perfectly strong enough. I used the easy-tie this weekend for attaching my toy (not a Pawsomebox toy) to Guinness’ lead at an agility comp which is really useful, however when I came to tie him up in my car the buckle wouldn’t fit through the anchor points nor the boot loops in my car. Fail.

Woof & Brew Nom Dog Biscuits: Tea infused biscuits… yep you heard it here first! They actually look, sound and smell great. The packaging makes these treats feel very premium and they look home-made. The ingredients look alright and I’ve previously used herbal supplements for Guinness with no adverse effect. Guinness loved these biscuits and they seemed to agree with him. It’s a yes from us!

8in1 Chicken & Carrot Treats: Now these treats look a little more processed but at least you get more of them. They make a lot of claims about being healthy and I’m just going to believe them as I’m no nutrition expert. Again, Guinness found them quite tasty and his stomach seemed to accept them. The results can be a bit icky when Guinness has something new so I’m pleased that this doesn’t seem to have been the case with these treats. They lasted us a couple of days using them on walks.

Camon Micofibre Towel: This is by far the best and most useful item in the box. I already own microfibre towels and you can never get enough with a long haired collie that enjoys swimming. The one provided by Pawsomebox is a decent size, although not huge, but it’s oh so thick! Much thicker than my others. I’ve used it a fair bit so far for muddy paws and rain soaked fur and it dried Guinness really well without getting soaked through quickly due to the thickness and quality of the towel. A great big tick in my box!

The Regal Collection Imperial Crown Tugger: One of the two toys in my box was this tug toy, two soft, squeaky crowns with a rope in the middle. What dog doesn’t love a squeaky toy?! Guinness was quickly playing with it and nose-butting the squeaker. While tugging either I was holding onto to a crown while he was pulling the rope or he had hold of a crown, and I heard a suspicious rip after only a few tugs, but so far it seems intact still. At the end of the day no toy is indestructible and the point of subscription boxes is that you get a new toy in a month.

Camon Hedgehog Ball: I’m starting to see a Camon theme now… personally I’d prefer a brand I was more familiar with, but they seem to be okay. The hedgehog ball is a tough rubber ball with spikes (hence the name) and it is best bounced on a hard surface (as I discovered in my small kitchen!). It’s described as a chewing toy… but I’m not sure it’s something I want my dog to chew. However he loved chasing it across the fields and it’s especially fun as it bounces well on a football pitch, meaning he can normally catch it mid-air. The only slight concern I have is that after the first use there was a small spot of blood on the toy, but I couldn’t see an obvious injury and no more blood appeared, so it may have been a slight graze or nick either from the ball or something else.

In your box you also get a little booklet with a summary of the products you’ve received, detailed articles about some of the products, how to use them and/or their ingredients, and a few fun and interesting snippets about all things dogs. I especially enjoyed the story of the rat and dog who are best friends, plus the article on how to make your own tug-toy from a pair of jeans is very unique and useful!

All in all the Pawsomebox is alright, with a nice range of items that are generally useful. However I tend to be pretty choosey about the toys and treats I buy for Guinness, plus I’ve been using the same toys for the last year or so and am in no hurry to replace them as they do exactly what I need and Guinness loves them. Therefore I think I’d end up with a fuller cupboard of unused toys after a few months, however the towel and easy-tie will be used and the treats have already gone, so not a complete waste of money.

As I mentioned before there are other subscription box services out there and I’m going to look at trying some others instead of sticking with Pawsomebox. But overall I don’t think subscription boxes are for me, the treats didn’t last long enough to be mentioned in my monthly toolkit post and as I’ve already said, I’d rather chose my own toys.

But let’s not end on a low, subscription box services are quite a nifty idea and if your dog gets through toys pretty quickly and you like trying out different gadgets and treats then you may find a subscription box is perfect for you, plus who doesn’t love nice surprises!