You might be thinking, “Spa Dog Box? Okay Rachel. Tell me more?”…or likely you’re thinking… “You don’t have a dog you silly girl!” Sure Sure. I know. How did I end up here? Well I got home a couple of days ago to find a package with my name on it from this company and I was mightily confused. I wasn’t expecting it. I opened it of course to check it out to find a lovely hand written note from the CEO…(nice touch right?). I had reviewed SaddleBox a few years ago and Kristin has also reviewed it as well, and evidently the Spa Dog Box is from the same company! Now things make sense! My first instinct was to tape the box back up and send it to Kristin…but then I thought…”Spa Dog…” Kristin’s dogs are farm animals. They’re not pampered pups! I needed to check out what was inside before deciding what to do with it. I mean…I was intrigued. I want a dog…perhaps this is the push to do that?
First let me tell you the basics on the box for your info. The subscription costs $69.95 and shipping is included (though there’s currently a coupon for 50% off your first box to try it out). It includes 8-12 products worth over $150 (and a chance for a “golden ticket” to win a fancy dog bed). Honestly after looking at the photo of the fancy dog bed…I kinda want one. They look like a nice floor pillow for reading…but moving on. When you sign up you get to say if your dog is male of female and the size (assuming to adjust the contents to be appropriate).
Now I don’t have much to compare this too as I don’t have any dog subscription boxes, but it does seem to be a bit on the higher end of price, but it’s also quite different from the other stuff I see on the market. It’s not just a bunch of chews or toys or treats. This one has some interesting stuff! I do think most of items in the box are exclusive to the box (aka most likely produced in house)…because it says “exclusive” and I can’t seem to find many of them anywhere for retail values. This is cool, but it’s also a way for the company to make more money off these boxes as creating your own inexpensive products rather than going through another company is taking out one layer of mark ups. I get it. It doesn’t bother me.
I want to do a shout out for the super packaging of this box. With the gorgeous box (which I will reuse) and the pretty tissue paper…and the gorgeous welcome card that looks like a fancy wedding invitation…the presentation of this box is lux. It would be a super one time gift to give someone you love that has a pampered pooch. The packaging alone is super special. The nicest subscription box packaging I’ve ever seen actually, horse, human or otherwise.
What was in the box:
– Mojito Softy dog toy – ~$6 at best guess comparing with other toys.
– Posh Puppy Nose and Paw Cream – this is 5 oz of 100% Shea Butter – Comp products can be anywhere from $5 – $40!
– Bonne Bouche Sugar Free Carob Drops – Similar products around $7.
– Emerald Pet Turducky Twizzies – $5
– Chiot de Lux pumice stone – Similar products ~$5
– Bamboo Grooming Towel (looks like a hand towel size). – $5-$10 comps
– Dog Basil and Thyme Herbal supplement (aka dog safe herbs) 0.5 oz of each – ~$10 of herbs
– Tiny gold spoon with Jewel handle (for the herb supplements) – comp ~$5
– Sticker – $4
– 15 earth rated poop bags – $2.50
– Stella Sophia Dog Jewelry Collar Pendant – $15-$20 at best guess based on comps
– Dog Dapper Massage Brush – comps ~$5
Total items – 12 (including sticker)
Total Estimated Value (picking the lowest $$ comp prices) – $74.50 + free shipping (~$13-15) + fancy box/tissue/card (~$10) = ~$100
So what are my thoughts? Well as a non dog owner…I’m actually pleasantly surprised…because I can use 9-11 of these items! What? Lol. Yup. What are you going to do with all this dog stuff Rachel? I’ll tell you. But first let me mention that while I’m not seeing $150 worth of stuff here IMO…I do see a solid curation that is worth the $69.95 cost of the box. When you add in the value of the items at a base level (based on the cheapest comps I could find) + the cost of the fancy box/card + the cost to ship this baby …it’s not a bad deal at all. Not a huge value…but you’re not getting ripped off either. I approve. I’m not going to go subscribe…because I don’t have a dog…but I might consider it as a gift for pup owning friends!
Okay onto the “what is Rachel going to do with this dog stuff” part. Well the cool thing about this particular box I received is there’s a lot of stuff that’s not just for dogs. I can easily use the pumice stone on myself or as a bot fly removal tool for Jax. I can use the Shea Butter on both Jax and myself as well. Ditto the wooden massager and the bamboo cloth. The herb supplements are simply Basil and Thyme which I can easily cook with! The golden spoon will either go with my fancy tea stuff…or go into Derby’s tea play set. The carob treats are going to Jax (horses can have carob as well). The Stella Sophia pendant? Cute enough for me for a necklace or to hook to Jax’s bridle! The adorable sticker is for me anyways…so yeah. So that’s 9 items easily used by me…mostly on my horse! What about the other three?
I’m highly considering hanging the dog toy from a rope in Jax’s stall to let him play with it.
The poop bags are little plastic bags! I mean…sure they’re branded for dog stuff…but I used similar bags for gross Derby diapers when we were out in public…and I can use these tiny bags for other purposes around the barn and house. I’ll be keeping these for random needs. They smell good too (lavender).
The Tizzies dog treat is out. I cannot think of another use for that…so I’ll give that to a friend.
So as a horse person…I have to rate this box highly for a fun grouping of items I can for sure use, but probably wouldn’t just go buy in one order off Amazon or something! If I could guarantee each box would be this potentially useful for horse stuff…then well…I’d say go for it horse friends! Ha! As a person that might buy something like this for a dog friend…I also give it high marks. If you’ve got a big farm dog…you’re probably not going to use all this stuff on them, but if you have a pampered indoor/pet/city dog and like to do a bit of grooming…this box is for you.
All in all I was impressed with the presentation of the box feeling like a gift and happy with the items in the box (and would be happy if I had a pampered pooch of my own). As it is I have a pampered Jax that is going it enjoy most of this box!
