Real Dog Box Review

Happy Sunday! Today we are going to dive into the deep, dark world of dog treats. Now a little background first before we begin. For those of you who don't know, Gabriel and I have a beautiful, almost 11 year old German Shepherd named Anoeska. She is a retired Military Working Dog we adopted after her retirement in 2017 from Virginia. Anoeska has a massive list of food allergies: Corn, Soybean, Rice, Duck, Pork, Dandelion, Pea, and that's just to list a few... We were given a prescription kibble from the Military, however that only lasted about a month. She was so itchy all the time and become less and less interest in her food. We searched high and low for a good kibble that met her allergy needs. After about a year of no luck and hundreds of dollars spent we finally decided it was time to make our own food, so we switched her to a species appropriate raw food diet (now I'm not going to discuss this here, at least not yet, because we are here to focus on treats!). After switching her diet she has grown back so much lost fur, never scratches herself, and actually enjoys meal time again. So let's move onto treats!

Once we had Anoeska's food down we needed to find treats and snacks that met her dietary and allergy needs. You can just ask my family and husband, I dragged them to every pet store in the area and read the back of just about every treat bag I could find. Do you have any idea what's in your pets food and treats? Lets take a look at the ingredients of one of the most popular dog treats on the market: Milk Bones - Wheat Flour; Wheat Bran; Meat and Bone Meal; Milk; Wheat Germ; Beef Fat (Preserved with BHA); Salt; Natural Flavor; Dicalcium Phosphate; Calcium Carbonate; Brewer's Dried Yeast; Malted Barley Flour; Sodium Metabisulfite (Used As A Preservative); Choline Chloride; Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate; Zinc Oxide; Manganous Oxide; Copper Sulfate; Calcium Iodate; Sodium Selenite); Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement; Vitamin A Supplement; Niacin Supplement; D-Calcium Pantothenate; Riboflavin Supplement; Pyridoxine Hydrochloride; Vitamin D3 Supplement; Folic Acid; Biotin; Vitamin B12 Supplement); BHA (Used As A Preservative).

Did you actually read all of those ingredients? Or better yet, could you actually read all of those ingredients? I can tell you right now that Anoeska is allergic to at least four of the first ten ingredients on that list. Now I'm not hear to tear down the treats or food that you feed your dog, that's not my intention at all! I just want to point out some of the crazy and unnecessary ingredients that are in these treats (which could be said for a lot of the things we eat every day as humans too). After feeling defeated and unable to find the right treats for Anoeska, another dog mom I had been following posted about Real Dog Box (Real Pet Food at the time). After combing through their website and talking with their customer service team I was hooked!

Real Dog Box is a treat and chew monthly subscription box that has all single ingredient air dried products for a ridiculously reasonably price (at least I think so). They also have the absolute nicest and caring staff humanly possible. When I signed up for my first months box I talked to Ruby (one of the owners) for hours about Anoeska's allergies and trying to find the right box for her. She recommended trying the box and seeing Anoeska had any reactions to the items and if so then we could remove them from her subscriptions, meaning that she would never receive either that one treat again, or any treats/chews associated with that protein source again. AMAZING. Also, if she didn't like or had a problem with the treat/chew, they would send out a replacement free of charge. Now, we've had this subscription for about a year now and we have never once had an issue with anythingggggg.

So what comes in the box? Well, there's a few different options to choose from: treat only box, chew only box, mini treat & chew box, and the standard treat & chew box. We currently get the standard treat and chew box that comes with 3 treat bags and 3 chew bags for $39 a month, plus free shipping. Let's dive a little bit deeper into what comes in this specific box: 1 bag of muscle meat treats, 1 bag of organ treats, 1 bag of seafood treats, 1 bag of light chews, 1 bag of medium chews, and 1 bag of heavy chews. OH WAIT, did I mention that you can get Super Chews added onto your box for just $8 a chew??? These chews last for dayyyyssss (at least in our house). We started off getting 1 super chew added to our box each month, then we added in another one making it 2 a month, and currently we don't receive any in our box (our girl had to have a tooth removed and her super chewer abilities have been lacking lately lol).

Another thing we absolutely love about this company is the transparency of everything that they do. Go follow them on instagram @realdogbox and you'll see what I mean instantly. They are constantly going live or posting to their stories about where/when they get their sources from, the entire process of air drying the products, and shipping methods. You also know you're getting you're treats and chews from a great place and source when the people working for the company are using the same sources for their own home cooked recipes for themselves. They also have a real crafty channel on instagram where they post videos of fun ways to use your treats and chews, vitamin recipes for your pets, and are always posting knowledgable articles and videos from reputable sources - not only about their treats specifically but about protein sources, toys, dental work on dogs, training techniques, etc. What other company do you know of that does that??? NONE.

How long do the treats and chews really last us? A LONG TIME. We usually receive our next box before we are completely done with our current box. We like to use the treats as a reward for Anoeska during pill time. She takes a ton of pills... come on guys, she's 11 years old. Depending on what's going on in her life, she usually takes her pills once every 12 hours, or twice a day. Let's have some fun here just to show you how much you get in these boxes! Now, if we used Pill Pockets by Greenies, another popular brand, for her pill rewards - a 60 pack of treats cost $19, or $16 if you have a chewy membership (just the site I'm using for reference right now lol). This would hypothetically last Anoeska a month as long as she takes her pills well and all of her pills fit in 1 pill pocket... which they won't seeing as she takes 4-5 pills at a time... Or you can get the treat only box from Real Dog Box for $21 a month plus free shipping and receive 3 bags of different treats at 2-3 pounds total. We usually give her 1-3 treats during pill time depending on the size of the treat and how well she takes them - now remember the treats are usually air dried and are thin slices of meat, just throwing that out there before people think we are giving our dog the equivalent of 3 milk bone treats per pill serving lol. Even after giving 1-3 treats twice daily, we are still overflowing in treats! I feel as though we would need to get 2 bags of pill pockets, AT LEAST in order to come close to a comparison in quantity of treats.

Now for the chews, we love the variety that we receive in this box each month. Usually they rotate out treats and chews every few months so you aren't receiving the same thing every time. We've received: pig skin, pig ears, beef trachea, beef back strip, steer pizzle, etc. The medium chews usually last Anoeska 15-20 minutes and the heavy chews usually last 30+ minutes, but don't forget she's a power chewer. These are great for big family dinners or snow days when we want her to keep busy. These are also great for dental care! Her teeth have never been so white before. These heavier chews help clean off built up plaque on her teeth and we haven't had to go to extreme lengths for fresh breath since we first started this box. Let's have some fun again! A few months ago we purchased a bag of pig ears at petsmart, since she loved them so much from Real Dog Box, we thought why not. this bag claimed these were one ingredient, pig ears, but I truly questioned that after we returned home and they smelled of extreme chemicals. Luckily, Anoeska turned her nose away and wanted nothing to do with these chews, so back to the store they went. However, this one bag of about 8 ears (which is pretty good honestly, but... the chemicals... nope) for $15 on sale for Black Friday, normally $29. Or, you could purchase the chew only box from Real Dog Box for $21 a month and receive a variety of 3 bags of chews with usually 8-10 chews per box.

We also love to use these treats and chews to add to our dogs meals every now and then. The treats make excellent meal toppers and we will use the lighter chews (duck feet, chicken feet, lamb ears) to add to her dinner when we are running a little low on her usual meal options. I have never once questions what I am feeding dog based on the companies transparency, amazing customer service, and the fact that it truly is one ingredient: MEAT. All of their products are air dried, never cooked, never adding in any flavoring, truly healthy options for your dogs. It's also awesome that you get to see what you're getting in your box before you receive it, they have unboxing videos on their social media and website at the beginning of each new subscription month that shows what the treats and chews will be for the next 4 weeks. Then if you see a super chew that you like or don't like you can add or remove it from that months box like we did for a while. It's also a weight off of my shoulders to not have to remember to order treats or go out to the store and stand in the isle riding the back of treat bags anymore. My order automatically goes through payment and ships to me each month without any work (they do also email you when your payment goes through, when the box ships, and when it's delivered). I also don't think think that we've waited more than 3 days for shipping on any of our boxes in the past. We do have a local pet store that we absolutely love, they have very similar treats and chews and we will always take Anoeska here for some extra spoiling, however if we even attempted to purchase the same amount of treats and chews that we receive in this box it would easily cost us over $60 without a doubt. They value is just unmatchable honestly.

Also, they are always holding challenges each month for real prizes! We've participated in: mannequin challenge, showing off tricks, guess how many treats are in a jar, etc. Each month they will then choose a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner to win either 1 bag of treats/chews or even an entire box for free! Speaking of free, they have a referral program! So if you've read something in here that you like, and want to try them out make sure you tell them that Anoeska and I sent you and both you and I will receive a free bag of treats! Seriously, I rave about this company everywhere that I go because I truly believe in them. It's also so nice to have the customization of eliminating things that your dog might not like or has an allergy or intolerance to. You can also skip a month, have a box shipped early, add on a second box, or even have them ship your box somewhere else (for example if you know you're traveling across the country to spend time with family, you can ask them to ship that months box to your family's address and they will!). We've had such a great experience with this company with their free treats just because sometimes and their individual hand written notes they've left for us in our boxes. The customer service is above and beyond anything I've ever experienced before. Hands down to you and your wonderful employees Real Dog Box.

Here's where we will end this review before I write a whole book, but if you have any questions on what we specifically receive in our box feel free to message me! However, I would encourage you to reach out directly to Real Dog Box so that you can experience first hand how wonderful of a company they are. Speaking of which, did I mention that they have a live chat on their website 24/7 at https://real.dog or that they have a phone number that you can text questions, updates to your subscription, and so much more? Seriously, who are these people and how do we get them to run more companies like this?? Now, unfortunately they are only currently shipping to the U.S. however, they have mentioned numerous times about their endeavor to one day offer shipping outside of the U.S.

Don't forget, if you sign up make sure you tell them that Anoeska and I sent you so that both you and I can receive a free bag of treats for our pups! I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you want to hear more about the food, toys, and other products we use for Anoeska let me know and I would be more than happy to share that information with you. Lots of love, Emily & Anoeska!

PS. Their website is: https://real.dog

Instagram: @realdogbox

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realdogbox/

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