Real Dog Box Review + Giveaway

Real Dog Box is a subscription box for dogs that offers monthly single-ingredient treats and chews made right here in the U.S! My dog Wally enjoys his monthly Real Dog box that’s filled to the brim with treats, chews and even a super chew!

It’s the only monthly dog subscription box I’ve purchased religiously ever since I learned about it in 2016. Except when I was sadly in-between dogs.

I’m Barbara and I write regularly for That Mutt. I’m a blogger, raw feeder and dog walker and maintain the blog K9sOverCoffee.com.

If you’d like to go ahead and order a box, you can do so HERE. Using that link will get you an extra bag of treats free!

This post contains affiliate links.

What is Real Dog?

First things first, who exactly is Real Dog?

Real Dog is a happy team of health conscientious dog people who’ve made it their mission to educate fellow dog lovers about the many benefits of healthy, fresh dog treats and food in general.

The company is based in San Diego, where they gently air-dry all of their treats and chews themselves. Once the goodies make it into their boxes, Real Dog adds explanatory cards to each box. There’s one card for each treat or chew with detailed information about each respective ingredient. It explains what it is, where it’s sourced, what its benefits are, and how it’s made.

That’s such a wonderful, educational feature that I’ve never seen with any other brand in the dog treat and food industry, and I’ve fed A LOT of different treats and foods over the years!

Order a box HERE
(starting at $21)

Features of the Real Dog Boxes:

• Single-ingredient treats and chews
• Different types of chews (light, medium, heavy, super)
• Variety of treats
• 100% meat
• Customizable
• Great for all size dogs
• No preservatives
• No fillers, additives and chemicals
• Made in the USA
• Free shipping
• Text support

Benefits of the Real Dog Boxes:

• Works as a food topper for picky eaters
• Treats for raw-fed dogs
• Great introduction to raw dog food
• Easy way to add clean food to your pup’s diet
• Helps clean teeth and exercise jaws

Order your first box HERE
(starting at $21)

Unboxing a Real Dog Box: What’s Inside?

Since every box is customizable, the contents vary a little depending on what you order.

Standard Box ($39): This includes 3 types of treats and 3 different chews (light, medium and heavy). It’s called the Treat and Chew Box.

Treat Only box ($21): You guessed it, this one is just treats!

Chew Only box ($23): Includes just the chews

Additionally, you can add a Super Chew to any box you order for $8 per super chew.

If you’d like to order a box, you can get started HERE! That link will give you an extra bag of treats, free!

I personally order the standard box that comes with 3 treats and 3 chews, and I add one super chew. The total price for my particular box is $47 per month.

Different meats every month – allergies? No problem!

Real Dog uses different meats every month so that your dog doesn’t get bored and gets a broad spectrum of nutrients. After all, not every cut of meat contains the same nutrients, so rotating them is extremely beneficial to your pup’s health.

Since Wally has a few food sensitivities, I made sure to inform Real Dog about them so that those types of meat aren’t included in any of his boxes. For example, he does poorly with chicken and shellfish like green lipped mussels. If your dog has allergies, just make sure to let the team know and they will work with you.

That being said, these are the contents of last month’s box (September 2020):

3 Treats:

• Turkey Breast (Muscle Meat)
• Beef Spleen (Secreting Organ)
• Salmon (Seafood)

3 Chews:

• Beef Backstrap (Heavy Chew)
• Duck Wing (Medium Chew)
• Steer Pizzle (Light Chew)

Super Chew: Pig Trotter

Like I said before, Wally gets one super chew with every one of his boxes. I personally consider it a good investment because they keep Wally busy up to a few hours and provide a decent workout for his jaws and body. Just like everything else, the super chews rotate every month so that you don’t get the same with every box!

This particular box came with a Pig Trotter super chew, which is Wally’s favorite. It’s an air-dried pig foot that’s a great size for medium to extra large dogs who are strong chewers. It takes Wally about an hour to eat it in its entirety, but I usually let him have it in 2 sessions.

The chews come in super handy when we take him to dog-friendly places like local breweries. That’s because they keep him busy and entertained while we enjoy some adult time. It’s a win-win situation!

Cards in each Real Dog box

Like I mentioned before, each treat and chew comes with an explanatory card. I LOVE that feature!

I know it’s hard to read the cards from a photo, so I’m just sharing the salmon treats as an example.

You’ll see one side of the card shows info on where it’s sourced:

The other side shows information such as the weight, guaranteed analysis (protein fat, fiber and moisture) as well as the approximate calories:

And here’s both sides of the card from the pig trotter super chew:

Real Dog Box: Are there any cons?

There’s really only one con, and that is its short shelf life. That’s the general downside of air-dried treats and chews because they don’t contain any preservatives. Air drying is it!

However, storing the treats and chews in the fridge helps increase their shelf life, especially in the summer months. I even put most of my treat and chew bags into the freezer year-round and pull them out when Wally’s ready for them. That way, the chews last even longer than if I only put them into the fridge, and both Wally and I appreciate that!

Speaking of food, I’ve been feeding my pups raw dog food since 2015, so that’s even more of a reason to love Real Dog’s treats and chews. Raw dog food consists of the 3 major categories muscle meat + fish, secreting organs, and raw meaty bones. And so do Real Dog’s boxes!

That’s why their treats are a no-brainer for raw-fed dogs, but they’re also great to introduce the concept of raw dog food to anyone who’s interested but isn’t ready to make the switch quite yet.

They also make great food toppers for picky eaters as well as wonderful nose game treats!

Try Real Dog Box for your dog!

If you’d like to go ahead and order a box, you can do so HERE!

Would your pup like to try a Real Dog Box?

Let us know in the comments!

Barbara Rivers writes regularly for That Mutt. She is certified in raw dog food nutrition from Dogs Naturally Magazine and the author of three ebooks about balanced raw dog food. She is a blogger at K9s Over Coffee.