The Best Dog Subscription Boxes for Small Breeds (We’ve Tried Them All)

Last Tuesday Georgie ate my sock and acted like I’d wronged him when I took it back. He’s usually pretty good about not swallowing my laundry, but every now and then he goes full goblin mode. Maybe he was bored. Maybe he was mad I gave Teddy a bigger piece of cheese. Who knows with Georgie, he’s got opinions about everything. Anyway, you asked about subscription boxes, right? Because you’re trying to keep your new puppy out of trouble, which, good luck with that. We’ve been through a bunch of them with Georgie, and honestly, most are a waste of money. But a few are actually pretty decent, especially for a tiny menace like a Morkie who thinks he’s a wolf.

BarkBox: The OG, But Not Always for the Small Guys

Everyone knows BarkBox, right? They’re like the default. We tried them first, obviously. The themed boxes are cute – Georgie got a whole lumberjack thing once, complete with a tiny flannel bandana. He tolerated it for approximately thirty seconds before shaking it off. The toys are generally well-made and durable, which is great for some dogs. The problem for Georgie, who is maybe 10 pounds soaking wet, is that a lot of the toys were just too big. He’d get a plushie that was practically his size and look at it like, “What am I supposed to do with this, wrestle it?”

They do offer a small dog option, which we eventually switched to. That helped with the size, but honestly, the treats were still hit or miss. Georgie is surprisingly picky for a dog who will also eat a dirty sock. He’s got this thing with texture, so anything super crunchy or really crumbly often gets a sniff and a walk-away. Teddy, his brother, who is a much less discerning garbage disposal, usually cleans up the leftovers. So, for a small breed, it’s okay, but it wasn’t blowing our minds. The price is about $35/month if you do a 6-month plan, which is pretty standard. You can find better for a small dog.

PupBox: The Puppy-Specific Savior (for a bit)

When Georgie was a tiny terror, like even more of a terror than he is now, we tried PupBox. This one actually got Georgie excited for a while. It’s geared towards puppies and grows with them, which is a neat concept. Each box is tailored to your dog’s age, so you get appropriate toys, treats, and even training info for that developmental stage. For Georgie, this was huge because he was going through all these phases, like the “I must chew everything” phase and the “I must bark at everything” phase. The training tips were actually pretty helpful for a first-time small dog owner like me, especially trying to potty train a dog the size of a loaf of bread.

The toys were a good size, and they included a lot of chew toys that were soft enough for puppy teeth but durable enough not to be immediately shredded. We got a lot of those Nylabone Puppy Teething Rings, which Georgie loved, and small Kong toys. The treats were also generally soft and easily digestible for tiny tummies. The price is around $39/month for a month-to-month subscription, which is a bit steeper but worth it for the tailored approach. The downside? Once Georgie hit about a year old, the magic faded. It felt like we were getting the same kind of stuff over and over, just slightly bigger. So, great for puppies, not so much for adult small dogs.

Chewy Goody Box: My Current Go-To (Mostly)

Okay, so after PupBox, we bounced around a bit more. We tried a couple of smaller, artisanal-looking ones on Etsy, and they were cute but overpriced and inconsistent. Then I remembered Chewy has their own thing, the Goody Box. I honestly didn’t expect much, but it’s actually pretty solid, especially for the price. They have specific boxes for small breeds, and you can pick themes like “toy and treat” or “health and wellness.”

What I like about the Chewy Goody Box for Georgie is that the toys are consistently a good size. We’ve gotten tiny plushies that he actually carries around like he’s a proud hunter, and durable squeaky balls he can actually get his mouth around. He’s particular about squeakers, too – some are too loud, some are too quiet. He’s a snob. Chewy usually nails it. Also, the treats are from brands I actually recognize and trust, like Zuke’s Mini Naturals or Blue Buffalo, which is important for Georgie’s sensitive stomach. He gets the runs if I give him anything too weird. The best part? It’s usually around $25-$30, depending on the theme, and you can just buy it as a one-off instead of subscribing to a whole monthly thing. This means I can grab one when I know he’s due for new toys or if I need to distract him from stealing Teddy’s bully stick. It’s not a true subscription, but it’s what I reach for most often now.

Surprise Box from Local Pet Store: The Unexpected Winner

This isn’t a subscription box you order online, but it’s what actually works best for Georgie in the long run. Our local independent pet store, “Pawsitively Purrfect” (yes, really), has these curated “surprise boxes” for different sized dogs. They’re about $30, and the owner, Mary, knows Georgie by name. She knows he thinks he’s a wolf, he’s picky about treats, and his brother Teddy will steal anything he loves. She usually throws in a super tiny, durable chew toy (like a West Paw Zogoflex Quizl, which is indestructible), a soft squeaky toy that Georgie can actually murder (he loves to tear the squeaker out of plushies), and a couple of bags of high-quality, small-batch treats that are usually soft and easy on his stomach. Sometimes she even throws in a sample of a new grooming product that’s good for his fine Morkie hair. Because it’s so personalized, it’s almost always a hit. It’s not a subscription, but it feels like one because I just pick one up every month or two. The personal touch makes all the difference for a dog as opinionated as Georgie.

Honestly, if I were you, I’d try the Chewy Goody Box once or twice to get a feel for what your puppy likes, and then find a good local pet store that offers something similar and build a relationship with them. That’s what’s worked best for us.