Product Review: Silly Bums Bee

The R2P Pet Silly Bums are basically the back half of a stuffed dog toy. They come in a variety of different...um...species and two or three sizes.

Photo by Erin Koski

Our bee bum arrived in the disappointing May BarkBox, and was part of the reason why this box was so lackluster.

For starters, I was familiar with the Silly Bums toy line before this one arrived on our doorstep, and I've always found them sort of dumb. It's not a whole stuffy, it's just half. Which half? The butt! Stuffed animals have butts. Sometimes those butts are funny, particularly if it's a baboon stuffy. I find the butts are just as funny when they are part of a whole animal. Removing everything else just feels like they're beating me over the head with the joke.

Photo by Erin Koski

I could probably find some love in my heart for this bumblebee arse if it was just a fuzzy plush toy. It's not though, and when I found it in the BarkBox I had to double check the tag to make sure this thing was actually intended to be a dog toy.

I have never seen this much plastic on a dog toy. The wings and stripes are all made out of thin, flexible vinyl. Those bits of vinyl are sewn on via bulky turned-under seams.

Photo by Erin Koski

So the vinyl is basically designed to be ripped off by all but the most gentle dogs. I don't think I could come up with a more irresistibly shreddable design if I tried.

Our Silly Bums bee also crinkles. Brisbane hates crinkle toys. Ru finds them distasteful. Conveniently, foster dog Xena is both incredibly gentle with toys and loves crinkly things. It's hers now. When she finds a home, it will be leaving with her.

Pros: It squeaks. Someone must find this concept to be cute or funny, given that Silly Bums made it past product development and into actual stores without anyone going "hold on a second, this idea is actually kind of stupid."

Cons: Crinkles. Easily-destroyed vinyl is a questionable material for use on a dog toy, I would worry about intestinal obstruction if any of my dogs started to chew it. Butts aren't really that funny once you're out of middle school.

Bottom Line: One of my least favorite things we've ever received in a BarkBox. At least Xena likes it. If she suddenly develops an interest in shredding toys, it's going straight into the garbage.