Flexiness Flexblox Product Review
Having been a distributor of canine fitness products for over 10 years as well as a consumer, I have a pretty good sense now of what products I will find useful in my program and what products will just be novel and sit on my shelf in my fitness room. To help you avoid the latter, we continually give product reviews to hopefully help you make wise purchases. If your budget is limited, this article will also feature DIY equipment and objects I have adapted for canine use.
In this review, we will look at the new Flexiness Flexblox. This product appealed to me for several reasons. Worth noting, we don’t have any affiliation with Flexiness, but I have numerous products from them and find the company to be innovative in developing canine centric products. Products made specifically with dogs in mind increase safety, versatility, and functionality and reduce the need to “adapt” products for canine use or be limited in its function/use. Increased safety, functionality and versatility are all things that I look for now before making a new purchase and aspects I encourage all to make when investing in canine fitness products.
Why the Flexblox ?
A few years ago when I got my new puppy I wanted two low stable pieces to teach foundation behaviors. I had used stools, upside down bowls, a taller homemade perch (see picture) but I wanted something lower to the ground and safer for a puppy. I like for my puppy to find their own balance using two stable props (front feet on one back feet on the other) and not worry about them stepping off or falling off wrong a taller object like a bowl etc. Nothing was on the market to buy, so I had to figure out how to make them. So I made the these two small blocks using short 2x4 boards, glueing them together and painting them to make them super stable and safe. (See picture of gray boards below). 
When Flexiness introduced their Flexblox I thought they had greatly improved on my homemade gray wood blocks. The versatility and function of the Flexblox make them incredibly useful for a variety of exercises and can be customized for all size dogs. I recently used these boxes for a fun fitness challenge in our free Facebook group Pawsee. I had been using my taller square perch and upside down food bowls, but the Flexblox I found to be a more desirable option. The box is lower to the ground much like a plank. I did not have to worry about it tipping or sliding. Even on my gym floor without a yoga mat underneath, it does not slide. It also does not tip if the dog forages forward to the edge as one of my dogs tends to do (shown below in the picture). It’s very stable.
I highly recommend the mat that comes with it to make the top more even. It does have traction ribbing on the top but the mat makes it an even flat surface.
The really nice thing about the box is being able to stack two+ to add more vertical challenge or link them together for more horizontal working space and make them more like a plank or Cato board.
When I look at equipment, the main things I look for before investing is versatility, usefulness and if the equipment is specifically made for canines. Being someone who has amassed a lot of equipment (and DIY lumber) over the years, I’m currently downsizing to just a few key pieces for my personal use so these aspects are super important to me. With these boxes, I can eliminate my homemade canine adapted bowls (food bowls with a yoga mat taped on top), the older taller homemade perch, and my homemade wood blocks. They could also eliminate my homemade planks since the Flexblox can link together and they are the width that I like for my planks.
I have different length planks for my dogs as well as client dogs and the ability to just have these boxes to configure for each dog is super convenient. They stack and therefore utilize less space. I snapped a picture of the Flexblox versus the bowls, planks, stools, boards etc., that I keep on hand for a variety of dogs or exercises. The Flexblox(s)can replace all these pieces that I have made as DIY and/or adapted for canine use.
It will also take the guesswork out of choosing certain pieces and if it will be right for each dog or exercise. The Flexblox being low to the ground like a plank will make it suitable and safe for all dogs and its small footprint makes it suitable for pivot exercises. Having stable equipment to use is almost if not more important than having instability equipment. Stable equipment is used for all levels of fitness and utilized for a variety of exercises. If you are not particularly handy to make planks or boards, have a small space, or have a multiple dog household, these boxes would be a wise investment. I also like the fact that my existing SensiMat works with two Flexblox (s) linked together. I like that the company kept this in mind for their legacy products to be used with their new products.
Summary
These Flexblox (s) tick several boxes that I look for in being versatile, canine centric, and safe. The ability for these to replace numerous pieces of DIY/adapted objects and to be able to stack and store in a small footprint is certainly attractive. Also they will now allow me to incorporate more vertical challenge exercises without the need for an additional piece and to be able to do it safely. While these are an investment, it’s an investment that is worthwhile if you have a desire to reduce how much equipment you need to store and have on hand, or just starting in fitness and want to invest in key pieces of equipment, or fitness/rehab experts who want to declutter their world and purchase key pieces for your fitness program that can easily be configured for various sized dogs or exercises. I also like investing in innovative and forward leaning companies who invest in our dogs by making canine centric safe equipment not only for fitness but also for rehabilitation.
We highly recommend.
