Ollie Dog Food Review

What is Ollie?

Our dogs are part of the family — according to one study, 95% percent of Americans consider their furry friends to be family, and 81% of females consider themselves a pet “parent.” So it’s only natural that dog lovers want to feed their fur children the same way they want to feed their human children — with food that’s nutritious and capable of fueling a long, healthy life.

Ollie makes it easy for dog parents to feed their pups food they can feel good about: Ollie delivers meals made of real, human-grade meat and vegetables to your door. That means the pre-portioned meals that Ollie drops off are made of ingredients so safe, owners could eat them, too (though, we don’t advise it!).

Those ingredients include hormone-free chicken, beef and turkey from human-grade farms in the US., and free-range, pasture-raised lamb from farms in the U.S. and Australia. Each of these proteins stars in one of Ollie’s four recipes, and they’re mixed with a bevy of veggies—butternut squash, kale, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes and more. Some ingredients you won’t find? Fillers like soy, corn or wheat.

All of Ollie’s recipes have been developed with veterinary nutritionists, and meet or exceed the nutrition standards of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) for pet food—for all life stages.

The best part? Unlike making your own fresh meals for your dog, there’s no guessing when it comes to how much to feed your pup: You provide Ollie with basic information about your dog’s age, breed, activity level, age and weight, and they provide you with a simple feeding guide so you can easily measure the right portion using a special scoop to keep your dog adequately fueled and at a healthy weight. Or, if your pup is on a weight management program, on the way to his or her goal weight.

After providing your dog’s vital info, Ollie lets you choose from their four recipes—beef, chicken, lamb and turkey—to get your first two weeks of food. That box—and all future shipments—are delivered right to your door, with free shipping to the contiguous 48 states. Each shipment comes in a cardboard box lined with a recycled cotton liner. Both the box and the liner are recyclable. The box will keep the food fresh until midnight on the day of delivery.

Once you receive your box, Ollie’s meals can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. They’ll stay fresh in the fridge for up to four days, so the rest will need to be frozen. Meals stored in the freezer must be defrosted at least 24 hours before serving.

If your dog doesn’t like Ollie’s food, they’ll replace it or give you a full refund. But most reviewers say their dogs do enjoy the fresh recipes and report that their dogs are more energetic and seem “younger” than before. If you’re looking for more proof, there aren’t direct scientific studies on Ollie or many other fresh pet food delivery products, but researchers have previously found that when dogs eat vegetables three times per week or more, their risk of cancer is greatly reduced. With Ollie, you can easily give your pup their veggies—and meat—with a simple home delivery subscription.

Ollie has earned a reputation as one of the best and easiest ways to feed your dog fresh, human-grade meals—with recipes tailored to your dog’s activity level, breed, age, weight and taste. With free delivery, a money-back guarantee, and simple, clear feeding instructions, Ollie is one of the best healthy options for fresh dog food.

How It Works

Ollie delivers two or more weeks of pre-cooked, fresh food meals to your door, with specific feeding instructions for your dog’s activity level, weight, age, breed, allergy, and nutritional needs. How do they know how much your furry friend needs? Here’s how Ollie works:

When you sign up on the Ollie website, you’ll fill out a simple questionnaire about your dog. This includes their name, age, breed and weight. You’ll also tell Ollie how active your dog is—choosing whether your dog likes to nap most of the day, plays for a few hours, or is very active. You’ll also be asked about the types of food your dog eats now—wet, dry, fresh or another choice—and any food allergies your dog may have.

After the quick questionnaire is complete, Ollie will recommend a two-week trial pack with multiple recipes so your dog can try their food. When we filled in the info for our 20-pound, three-year-old West Highland Terrier, we were offered a trial pack that included beef meals with sweet potatoes and peas, turkey meals with kale, carrots and blueberries, and chicken meals with rice, carrots and peas. Ollie says their chicken meals are gentle for dogs with sensitive stomachs, and their turkey meals are ideal for weight management—our pup needs to peel off a few pounds, so we opted for some turkey in our pack. While Ollie didn’t initially put their lamb recipe in our recommendation, we could choose to add it.

Your two-week trial box is delivered in a refrigerated cardboard box, made of recycled materials and with a cotton cooling liner that’s also recyclable. If you’re not home when your box arrives, Ollie says the box will keep the dog food fresh until midnight on the day of delivery.

When you serve Ollie meals to your dog, there’s no guesswork: Based on your dog’s questionnaire, specific feeding instructions tell you exactly how much to measure for your pup’s meal using the included scoop. The rest of the package can be resealed in the handy “pup-tainer,” and covered with a branded lid.

When your two-week trial is over, Ollie will ship you four, six or eight weeks of food based on your preferences. You can adjust the number of weeks of food you get and the recipes to be included in each box.

Your plan can be paused or canceled at any time, and if you’re traveling, you can have your Ollie food shipped to another address, so your dog food will be there when you arrive.

If your dog doesn’t like one of the meals in the trial box, you can get a full refund for the starter box and can replace the recipes with new ones on any future orders.

Recipes and Ingredients

Ollie offers four different recipes, each focused on a USDA-certified human-grade protein: Beef, turkey, chicken, or lamb. The beef, turkey, and chicken are sourced from human-grade farms in the U.S., and the free-range, pasture-raised lamb is sourced from farms in the U.S. and Australia.

In each recipe, one of these proteins is mixed with vegetables—flecks of sweet potatoes and peas in the beef packet, rice, carrots, and peas in the chicken meals, kale and butternut squash with the lamb, and kale, carrots, and blueberries in the turkey meals. These ingredients are then mixed with healthy fats like sunflower oil or fish oil, and other vitamins and minerals like riboflavin and a Vitamin E supplement.

All of the recipes are cooked in a USDA human-grade kitchen in New Jersey, then flash-frozen before being packaged and shipped.

How Much Does Ollie Dog Food Cost?

Your Ollie plan’s pricing will depend on your dog’s weight, age, breed and activity level, as well as how much of their diet you plan to replace with Ollie meals. So the price is different for every subscriber: A dog owner who plans to feed her loafy French Bulldog 25% of his meals with Ollie will pay less than a Great Dane owner who is opting for an all-Ollie diet.

For smaller dogs, the company says plans start at $4 per day for dogs that will eat an all-Ollie diet, with an average price of $8 per day.

How Does It Compare?

Fresh and “natural” dog foods have exploded in popularity—with so many options, how do you know which is best for your dog? Here’s how Ollie compares:

Why We Love It: The Bottom Line

With just a short, fun-to-answer questionnaire, Ollie learns the information about your dog they need to deliver fully-cooked, human-grade, protein-packed meals to your door—with simple to follow feeding instructions that make feeding your dog a fresh diet easy.

The few bits of info you provide Ollie, including your dog’s age, weight, breed, activity level, allergies, and current food habits—help the company’s algorithm choose from four veterinarian-developed meals to find the right recipes to help your dog lose or maintain weight, boost energy and rediscover that inner puppy. Those turkey, chicken, lamb and beef meals are cooked and flash-frozen in a USDA kitchen before being shipped—for free—anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. If your dog doesn’t like every bite, Ollie will refund the purchase price.

The absolute best part: Ollie’s ingredients. The meats are human-grade, with the beef, turkey and chicken sourced from U.S. farms. Those meats are mixed with fruits and vegetables you can see in the meal—bits of blueberry, chunks of sweet potato, chopped carrots, and more. All meals meet or exceed the nutrition standards of the AAFCO for pet food for all life stages.

The meals are shipped to your home—or any other location you choose—in a refrigerated box that will keep the meals frozen until midnight on the day of delivery. Pop the packages in the freezer, then defrost one or more at least 24 hours before feeding time. Use the included scooper and your customized feeding plan to easily measure the right amount of food for your dog’s dinner, and store the rest in the included “pup-tainer.”

And your purchase of Ollie doesn’t just help your pup: One percent of all profits are donated to local shelters and rescue organizations. So your dog—and thousands of other dogs in need—can lead a healthier life.

About Ollie

Founded in 2016 by Randy Jimenez, Alex Douzet and Gabby Slome, Ollie is a subscription dog food company that delivers pre-cooked, human-grade dog meals to consumers’ doors. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.