Ollie Dog Food Review: Freshly Cooked and Delivered to Your Door

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If you’re thinking about trying fresh pet food, you’re not alone. Once a very small segment, fresh pet food has made a big impact in recent years. Technology research and advisory company Technavio estimates that the fresh pet food market will experience growth of approximately 23 percent from 2020 to 2025. Compared to kibble and canned dog food, fresh dog food is less processed and often contains human-grade ingredients, so it can elevate your dog’s diet to the next level.  

All of the fresh dog food companies offer different recipes, so it’s important to check out their offerings to see if it’s something that will work for your dog. The best way to know if you and your dog will love a fresh pet food brand is to try it. Most companies offer discounted trials so you can see for yourself. We recently put Ollie fresh dog food to the test, so read on for a detailed overview and review. 

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What Is Ollie Dog Food?

Ollie delivers fresh dog food right to your doorstep, eliminating the need to cook for your dog or make a trip to the store to buy dog food. Food is auto-delivered on a regular schedule according to your dog’s individual meal plan. Ollie food is made with high-quality, human-grade ingredients, and portions are customized based on your dog’s profile. 

Ollie is headquartered in New York City. The company’s mission is to create the highest quality dog food with the best ingredients available. Ollie food is cooked in small batches in the company’s human-grade facilities in New Jersey. 

Ollie is also environmentally conscious, choosing partners with established and responsible sourcing practices, and working to reduce energy, water, and waste. Most of Ollie’s packaging is recyclable or made from recyclable material (the company eventually hopes to be 100 percent recyclable or recycled).

Ollie Dog Food Features

All of Ollie’s recipes were developed by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. The recipes are complete and balanced according to the standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AFFCO). 

The company uses human-grade ingredients, sourcing its chicken and beef from high-quality, human-grade farms in the United States, and its premium lamb from human-grade farms in the U.S. and Australia. Ollie dog food contains no by-products, fillers, artificial flavoring, or preservatives.

Ollie food is minimally processed. It’s gently cooked at low temperatures to preserve the nutrients of the high-quality ingredients, then hand-packed, vacuum-sealed, and frozen. It arrives frozen in a box with dry ice to keep the food cold until you can transfer it to your freezer or refrigerator. The food is portioned in resealable packs.

Ollie Dog Food Cost

The cost of Ollie dog food varies depending on your dog’s size, age, and activity level. For a 40-pound, moderately active dog, Ollie costs about $51 per week ($204 per month). 

Ollie Dog Food Recipes

Ollie currently offers three recipes: Chicken Dish With Carrots, Beef Dish With Sweet Potatoes, and Lamb Dish With Cranberries. Each recipe contains one main meat protein source, plus carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, oils, and vitamins and minerals. A complete ingredients list for each recipe can be found at MyOllie.com.

Ollie dog food is subscription based, which means you commit to regular home delivery of food. The signup process is quick and easy; simply answer a few questions about your dog (age, breed or mix, weight, activity level, and whether your dog is underweight, normal weight, or overweight). Next, select your recipes. You can opt for just one recipe, two recipes, or all three. Ollie offers a two-week trial at 60 percent off the regular price. Shipping is free (Ollie ships everywhere in the U.S. except Alaska and Hawaii). 

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Putting Ollie Fresh Dog Food to the Test

For my Ollie trial, I tried two recipes: Chicken Dish With Carrots and Beef Dish With Sweet Potatoes. 

My Miniature Poodle Jäger usually eats a premium kibble diet, plus premium canned food. Ollie suggests making the switch to fresh food gradually, to avoid upsetting your pup’s stomach. We followed the transition instructions in our first box, starting by mixing 25 percent Ollie food and 75 percent of our old food, then gradually increasing the amount of Ollie and decreasing the amount of the old food. It takes about 10 days to fully transition to 100 percent Ollie food. 

When testing out a new food, I always first look at the ingredients of the food, looking for high-quality proteins and carbohydrates, as well as healthy extras like fish oil and fruits and vegetables. Next, I consider the packaging of the food. Is it easy to open, serve, and store? But the biggest test of a new dog food is whether my dog likes the taste and how well he does on it, which is easy to judge by looking at his stool output and appearance. 

I love Ollie’s simple recipes that use high-quality, human-grade ingredients. The food looks a bit like canned dog food, but you can see pieces of the wholesome ingredients like chicken, rice, carrots, and spinach. 

When I received my shipment, I put all the food packs into my freezer, leaving one in the fridge to thaw overnight. Each night, I transferred a new pack to the fridge so the food would be ready for the next day. Once opened, Ollie is good for four days in the refrigerator. 

Ollie’s food packs have an easy-peel top, so they are simple to open and easy to reseal if you don’t feed the entire pack at one meal. My dog eats one pack a day, split between two meals, so I liked storing the leftovers in the included airtight “puptainer,” which keeps leftover food neatly stored until the next meal. 

My dog loves the taste of Ollie. He wolfed down his meal and licked the bowl clean. He did well on the food, experiencing no stomach upset and his poops were regular and well-formed— neither loose nor runny. Mealtime got pretty exciting around our house during our Ollie trial!

Things We Like

• Feeding Ollie is ideal for pet parents who want to feed homemade dog food but find the process overwhelming. It’s not easy to cook for your dog at home and ensure he’s getting the proper nutrients in the correct amounts to support optimal health. Cooking for your dog at home is also a lot of work and not something everyone has time to do. 
• Ollie offers high-quality dog food formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. It’s just as complete-and-balanced as kibble and canned food, but super fresh and minimally processed, which preserves the nutrients so your dog can benefit from every bite. 
• The food is shipped to you exactly when your dog needs it—you don’t have to worry about reordering food, running out, or making a last-minute trip to the pet store. Ollie also tells you exactly how much your dog should eat daily to stay at (or get to) his optimum weight. The food is easy to store and serve, and my dog loved the taste.
• If you will be traveling, you can skip a delivery, or Ollie will even ship food to your travel destination (anywhere in the continental U.S.) if you change your delivery address before your cutoff date on your account page—talk about convenience!
• Trying Ollie is risk free since the company offers a 100 percent money-back guarantee. If your dog does not like the food, Ollie will completely refund your starter box.

Things to Consider

• Human-grade ingredients, small-batch cooking, and the ultra-fresh nature of fresh dog food makes this type of food expensive. The cost to feed a 40-pound dog is about $51 per week. 
• To buy Ollie food, you must sign up for an auto-delivery subscription (your credit card is charged automatically every month). If you don’t like commitment, a subscription-based fresh food might not be your best bet. However, you can choose to skip your next delivery or cancel your subscription at any time.
• Currently, Ollie only offers three recipes: chicken, beef, and lamb. The company’s turkey recipe is unavailable due to a national turkey shortage and supply chain disruption. Some other fresh dog food companies have four or more recipes to choose from.
• It’s important to note that Ollie recipes cannot be customized. Although your dog will receive specific amounts of food in the recipes you select, the recipes themselves cannot be changed. For instance, if your dog has an issue with one ingredient in a recipe, that ingredient cannot be removed. 

Subscribe today and get 60% off your first box!

Ollie Dog Food: Our Verdict

If you’re looking to try fresh dog food, Ollie is a solid choice. The company offers high-quality, healthy nutrition conveniently delivered to your door. Though the recipes themselves cannot be customized, you can choose from three different recipes with different meat protein sources and carbohydrates. Our dog had no issue transitioning over to the food and clearly enjoyed his role as taste tester, but it’s reassuring to know that Ollie will refund your starter box if your dog isn’t satisfied. Here’s hoping mealtime is as exciting for you and your pup as it was for us!