Ollie Review
Healthy, Balanced, Complete, and Human-Grade Food for Happy Pets
Ollie Pros:
- Ollie formulates balanced, complete, human-grade recipes that abide by AAFCO standards.
- Ingredients are sourced from hormone-free chicken, high-quality beef and turkey from human-grade farms in the US, and its pasture-raised lamb comes from free-range farms in the US and Australia. Produce, seeds, and oils are carefully sourced, containing no fillers, artificial flavoring, or preservatives.
- There is no prep work involved, and portion sizes are tailored to your dog.
- Packaging is made from recyclable materials.
Ollie Cons:
- Ollie meals are pricier than other store-bought dog foods, particularly if you're used to paying for a kibble diet.
- It can take up to two weeks for your dog's dietary tract system to adjust to this new diet type, potentially causing minor stomach upset.
- Meals can take up space in the fridge and freezer.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Ollie
Ollie delivers fresh, frozen dog food packets packed with real ingredients that are sure to make your dog smile. The meals are all crafted by vets with health, and flavor, in mind. Ollie doesn’t just elevate meal time for dogs, it makes things easier on their humans too. With custom meal plans and bi-monthly deliveries, feeding your dog with Ollie is about as easy as it gets.
How does Ollie work?
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When you get started with Ollie, you’ll be asked to provide some information about your pet, starting with the basics like name, age, and breed. Ollie is designed to help you keep your dog's dietary needs on track, so they’ll also want to know the dog’s current weight, their ideal weight, and their activity level. All of those questions, along with food preferences, allergies, and other important information, are asked in a simple, easy-to-use survey. Once you’re done, Ollie presents you with a tailored plan based on the daily caloric needs of your pup, along with the option to choose which recipes you’d like to receive.
How much does Ollie cost?
Pricing depends on the size of the dog; Ollie calculates how much food they need based on the exact number of calories they should consume daily. A small dog starts at $3 per day, and can cost upwards of $8 per day for a larger breed. Shipping is free to anywhere in the US except for Hawaii and Alaska.
What are the health benefits of feeding my dog Ollie?
Feeding your dog a diet made with natural, real ingredients can promote heart health, increase energy levels, make for shinier coats, better smelling breath, improved eyesight, and ideal digestion.
Is Ollie available in stores?
Ollie is available by subscription only, where you can make flexible arrangements that suit your dog's needs and lifestyle. Food is shipped on a regular schedule according to your meal plan, and you can expect to receive your delivery on the same day each week. If you're planning to travel with your pup, you can easily update the shipping address, provided it is within the contiguous US.
Do I need to be home to accept delivery?
Ollie will stay fresh in the box until midnight on the day it arrives. It is suggested to get the trays into your fridge as soon as you can so they stay cold, as Ollie meals need to be chilled.
How long will the food stay fresh after it's delivered?
Ollie uses a special modified atmospheric packaging to seal its trays so they're airtight and keep food fresh, without using any preservatives or chemicals. Once placed in the refrigerator, the food will be good to serve your dog for up to 4 days opened or unopened. To preserve freshness, it is important to remember to put the resealable lid on the tray after its been opened.
How can I ensure a smooth transition in my dog's diet upon switching to Ollie?
Ollie highly recommends following their transition guidelines to give your dog's stomach flora time to adjust to their new type of diet. It may take up to two weeks for their digestive tract to adjust, particularly if they're used to a kibble diet. Switching to real, fresh ingredients is a big shift that Ollie promises to be 100% better for their long-term health.
Are Ollie meals freezable?
Ollie dog food can be frozen to preserve for a longer period of time. Just be sure to put the tray in the fridge so it can defrost for 24 hours prior to serving.
Is the packaging recyclable?
All of Ollie's boxes and trays are made from recyclable material, and even its jute liner (which helps to keep food cold) is compostable.
Does Ollie extend any satisfaction guarantees?
Ollie seems pretty confident that your dog will love the taste and quality of its "real ingredients," but if in the event your dog does not like a recipe, they will send another one or refund your trial box.
Alternatives to Ollie
Ollie vs. The Farmer's Dog
- Like Ollie, The Farmer's Dog delivers real food that is made fresh for your dog. They both offer grain-free meals with recipes crafted by veterinary nutritionists.
- Similar to Ollie, The Farmer's Dog also uses recyclable and compostable packaging.
- The Farmer's Dog packaging includes personalized labels, which can be helpful for families with more than one dog, to differentiate diets between them.
- The Farmer's Dog comes in at a slightly lower starting price point at $2 per days with free shipping, but like Ollie, this depends on the size, breed, activity level, and more.
Ollie vs. PetPlate
- PetPlate comes in at a comparable price point to Ollie, while also extending freshly prepared and pre-portioned meals for your pup. PetPlate, however, can be served straight from the fridge or warmed up.
- Both Ollie and PetPlate are designed by veterinarians and nutritionists.
- While Ollie clearly holds commitment to sustainability practices in its packaging, it is not entirely clear if its packaging is 100% recyclable (although they are made from recycled materials), whereas PetPlate packaging is know to be 100% recyclable.
Ollie vs. Nom Nom
- Nom Nom is similar to Ollie in that it is a pet food subscription service that offers individually portioned, formulated pet food, however Nom Nom extends this service to cats as well.
- Pricing is comparable between the two pet food services, however Nom Nom offers an option to buy half portions at a savings of 42%, which can help meet budgets nearly half-way, when used as a supplement to your dog's existing diet.
My Ollie Review
Our Ollie delivery arrived promptly and the food was completely frozen. We were able to recycle the packaging and plop all of the compact dog food packs into our fridge. I found the small, brick-like shape to be really easy to stack and organize in our crowded freezer. But do remember to make space in the fridge and/or freezer for your pups meals, if you aren't already used to doing so!
Our introductory box came with a welcome kit, which included a nice, sturdy plastic container and matching scoop. We also received as custom feeding plan, which will outlined exactly how much food our dogs needed and when.
Ollie's Dog Food
Ollie clearly prides itself on transparency when it comes to what is in their dog food packs. When you sign up and select your recipes, you’re given plenty of information about each option, and you can click through to see the full ingredient list and guaranteed analysis. Ollie promises that the food is human-grade, with no fillers or bi-products. And it’s evident as soon as you open your first pack of Ollie food - this is a long way from traditional kibble. Each recipe looks like real food (because... it is), with identifiable meat and bits of super healthy things like sweet potato and kale that you might never imagine your dog eating, nevermind loving. But love, they do!
We received one box per dog, and each box had 5 trays of Healthy Turkey Feast, 5 trays of Hearty Beef Eats, and 4 trays of Chicken Goodness. Our dogs are roughly the same size, and both of their meal plans instructed half a pack per meal, two meals per day. We used the scoop to easily grab the half portion, and the container to keep the remainder fresh in our fridge till the next meal time. Pro tip: these packs do take about a day to thaw out in the fridge, so make sure you plan accordingly.
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My Verdict
I grew up in a house where we fed our basic dog kibble from the pet store. The dry, brown pellets would sit in the bowl for much of the day until the dog would finally decide to nibble away at some of them, leaving the bowl only still half empty. So when my husband and I got dogs, we did the exact same thing.
Enter Ollie. These frozen dog food packets, delivered right to our door, changed the game for us in three big ways. First, it puts our dogs on a schedule. No longer do we leave the food out all day, waiting for our dogs to decide when they wanted to eat. Now we know that our dogs are eating exactly the right amount, and they’re on a schedule that works for all of us. Second, mealtime is now an event. Both of our dogs begin to wiggle uncontrollably when they see me grab the food from the fridge, and they’re practically doing backflips by the time I put their bowls down for them to dig in. And finally, convenience! Gone are the days of running out to the pet store late at night or feeding our dogs table scraps when we’ve run out of kibble. With Ollie, we never run out of food for our pooches! The only minor hiccup it has caused is that we have to separate the dogs during their meals, as our little dachshund, Stevie, will try just about anything to eat her serving, and her brother Ernie’s!
Based on our first box, we (dogs included) are bigs fans of Ollie! From a health and wellness standpoint, I can’t say that I noticed big changes in the dogs after our first box, but this review is just based on the past two weeks. As a dachshund, Stevie is prone to digestive issues, and had been known to throw up some of her kibble soon after eating. Despite her tendency to wolf down her fresh meals from Ollie, this issue hasn’t been happening with the new food.
Is Ollie worth it?
Along with the quality, there is also a premium reflected in the cost. At anywhere from $3 to $8 per day, that can be a significant jump in one's monthly dog food budget. As you weigh your dog's needs, refrigerator real estate, and household budget, this price tag can be difficult to ignore as you design your dog's new diet. If your dog has a sensitive stomach, it might leave you with mixed feelings about whether or not to try Ollie as you determine whether its value outweighs the cost.
On the whole, Ollie is a great and convenient way to feed your dog food that you can both feel good about. If you're thinking about ditching kibble, and seeking out premium, human-grade meals for your favorite canines, Ollie may just be worth your while.
Give Ollie a Try!
Have you ordered Ollie? What did you think of the stylist's choices? Did you order your next Fix? Let us know below!
Want to learn more about Ollie? Check out all our Ollie details.
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