Fresh Dog Food Comparison & Review: Ollie, The Farmer's Dog, Pet Plate, Nom Nom
Ollie vs Farmer’s Dog vs Nom Nom Now vs Pet Plate vs The Farmer’s Dog vs Ollie
Are you looking into Fresh Dog Food for your furry friend and not sure if Ollie, The Farmer’s Dog, Pet Plate, or Nom Nom is the best? Well, you’ve come to the right place! My pup has reviewed and tried three of these four, and there’s a very valid reason we didn’t try the fourth fresh dog food company that you may be interested in knowing why.
Why would more than one company if I liked any of them? Well, for this exact reason. I love to try different experiences and to let people know what’s the best!
In May 2020, my dog Tyrion had a pet emergency. I took him for a walk, and as I usually do, I was talking on the phone and half distracted. When I went to pick up his poop, I noticed that it had blood in it. I looked at his bottom and there was blood dripping out. I quickly took him home and my Husband and I decided to take him to the Vet Hospital. We called in advance, and our usual place, Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital, was completely booked up. They said they couldn’t take him. I started calling every Vet Hospital in Oakland and Berkeley and they were all booked to the point of not accepting new pet patients. I started to even call cities on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area and we got an appointment for the next day at Mt. Diablo Medical Veterinary Center, which is a 30 minute drive for us. We were glad to get anything at this point.
So, we went to bed that night and Tyrion has horrible diarrhea. He kept waking me up to go outside, and when I woke up in the morning, there were diarrhea stains all over my comforter. He was beginning to get lethargic and I could not wait to take him to the vet.
The vet never officially confirmed what caused the problem, but he ate something that caused this reaction. The vet prescribed antibiotics and probiotics and a basic food diet of boiled chicken and rice. We also gave him the water the chicken boiled in to encourage him to drink more water as it was more appealing to him.
He started to get better after a few days, and a week later he was back to normal. We were so relieved that our beloved furry family member pulled through.
After that incident, I started to dog-mom the shit out of his lifestyle! No more drinking the potted plant patio water and we decided to try fresh dog food. Ollie was the first fresh dog food box I tried. Here’s my YouTube review and video on that experience. I don’t have a video on each experience, so please keep that in mind.
Ollie Fresh Dog Food Review
Price: Starts at $2 a day, depending on plan, recipe, and dog size. General averages range from $9 to $42 per week. My 15lb dog that’s at his ideal weight cost around $30 per week, which surprised me considering the range and my dog’s size.
The Dog Experience: My dog absolutely loved Ollie fresh dog food and he got the crazy dog eyes of “don’t bother me, I’m eating” and I don’t get near him when he gets that look. My dog is a very picky eater and he “woofed” it up. Given, this was his first fresh food experience. We still use the container and scooper that Ollie gave us no matter what fresh dog food is in it and he recognizes it when it comes out of the fridge as “his food”.
The Human Experience: The packaging is absolutely beautiful and the food was packed on dry ice. Out of all the fresh dog food experiences, Ollie’s dog food came in small packages that were the easiest to open. Whomever is on their design team is good. Ollie has the best branding and design of any of the fresh dog food companies we came across, which is likely why we were drawn to trying them first. I also really valued the use of the eco-friendly packaging. No foam was used, but recycled fiber covered in thin plastic to keep the items cold. I’m sure it doesn’t work as well as foam, but if you properly freeze and ship quickly, the eco-packaging should work.
Purchasing: For 60% OFF your first box, you can visit myollie.com and enter in your pup’s info. If you’re a First Responder, Ollie will also provide you 50% off your 2nd and 3rd boxes!
The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Food Review
Price: Depending on age, breed, and size of dog, meal plans start at $2 a day. I felt the price was very close to Ollie for my 15lb pup that’s at his ideal weight, which was around $30 per week for my 15lb dog.
The Dog Experience: We ended up using The Farmer’s Dog the most of any of the fresh dog food delivery services. The excitement was the same from my pup and after a while of receiving fresh food, he started looking at his bowl and whining if he’s not fed by 7:30pm. For a picky eater, that says a lot.
The Human Experience: The plastic packaging isn’t as easy to open as Ollie, but that’s just such a minor complaint. The Farmer’s Dog fits more fresh food into each package so there’s less packaging waste though. The first time I received the box, the fresh dog food was so frozen it was rock solid. The second time, it was room temperature. I emailed them and no one responded for a week. I even emailed again. No response. I hate calling 800-numbers. I broke down and finally did and the woman I spoke to was lovely and sent another complementary box out. Just don’t expect a response via email if you ever have a concern. Just call them. Again, we’ve used The Farmer’s Dog the most and so we obviously feel good about the food and service. The design is thoughtful and cute too.
Purchasing: For 50% OFF your first order of The Farmer’s Dog, click this link to visit thefarmersdog.com and enter your pup’s info!
PetPlate Fresh Dog Food Review
Price: $23 to $90 per week depending on your dog’s size. My dog was right in the pocket for the pricing aligned with Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog. PetPlate also charged around $30 per week.
The Dog Experience: My dog enjoyed the fresh food from Pet Plate, just the same as the Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog. Pet Plate was the third service we tried. The quality seems good and in line with other brands of fresh dog food.
The Human Experience: The box that arrived was the largest box of all fresh dog food services. Once I opened it, I realized why. Pet Plate’s distinguishing difference is that they use individual plastic containers for their fresh dog food. The plastics are recyclable (and we will recycle them) but it’s a lot of plastic. The only time I see this being really convenient is when we’re traveling. The containers double as a dog feeding bowl. I’m having a hard time with how much plastic is being used though. The branding is also cute, and Pet Plate went with bright blue likely because Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog went with red and orange as branding colors. The blue is a little stinging to the eyes sometimes though when I open an email from PetPlate. Overall, the experience was positive. The food arrived quickly and it was packed well and frozen solid. I opened up the box and lazily waited until after my coffee the next morning to unpack the fresh food because it was frozen solid and surrounded by dry-ice.
Purchasing: For 60% OFF your first box visit this link at petplate.com and enter in your puppy’s info!
Nom Nom Fresh Dog Food Review
Price: $30 to $120 per week depending on dog size.
The Dog Experience: I actually haven’t ordered Nom Nom yet for my dog, but there’s a valid reason why we haven’t tried this one yet. We’re in the process of testing our dog for food sensitivities and allergies. We think he may have a food allergy to eggs and Nom Nom uses eggs in most of their recipes. For the ones they don’t have eggs in, I wasn’t sure how well they clean their equipment between food batches to prevent cross contamination. No accusations here. Just being cautious. I actually made a homemade batch of fresh dog food for my pup and that’s how we think we stumbled upon the egg allergy… via me!
The Human Experience: The website has a great experience, and I really loved how they put their ingredients up front. I had to login to Ollie before I was able to see the ingredients which means that Ollie didn’t put ingredients publicly facing or at least easy to find. I’m grateful that Nom Nom put the ingredients on their website for me to easily find. If Tyrion’s food allergy test comes back negative for eggs, we’ll surely try Nom Nom next and come back with an edit/update to this post. I just wanted to make sure those dog-parents out there that are managing puppy allergies are aware that eggs are in Nom Nom’s recipe, but not the other three companies listed in this blog post and review.
Purchasing: For 50% OFF your first order of Nom Nom Fresh Dog Food, visit this link at nomnomnow.com
Why Fresh Dog Food?
I know dogs have a completely different DNA and genetic makeup than humans, but my puppy had to take antibiotics two times before age 3, and he may be developing food allergies. I’ve seen research that has shown that humans are more susceptible to food allergies when prescribed antibiotics in childhood. You can view this research paper. Here’s a WebMD article as well. The reason I point this out is that there’s a lot less research on the topic when it comes to animals and pets vs humans (understandably).
Also, I do make environmental arguments for packaging in this fresh dog food review, so I must point out that having a large semi-heavy box delivered across the country on dry-ice overnight isn’t necessarily the most environmentally friendly thing to do. But, we are living in times where efficiencies matter.
Here are a few tips to think environmentally while still ordering fresh dog food to be delivered:
Pick the product that uses the least amount of packaging. The Farmer’s Dog wins in this department.
Select the company that will be shipping closest to you. If you’re in San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles or any other West Coast city, it doesn’t appear to matter whom you order from as they’re all East Coast based.
Ollie appears to Fulfill from PA and Chicago, IL
The Farmer’s Dog appears to be all NYC based
PetPlate seems to be in NY somewhere, but they claim to make the food is small batches in multiple kitchens and it’s vague on their website
Nom Nom has fulfillment centers in Pittsburgh and Nashville even though Nom Nom is headquartered in Oakland, CA. I imagine there may be a fulfillment center in CA or the west coast that’s just not easy to find online… Just a guess though.
Select Chicken as your top choice, and Turkey as your secondary. Don’t choose Lamb or Beef. Here’s an article from Newsweek and another from BonAppetit that may help you understand the environmental impact of meat. Yes, I do eat meat. I’ve just cut down and also realized that my pup is just as happy with Chicken as Beef and we don’t need our dogs contributing to the carbon problem.
Recycle all you can, and reuse any items. We still use our Ollie food container and scooper as our dog’s official fresh dog food container!
Ollie vs The Farmer’s Dog / The Farmer’s Dog vs Ollie
These two are the biggest two brands in the biz, so let’s take a second to compare just these two against one-another. I’ve included a quick bulleted overview to help with your decision-making between the two big brands, however, the others are not to be ignored.
High-Quality Ingredients:
Both The Farmer's Dog and Ollie offer top-tier ingredients with no fillers or artificial flavors.
The Farmer's Dog takes the lead with gently-cooked formulas preserving vital nutrients like Omega-3 fatty acids and amino acids.
The food in The Farmer’s Dog and Ollie both look healthy and “homemade not at home” if you will, however, The Farmer’s Dog food looks just a little bit fresher with bigger chunks of meat and veggies (but not too big for little pups).
Positive Reviews:
The Farmer's Dog stands out with reviews reporting fewer vet visits, increased vitality, clear skin, and shinier coats.
Pet parents noted improved odor and healthier stools, making it a clear winner in this category.
Understanding Your Dog:
Both Ollie and The Farmer's Dog offer detailed and personalized questionnaires for a customized plan for your dog.
Both Ollie vs The Farmer’s Dog are great companies that offer wonderful products for pups. I recommend both companies. However, if I’m to select a winner with the best product, The Farmer’s Dog comes out on top by a dog hair.
Final Thoughts…
My dog is really happy with the fresh food and we like to rotate cooking for him ourselves when we can. He also gets kibble in the morning from Merrick because we’re not made of money and this stuff is spendy. Plus, it’s healthy to get grains in their diet. You DO NOT want to go gluten free with your dog unless there’s a specific allergy or reason why. Gluten free diets in dogs can cause heart problems. You can read the article from the FDA on the link between gluten free diets in Canines and Cardiomyopathy.
My dog Tyrion really looks forward to dinner now and he’s feeling much better now. If I were to select one favorite brand, I would have to go with The Farmer’s Dog. They just need to hire more customer support to answer emails or be phone only and get rid of email support. I’ve never had an experience with the other company’s customer support and I will note again, The Farmer’s Dog made things right once I got a lovely Rep on the phone. The packaging is lean, the branding is good, the product feels healthy and they handled a difficult situation well. All four of these fresh pet food companies are great picks though. Your pup will be grateful for the nice healthy food, and you’ll feel good knowing you’re feeding them well.
My Homemade Fresh Dog Food Recipe
Visit my Instagram Post on my journey making homemade fresh dog food and you can make your own homemade dog food. This recipe does contain eggs, which are healthy for dogs unless they have an allergy. This was the batch where we learned the lesson with our pup, but pup-loaf with eggs is normally a very healthy food for doggos.
