Fresh, healthy dog food is becoming a popular choice for dog owners around the world, and there is a variety of dog food delivery services that promise to deliver this need. Dog owners have long been concerned about the fillers, grains, and preservatives in their dogs’ food, and until recently, there were not many alternative options apart from cooking food at home yourself.

There are many dog food brands to choose from these days, many with unpronounceable ingredients and dubious nutritional claims. Small dog food delivery and subscription services are rapidly changing this dynamic, offering tailored, customizable meal plans for your pooch using only the finest, human-grade ingredients.

There are a handful of companies at the forefront of this movement, with Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog swiftly becoming two of the most popular. With both companies offering such great products, it can be difficult to choose the one to go with.

We have compared the two foods for you, to help you choose which is best for your canine pal. Read on for our in-depth comparison.

A Sneak Peek at the Winner: Ollie Dog Food

While both foods are great for your pooch and have tons of happy customers, we feel that Ollie edged just ahead of The Farmer’s Dog for a couple of reasons. First, Ollie has a few more key ingredients that we like and a handful of snack options, whereas The Farmer’s Dog has just four meal options. Second, Ollie offers beef, chicken, turkey, and lamb recipes, all packed with human-grade protein sources, and there’s a grain-inclusive recipe too.

That said, both The Farmer’s Dog and Ollie offer recipes with only the finest ingredients and high protein levels of up to 11%, and can deliver fresh straight to your door, so either brand is a great option. If you’d like to know more, we provided an in-depth analysis of the two foods here.

About Ollie

Ollie was started in 2016 by three dog lovers — Alex Douzet, Gabby Sloane, and Randy Jimenez — when they noticed the dubious ingredients in many popular dog food brands and saw the value in creating fresh, homemade dog food. The company has grown rapidly since, and now the team is split between New York and Pennsylvania, creating its popular recipes in a USDA-approved kitchen.

Four Great Recipes

The company creates vet-designed recipes that are freshly cooked and pre-portioned, with four recipes to choose from: beef, chicken, lamb, and turkey. The meals are packed with real, human-grade animal protein and organ meats and carefully selected fruits and vegetables, including sweet potato, peas, and spinach. There are no fillers, grains like corn, soy, or wheat, and no artificial flavors, preservatives, or by-products.

Nutrition

Ollie is more expensive than most other dog food options, but it’s a good idea to take a careful look at the potential benefits of feeding this type of food to your dog versus the potential health consequences of feeding them less-nutritious food. Ollie’s recipes are packed with only the best ingredients, which may improve the lifespan of your dog, help their overall health, and hopefully, result in far fewer visits to the vet.

How Does It Work?

Ordering from Ollie is easy. Simply fill in your dog’s profile, which includes age, weight, breed, and any allergies that they may have, and Ollie will customize your dog’s recipes based on their profile. The food then gets delivered on a regular schedule that you can customize. Each meal is made fresh and then frozen right away to ensure freshness. The food is packaged in a convenient, customized portion designed for your pooch.

About The Farmer’s Dog

The Farmer’s Dog was created when the company’s founder, Brett Podolsky, had a dog that suffered from digestion issues, and no food on the market seemed to alleviate it. A vet suggested that he make homemade food, and his dog’s issues disappeared overnight. This sparked an idea, and along with co-founder Jonathan Yoni Regev, Podolsky set out to make the same homemade, healthy food available to a larger market.

Recipes

The company creates four recipes with four protein sources: chicken, beef, pork, and turkey. These are developed by board-certified, American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) professionals and made with human-grade ingredients. These recipes are free from fillers and preservatives and delivered within days of cooking to preserve nutrients. The company also uses eco-friendly packaging that is pre-portioned and individually packaged, which is great if you have more than one dog.

Nutrition

The Farmer’s Dog recipes are packed with USDA-approved ingredients and are flash-frozen to preserve nutrients. The meals are complete and balanced according to Association of American Feed Control Officials standards, with locally sourced ingredients, including healthy vegetables like carrots, spinach, kale, and green beans. While this food is more expensive than most commercially produced foods, it will almost certainly result in a far healthier pooch in the long run.

How Does It Work?

Similar to Ollie and other fresh food delivery services, The Farmer’s Dog first requires that you fill in a questionnaire outlining the age, weight, breed, and size of your dog, and customizes a meal plan accordingly. The company works closely with vets who calculate the optimal caloric needs for your dog, and the meals are then cooked, flash-frozen, and delivered within days of production.

The 3 Most Popular Ollie Dog Food Recipes

1. Ollie Fresh Beef Recipe

The Beef Recipe from Ollie is packed with not only the highest quality lean beef but also with highly nutritious organ meats, including beef liver and beef kidney. This gives the recipe a protein content of 9% overall and moisture content of 70%. It includes healthy vegetables like sweet potatoes, which are high in minerals and a great source of fiber, and peas, an additional source of protein and great for skin, eye, and heart health. The recipe also contains rosemary, a safe and natural anti-microbial, and blueberries, a natural antioxidant.

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2. Ollie Fresh Chicken Recipe

Ollie’s Fresh Chicken recipe contains human-grade chicken as the first ingredient, with chicken liver added. It contains fish oil for a great source of omega fatty acids to help with a luxurious coat, blueberries for a natural antioxidant source, and healthy vegetables like carrots and spinach, which is high in iron. It has a great protein content overall of 10%, with a low-fat content at only 3%.

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3. Ollie Fresh Turkey Recipe

Packed with human-grade turkey breast as the first ingredient and added turkey liver, the Turkey Recipe has the highest protein content of Ollie’s recipes at 11%. The recipe also contains pumpkin for a healthy source of fiber to aid digestion, carrots for eye and heart health, and chia seeds, which are a great source of essential minerals. The included fish oil will give your pooch a shiny coat with the essential omega fatty acids, and the added blueberries are a great natural source of antioxidants.

The 3 Most Popular The Farmer’s Dog Dog Food Recipes

1. The Farmer’s Dog Turkey Recipe

The Turkey recipe from The Farmer’s Dog contains USDA-approved turkey as the first ingredient and fish oil packed with essential omega fatty acids for a smooth and healthy coat. It has a 9% protein content overall. The second ingredient is chickpeas, which are a great source of fiber and fairly high in protein. The recipe contains other great vegetables like carrots, broccoli, spinach, and parsnip, which are healthy carbohydrate sources.

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2. The Farmer’s Dog Pork Recipe

Packed with USDA-approved pork as the first ingredient and added pork liver, the Pork Recipe from The Farmer’s Dog is a great alternative to the usual chicken and beef recipes currently available. The recipe also contains fish oil, which is rich in essential omega fatty acids, and healthy vegetables, like sweet potatoes, green beans, and cauliflower, which are healthy carbohydrate sources for an added energy boost.

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3. The Farmer’s Dog Beef Recipe

Packed with USDA-approved beef as the first ingredient and added beef liver, the Beef Recipe from The Farmer’s Dog has the highest protein content of all its recipes (11%) and comes from quality protein sources. The recipe also has sweet potato and lentils — great sources of fiber — and carrots, kale, and sunflower seeds. The recipe, like all The Farmer’s Dog recipes, also contains a vitamin and mineral blend that includes calcium and vitamins E, B12, and D3.

Recall History of Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog

At the time of writing, there has not been a recall of either Ollie or The Farmer’s Dog foods.

Ollie vs. The Farmer’s Dog Comparison

Ingredients

Both Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog offer recipes with human-grade, high-quality ingredients. Ollie in particular slow-cooks its recipes to ensure that the nutrients are kept minimally damaged, and some of the recipes contain superfoods, like chia seeds. The Farmer’s Dog’s and Ollie’s recipes are all produced in USDA-approved kitchens, which is great peace of mind, and both are formulated by veterinary nutritionists. Lastly, both companies’ recipes are free from fillers, artificial ingredients, and preservatives.

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Recipes

Both Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog have four available recipes, which include protein sources like chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and lamb. Ollie may have the slight edge over The Farmer’s Dog in this department, though, because they also offer a grain-inclusive recipe, while The Farmer’s Dog does not. This is important due to the FDA’s recent investigation into grain-free diets and the risk of heart disease. Also, all of Ollie’s recipes contain organ meats as the second-listed ingredient, making them potentially more nutritious per calorie overall.

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Treats

Since The Farmer’s Dog does not offer any additional treats in its plan, Ollie wins in the treat department. Ollie has four different treat options: sweet potato slices, turkey strips, beef strips, and chicken strips, any of which can be added to your regular subscription service.

Customizability

Both Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog require you to provide information about your dog to customize recipes according to your dog’s weight, age, breed, activity levels, and any known medical issues. However, The Farmer’s Dog takes this a step further by enabling you to add specific health issues to your dog’s profile, allowing the company to further refine the meals. The company also lets you order supplemental plans to mix with your current subscription.

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Price

For both Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog, the price of your subscription will depend on the age, size, and breed of your dog and on the recipes that you choose. Both services have plans starting from $2 per day, although it will be higher for larger dogs. Without specific details about your dog, it’s difficult to estimate a price.

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Packaging

The food packs from Ollie are flat and easily stack into a freezer. There is one day’s worth of food in each pack. The Farmer’s Dog, on the other hand, has multiple meals per pack, up to four days’ worth, depending on the size of your dog. This is inconvenient, although does reduce waste and helps keep the cost down.

Most of Ollie’s packaging is either made from recycled materials or is recyclable, but the plastic food trays are not reusable. The Farmer’s Dog’s packaging is labeled with your dog’s name with feeding instructions and the packing date, and since the packs are larger, there is reduced packaging overall. All the packaging from The Farmer’s Dog is either biodegradable or recyclable.

The single-day packs from Ollie win for convenience, but the larger packs from The Farmer’s Dog are better for the environment.

In Conclusion

While both Ollie and The Farmer’s Dog are great services and we highly recommend either one for your pooch, we feel that Ollie just edges ahead. It has a variety of treats, a grain-inclusive recipe as an option, and a larger percentage of organ meats in its recipes. We also love the convenience of Ollie’s single-meal packaging because it makes feeding time easier.

In all other metrics, including price, ingredients, and packaging, we feel that the two brands are on par, and it is only due to having more available options that Ollie edges ahead.

Both companies make great meals with superior ingredients, however, and you can’t go wrong with either choice!

• See also: Nutro vs Blue Buffalo Dog Food: Our Comparison