Finding the right dog food for your pet isn’t easy.
There is a range of options for dog parents whether it’s dry food, wet food, raw diets or freshly prepared human-grade meals.
Owning two fussy dogs, I know how stressful it can feel when your pets won’t eat their food even though you know they must be hungry.
In recent years, there’s been a shift towards freshly prepared dog meals that are delivered right to your doorstep.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at Ollie and Pet Plate to get a better understanding of what these dog food delivery companies offer dog owners.
Editor's note: The content on this website is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as veterinary, medical or professional advice. The content of our articles does not constitute veterinary advice. It’s always best to speak with your vet or a certified pet nutritionist before making any changes to your pet's diet or feeding routine.
We’ll look at the the values of both companies, the recipes on offer, packaging and preparation as well as the customer reviews.
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Ollie – The Basics
Website: ollie.com
Ollie provide fresh and healthy dog meals (Photo: Ollie)
Ollie have a clear motive: they want to help dog owners to feed their dogs the smart way.
Instead of using traditional kibble or dry food that could be full of unwanted additives, Ollie will instead provide healthy dog meals that are free from artificial ingredients.
Ollie state on their website that they only use human-grade ingredients, such as USDA-approved meat and fresh vegetables.
To get started with Ollie, you’ll need to enter some key details about your dog to help this dog food company tailor their meals to your specific pup.
These questions can range from age, breed, size, body type, activity level as well as potential allergies.
Ollie have four different recipes to offer hungry pups: Hearty Beef Eats, Chicken Goodness, Healthy Turkey Feast and Tasty Lamb Fare.
If you’re going to go with a dog food delivery company, you want your meals to be delivered to your house intact and on time. Ollie have a flexible schedule that you can customise if something comes up.
So what can you expect to find in your first Ollie delivery? Well you box will have trays of dog food that are packaged in special modified atmospheric packaging. Although they don’t have pre-portioned packaging, Ollie provide a custom scooper so you won’t have to worry about overfeeding or underfeeding your dog.
Pet Plate – The Basics
Website: www.petplate.com
PetPlate is one of many dog food delivery companies (Photo: PetPlate)
Pet Plate promise pet owners to provide real food cooked fresh for your dog.
So that means personalized meals for your precious pooch, ready to eat when they’re delivered to your door.
Just like Ollie, Pet Plate only use real ingredients in their human-grade kitchen. So you won’t find any rendered meats, by products, artificial preservatives, colors or flavours in their food.
As with most dog food delivery companies, the onus is on the pet parent to provide ample information about their canine companion to help Pet Plate tailor their meals to your dog’s requirements.
They offer four different recipes: Barkin’ Beef, Chompin’ Chicken, Lip Lickin’ Lamb and Tail Waggin’ Turkey.
Pet Plate store their meals in pre-portioned containers, so there’s no messing around at mealtime. It’s quick and easy to serve.
Their meals are formulated by their veterinary nutritionist, while Pet Plate’s website explains that their food includes their proprietary blend of vitamins and minerals.
In short, their website is promising the healthiest, tastiest meals, ever.
Things To Consider When Picking Dog Food Delivery
• Ingredients – For dog owners ready to make the switch to freshly prepared dog meals, it’s imperative that dog food delivery companies are using healthy and human-grade ingredients. We want peace of mind knowing that our precious pooches are eating a complete and balanced diet.
• Recipe Variety – Some dogs can be picky when it comes to dinnertime. There’s no worse feeling than seeing your dog turn their snout up at the food in their bowl. That’s why it’s imperative pet parents are given a selection of different recipes to keep even the pickiest of pets interested.
• Expert Input – We want peace of mind knowing that our dogs are getting a complete and balanced diet. Seeing that companies use experts in the dog nutrition field provide vital peace of mind. Although Ollie have experts on board, we couldn’t find their names on their website. Pet Plate have a vet called Dr Renee Streeter to formulate their meals.
• Packaging And Preparation – It’s vital that dog food delivery companies can dispatch your pup’s meals on time and do everything possible to ensure they arrive intact and unspoilt. Ollie and Pet Plate have different approaches here. Ollie use a customisable scooper, which can be reused to cut down your carbon footprint. Pet Plate have pre portioned packets that mean minimal fuss but there’s more waste materials to dispose of.
• Ordering Experience – Whether you’re tech savvy or not, you want the ordering process to be simple and swift. At the same time, dog food delivery companies need to strike a balance and ask a sufficient number of questions to ensure the meals are tailored to your dog.
• Price – Feeding your pet freshly prepared dog meals is going to cost a little more than traditional brands you’d find at the supermarket. While you should expect to pay a premium price, you shouldn’t have to overpay.
• Delivery schedule – For pet parents with a hectic work schedule, a long commute or busy social life, you’ll want to have the flexibility to choose a delivery date and time that works for you.
Ollie vs Pet Plate – Our Recommendation
So, who do we rate higher, Ollie or Pet Plate?
While we like both options, Ollie is our preferred option. It started with signing up to their subscription service. The instructions were easy to follow, while they had attractive visuals to help guide you along your path.
Ollie provide pet parents with a customisable scooper rather than pre portioned packaging. It’s a more eco-friendly approach rather than having to dispose of plastic packaging every time you feed your dog.
Crucially, their meals were a big hit with our taste tester, a seven-year old Alaskan Klee Kai called Mercer. Previously fussy at dinnertime, the Mini Husky loved his Ollie food. It was great to see Mercer motivated when it came to feeding time. So a big thumbs up from Mercer and his Mom.
You can check out our dedicated Ollie dog food review, including more details about how Ollie transformed Mercer’s attitude towards mealtime.
Having said all that, Pet Plate are a decent option. They’ve got four recipes on offer just like Ollie.
You can have peace of mind knowing that their meals have been created by Pet Plate’s vet with your dog’s best interests in mind.
What Are Customers Saying About Ollie And Pet Plate?
Ollie gets 4.4 stars out of 5 based upon over 145 reviews on independent website Trustpilot.
A dog owner called Jasmine highlighted Ollie’s excellent customer service:
My dog goes absolutely crazy for their food. The beef and turkey recipes really made his poops consistent in hardness and in schedule. Unfortunately, lamb just wasn’t his stomach choice. So I contacted them and Lisa my customer service representative was fantastic. They fixed the problem within 24 hours and I am overall very happy with customer service and meals for my companion.
Another dog owner called Clara is thrilled with the quality of their meals:
I feel super comfortable feeding this food to my dog. It comes on time and the one time it was delayed I was offered a new shipment (due to concerns of freshness). The price is also comparable to kibble/canned food but a lot better. You can customize how often you get it, how much is included in each shipment, and what type of meat you receive.
We couldn’t find any Pet Plate review on independent websites such as Trustpilot so we were limited to researching their review on their website.
They’ve got an average rating of 4.69 stars out of 5 based upon over 250 reviews.
One French Bulldog owner was delighted with the food’s positive effect:
I have a white French Bulldog and he dog loves the food. His tear stains are clearing up and he his digestive symptoms are gone. When he had an issue with one of the flavors, the customer service team quickly handled it.
One customer with two Yorkshire Terriers offered some constructive feedback:
My 2 Yorkies can be picky eaters but they do like Pet Plate. The only thing I wish they would change is the texture. The meat is so ground up that it is like caned dog food, I wish in was more chunkier. That would make it easier for them to eat and look more like home cooked meals like I feed them.
Ollie And Pet Plate Coupon Codes and Discounts
While we were unable to find a Pet Plate discount, we did come across an offer for new Ollie customers.
Our readers can get 50% off their first order from Ollie when using the coupon code “HELLOBARK” at checkout. To avail of this offer, click this link and use the “HELLOBARK” discount code.
Anything Else To Consider?
If you’re thinking about changing your dog’s diet, we recommend speaking to your vet to get their advice.
Usually companies such as Ollie and Pet Plate will recommend making a gradual switch to their food over the course of two to four weeks.
So you may want to start of with 25 per cent Ollie or Pet Plate before increasing to 50 per cent, 75 per cent before feeding your pooch 100 per cent freshly cooked meals.
However, we’re not experts so please contact your local vet or contact the dog food delivery company if you’re unclear.
Wrapping Things Up – Final Thoughts
Ollie provide fresh and healthy dog meals (Photo: Ollie)
We’ve reached the end of our Ollie and Pet Plate comparison article.
Ollie is our favourite option given their human-grade meals and recipe variety. They provide a customisable scooper with your pup’s meals to ensure you exert appropriate portion control.
Our taste tester, Mercer the eight-year old Alaskan Klee Kai, really enjoyed their meals and went on to sign up to Ollie after their trial – which was a great indicator.
Having said that, if you like what Pet Plate have to offer, you won’t go wrong with this dog food company either.
Ollie have the slight edge on Pet Plate but irrespective of what company you opt for, you can get some peace of mind knowing that your dog is eating a healthy and nutritious food.
Our readers can get 50% off their first order from Ollie when using the coupon code “HELLOBARK” at checkout. To avail of this offer, click this link and use the “HELLOBARK” discount code.
