Ever since adopting my rescue pomchi Miso, I’ve realized the joy that comes with treating your pet like family — and for me, that begins with food. As I research the highest-quality options on the market, it didn’t take long for a flurry of pet startups to flood my social feeds with ads featuring lots of happy pups and delicious-looking bowls of fresh food. Once I consulted with our vet, I decided to try Ollie, a subscription-based company that specialized in frozen-fresh packs of food made from human-grade ingredients. From the first unboxing, Miso’s tail couldn’t stop wagging — and thus, we were officially hooked.
As much as Miso loved a wet-food diet, there were some cons. For starters, it wasn’t travel-friendly — and Miso is quite the jet-setter himself. Second, fresh wet food was also more expensive than supplementing with dry food, so you can imagine my joy when Ollie announced a forthcoming baked dry-food recipe made with the same top-notch ingredients as Miso’s fave wet-food packs. Luckily, the opportunity presented itself to test the new stuff out, and Miso obviously was more than game.
Since Miso had already been enjoying Ollie’s fresh chicken recipe for over a year, I was excited to see how the dry food compared. Because Miso adores chicken (and beef can sometimes give him the pup runs — TMI), I opted for the baked chicken recipe. Real chicken (as opposed to chicken meal) is the first ingredient, in addition to other recognizable natural ingredients like chickpeas, eggs, and veggies for a delicious, protein- and fiber-rich meal. It’s also minimally processed (yay), vet-formulated (yay), and free from preservatives or fillers (yay).
To determine Miso’s perfect Ollie portions, I took a five-minute quiz that asked about Miso’s age, breed, current weight, ideal weight, lifestyle, and dietary restrictions. The result: various options for fresh, mixed, and baked recipes. As a bonus, first-time customers get 60% off their first order (plus free goodies like a scoop and travel container), which put Miso’s baked plan at $17 a week ($6.80 for the first box).
I transitioned Miso to Ollie’s baked food over a week-long period (up to 10 days is recommended to avoid upsetting your dog’s sensitive stomach), slowly adding it to his previous morning kibble and Ollie fresh-food dinners. Once he was fully transitioned to baked food for his breakfast, a bag lasted about two weeks. (If you’re exclusively doing a dry-food diet, then a bag would probably last a week for a 10-pound, moderately active dog.)
I should say that one *truly incredible* thing about Ollie’s baked food is that the transition period was virtually seamless. Miso has had tummy issues in the past, and when I tried switching to another fresh-food brand, let’s just say his bowels straight up did not have a good time. This time, Miso immediately loved the stuff, and it loved him right back. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s a minimally processed, gently baked recipe or that Miso was already accustomed to Ollie’s food, but the fact that it very clearly agrees with his tummy was a great sign to me as a pet parent.
Seventeen dollars per week adds up fast and is significantly more expensive than purchasing a bulk-size bag of kibble. However, as I mentioned up top, taking care of a pet is an investment — and one that I take seriously for Miso’s health and happiness. Plus, $17 a week is like skipping delivery or takeout and making your dog’s day every day.
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