The best dog food delivery services are convenient, healthy and reasonably priced. But figuring out which service to opt for requires some shopping around. The good news: We’re here to share vet-approved advice on which dog food delivery services are worth considering. With a browse of our buying guide, you’ll be that much closer to getting customized, high-quality food for Fido delivered right to your doorstep.
Veterinary nutritionist-approved Nom Nom is our top pick for the best dog food delivery services.
ILLUSTRATION: FORBES / PHOTO: RETAILER
But before you make any changes to your dog’s lifestyle, remember to check in with your veterinarian. According to The American Kennel Club, a sudden switch in food supply could cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting, diarrhea, and a decreased appetite. Instead, a slower transition—perhaps over the course of a week—is ideal. And the good news: When your dog does finally adjust to their new, nutritious, food, their energy levels could increase, their coats could get shinier and they might just be happier overall. If you’re considering making the switch but don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered: Read on for the best dog food delivery services to upgrade your pup’s diet.
MOST POPULAR
Amount of options: Four pre-portioned recipes | Packaging: Eco-friendly and individually packaged | Additional offerings: Supplements | Personalized plans: Yes | AAFCO-Compliant: Yes
Nom Nom offers well-balanced, fresh pre-portioned meals for both cats and dogs. Best of all, it comes highly recommended by several of the vets we spoke to. “Nom Nom is my personal favorite dog food delivery service,” says Dr. Erica Irish, DVM, a veterinary advisor for Woof Whiskers. She adds that the brand’s diets are crafted by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist who follows guidelines established by Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
Dr. Renee Streeter, DVM, DACVN, Veterinary Nutritionist, also noted that NomNom works closely with nutritionists to design their meals, and that they have supplements and kits to help manage your dog’s microbiome.
Nom Nom’s delivery service is easy to use. The brand sends pre-packaged meals (two a day) directly to your doorstep, so all pet parents need to do is open one and pour it in the bowl. Each package has the name and a list of all the ingredients in it, so there’s no question about what you’re feeding your dog.
Nom Nom offers four dog recipes—Beef Mash, Chicken Cuisine, Pork Potluck and Turkey Fare—and you can select from several delivery frequencies, including every week, every two weeks or every four weeks. The pre-portioned meals cater to your pet’s unique dietary needs and have been shown to improve energy in the first week and stamina after the first three months. Plus, if you don’t know which recipe your pet will like best, you can try samples with no subscription necessary.
Pros:
Samples offered with no subscription
Large variety of options available
Full-time veterinary nutritionist on staff to advise on meals
Fresh food made in-house, not frozen
Cons:
Can get pricey
Difficult to customize meals and plans online
Amount of options: Six recipes | Packaging: Recyclable | Additional offerings: Organic treats and supplement cookies | Personalized plans: Yes | AAFCO-Compliant: Yes
PetPlate is a great option for anyone looking for a vet-recommended dog food delivery service that strips away the hassle of sourcing, cooking and measuring. Unlike other dog food delivery services, each day’s meals also includes organic treats and supplement cookies that are meant to help with digestion and mobility.
Developed by Dr. Streeter, a board-certified veterinarian nutritionist, PetPlate’s meals are a balanced option for dogs of any breed. “Depending on your dog’s needs it is nice to have a diet that is made from whole meats, digestible carbohydrates, has various fiber sources and contains fruits, and vegetables,” says Dr. Streeter.
Consequently, PetPlate meals are made with human-grade and whole ingredients—essentially, the same sorts of ingredients you’re eating with a knife and fork. Meal options include Barkin’ Beef, Chompin’ Chicken, Tail Waggin’ Turkey and Lip Lickin’ Lamb.
To get started, PetPlate asks that you share your pup’s unique characteristics to get a timely meal plan catered to fit their nutritional needs and preferences. All meals can be served cold or warmed-up in the microwave-safe (and recyclable) containers.
Pros:
Includes organic treats for digestion
Made with human-grade preservative-free ingredients
Catered to your dog’s nutritional needs
Cons:
Expensive
Large containers take up storage space in refrigerator
Food needs to be consumed quickly after defrosting
Editor’s Pick
Amount of options: Four human-grade recipes | Packaging: Recyclable | Additional offerings: Healthy dog treats | Personalized plans: Yes | AAFCO-Compliant: Yes
Ollie is another popular meal delivery service that gets a stamp of approval from Dr. Irish, who says the brand offers nutritionally sound dog food developed by animal nutritionists. There are four human-grade recipes to choose from, including beef, turkey, chicken and lamb. Each recipe also includes fruit (like blueberries and cranberries), plant-based proteins (like chickpeas, lentils, and peas), and leafy greens and root vegetables (like kale and sweet potatoes). Ollie does not use fillers, artificial flavorings or preservatives.
Unlike some of the other brands on this list in which you can see the chunks of meat and veggies, Ollie is very well ground up, so it looks very uniform in texture and color aside from some visible peas or other veggies in certain recipes.
Dr. Streeter also notes that “Ollie only uses 100{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} human-grade ingredients which are highly digestible, and similar to PetPlate and NomNom, personalize its meal plans based on your dog’s caloric needs.”
Should you try it, the starter box has everything you need to get going, including two weeks’ worth of packs that can be stored in your freezer until serving time, a feeding guide (customized based on the profile you filled out on your dog to help ensure the transition goes smoothly), a “pup-tainer” to store leftovers in and a serving scoop to help dish out portions.
“The packaging and easy-to-follow directions on how much to serve your particular pup made Ollie very simple,” Forbes Vetted executive director Cory Baldwin noted after testing Ollie at home. “I was also shocked to find that some of the recipes actually smelled appetizing, and of course my dog went crazy for the stuff—especially the lamb flavor. The only drawback for me was finding room for all the meals in my freezer.”
Pros:
Human-grade, preservative-free recipes
Recipes developed by veterinary nutritionists
Includes a scoop for easy portioning
Cons:
Cannot be customized to all your dog’s health needs—only calories and allergies
Takes up significant freezer space
Amount of options: Four recipes and pre-portioned meals | Packaging: Eco-friendly | Additional offerings: No | Personalized plans: Yes | AAFCO-Compliant: Yes
While “human-grade” is a buzzword that brands throw around when describing dog food, it shouldn’t be mistaken for something you can eat, too. Instead, the term refers to how the food is handled, not the actual ingredients used for making the meals. According to Tufts University, human-grade dog food must be stored, handled, processed and transported according to the same regulations used for human food. But with pet cancer, diabetes and obesity on the rise, some studies have shown that there is an increase in overall health when dogs consume fresh pet food versus the processed kind, which is why brands like Farmer’s Dog lean into minimally processed human-grade food.
To start a personalized plan with Farmer’s Dog, you’ll need to enter information like your dog’s breed, age, activity level, weight and food sensitivities. The food—made fresh under the guidance of a veterinarian to meet industry standards for dogs—are then shipped to your home a few days later as pre-portioned meals. There are no preservatives or fillers, nothing is processed, and all of the ingredients used meet the USDA standards for human consumption.
While most dog food delivery services offer recyclable packaging, Farmer’s Dog goes a step further and offers packaging made of a cornstarch wrap that literally melts away when run under hot water in the sink. Each package also has your dog’s name on it, so you know for sure that it was customized specifically for them. Best of all, if your pup doesn’t love the food, they’ll send out additional recipes to try out, or you could choose to get a refund, as long as you donate the meals to an animal shelter.
Raw diets, which involve feeding your dog raw meats, organs and bone, have become increasingly popular over the last few years. Despite their rising popularity, raw diets are somewhat controversial and not recommended by all vets. Dr. Irish warns there’s an increased risk of illness—most notably caused by salmonella and E.coli—for both you and your pet.
But according to Dr. Countner, some dogs do well on this kind of diet and if you want to feed your pet a raw diet, delivery services offer safely prepared meals to minimize your own handling of raw meat. “There are some great raw foods on the market that are well balanced, safely prepared with minimal pathogen risk and that dogs love,” says Dr. Countner.
When it comes to choosing a meal delivery service that sends raw food to your doorstep, We Feed Raw is one of the most popular options, offering meal plans that consist of 80{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} muscle meat, 10{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} organ meat and 10{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} edible bone, as well as a vitamin and mineral mix. The recipes are formulated by an animal nutritionist, and the brand uses USDA human-grade meats from farms in the USA. There are no preservatives, artificial flavors, added antibiotics or hormones. The brand also offers meal plans, bulk patties, treats and bones. Plus, all ingredients are subject to high-pressure processing, designed to neutralize pathogenic bacteria.
To get started, choose a meal plan that’s customized based on your pet’s age, breed and preferences, or order your meals in bulk and save on shipping costs.
Pros:
Recipes made by a veterinarian nutritionist
Preservative-free and processed to neutralize bacteria
New customers who sign up for Autoship get 35{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} off their first order.
JustFoodForDogs focuses on making well-balanced daily meals for healthy pets and those who need extra help due to medical needs, emphasizing that it works closely with veterinary nutritionists to design their meals. Dr. Streeter also points out that JustFoodForDogs has prescription meals.
For prescription meals, the process is a bit more involved. Pet parents submit their dog’s medical records and the JustFoodForDogs nutritional team builds a customized diet. Once the diet formulation is complete, you have two options: prepared or DIY.
The prepared diets operate much like others on this list, with the brand making and packaging the meals in their custom kitchens to be sent to you. For the DIY option, you prepare your dog’s food yourself and JustFoodForDogs prepares a custom nutrient blend to include. The blend is meant to pair with your specific pet’s diet to ensure it’s complete. Of course, you should always consult with your own veterinarian before switching your dog’s diet, especially if they have medical issues.
Pros:
Offers customized prescription meals based on your dog’s medical records
Works with veterinary nutritionists to make recipes
You can consult veterinarians with meal questions
Cons:
Amount of options: Hundreds | Packaging: N/A | Additional offerings: Treats, dog toys, accessories and more | Personalized plans: No | AAFCO-Compliant: Varies from brand to brand
If you’re happy with your dog’s current kibble or wet food diet, you can still get the convenience of delivery through Chewy. The online pet retailer sells dog and cat food from top brands like Hill’s Science Diet, Purina, Iams, Pedigree and more, and you can use the AutoShip feature to have pet supplies delivered on a customized recurring schedule. Plus, many products are available for discounted prices when you sign up for AutoShip, helping to save you money each month.
Additionally, Chewy is known for superb customer service—to ensure you’re happy with your purchase, Chewy allows you to return items for up to a year.
Pros:
Wide variety of easily-accessible brands and foods
You can customize scheduled deliveries
Inexpensive
24/7 customer service
Cons:
Unreliable inventory and delivery times (things can sell out)
Not customized to your dog’s dietary needs
Amount of options: Six protein options | Packaging: Eco-friendly | Additional offerings: Yes | Personalized plans: Yes | AAFCO-Compliant: Yes
If you’re not looking to ditch dry kibble but still want a better option for your pup, try Spot & Tango’s UnKibble. Unlike traditional kibble, this UnKibble is made without meat meals or powdered “mystery meats,” and it’s available in three flavors: Beef & Barley, Chicken & Brown Rice and Cod & Salmon.
Like others on this list, Spot & Tango offers ready-to-serve meals made with no artificial additives, preservatives or fillers. The brand’s fresh recipes are made from only a dozen non-GMO and hormone-free ingredients, and each one is complete and balanced for puppies and adults according to AAFCO’s nutritional standards. Recipes include Turkey and Red Quinoa, Beef and Millet and Lamb and Brown Rice.
Pros:
Fresh preservative-free recipes
Locally-sourced, human-grade ingredients
Customizable options
Cons:
Only three dry food recipes
Expensive compared to traditional kibble options
Amount of options: Two flavors | Packaging: Eco-friendly | Additional offerings: Treats | Personalized plans: No | AAFCO-Compliant: Yes
Good for your dog and good for the planet, Jiminy’s is known for their commitment to making tasty, sustainable dog food. The brand uses insect protein (largely cricket) and complex carbohydrates (like oats, sweet potato and flax seed), both necessary for maintaining healthy muscles and joints, as well as giving your dog the energy to play and go for walks. It’s also hypoallergenic, meaning it’s good for dogs who have allergies or tend to get upset stomachs.
What makes it stand out, though, is how small of a footprint it has compared to other dog food brands, because it uses less water and less land to produce. For instance, Jiminy’s uses 67{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} less land than a brand that uses chickens and saves 220 gallons of water per bag. At $46 for a 10 pound bag, it’s more expensive than many of the dry food bags you’d find in your local pet food store, but given the quality and eco-friendliness, we’re here for it. Be sure to start small, though, to make sure your pooch likes the flavor.
Pros:
Eco-friendly
Helps your dog maintain healthy muscles and joints
Easy to order on Amazon
Cons:
Expensive for a bulk bag
Not customizable
Amount of options: Four meal options with option of supplements and protein mix-ins | Packaging: Eco-friendly | Additional offerings: Protein mix-ins, dry food, supplements | Personalized plans: Yes | AAFCO-Compliant: Yes
While most pet food delivery brands want to know your dog’s age, breed and activity level in their initial assessment, Hungry Bark goes a step beyond: It wants to know your health goals for your dog. That helps the brand build a custom meal plan for your pet that not only includes dry food (recipes include Superfoods with Lamb and Turkey, Superfoods with Salmon, Superfoods with Chicken, Turkey, and Brown Rice and superfoods with Turkey and Duck), but also supplements and high protein mix-ins.
The supplement chews may look like treats, but they help with things like anxiety, joint, heart health, digestion, allergies and just getting in their regular vitamins.
Pros:
Shelf-stable
Customizable meal plan options based on your dog’s health goals
Made with farm-raised, hormone-free meat
Cons:
Not pre-portioned
More expensive than traditional dry foods and kibble
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The Forbes Vetted editors are die-hard dog lovers. Using our passion for pooches and obsession with product research, we took a deep-dive into dog food delivery services and pondered which we’d consider for our own pups. Our research included reading tips from The American Kennel Club and Tufts University and learning about Association of American Feed Control (AAFCO) standards. We also tapped several experts to give their best pet feeding advice, including veterinary nutritionists. One brand, Ollie, also comes personally recommended from a Forbes Vetted staffer (and her canine companion).
In addition to articles about feeding Fido, we also written, researched and in some cases, tested a slew of pet-related content. This includes other expert-backed pet nutrition stories like our guides to the best large breed puppy foods and healthy dry dog foods.
We refresh this story regularly and it was last updated in February 2023.
How We Chose The Best Pet Food Delivery Services
Many factors went into narrowing down best dog food delivery services including popularity, convenience, variety and cost. We also considered advice from veterinary nutritionists and made sure each service offered AAFCO-compliant options.
We were able to analyze each service through the lens of being pup parents, ourselves and included options to cater to different types of dog owners and nutritional needs; you’ll find picks for raw diets, customized diets, kibble and more on this list. Costs were factored in, as well, and we added services that can work for nearly any budget. Each site was tested for ease of use and plan customizability to ensure that the service would truly make your (and your canine’s) life easier—not more complicated.
What To Consider When Looking For A Dog Food Delivery Service
Before you sign up for a dog food delivery service, you’re going to want to make sure it actually fits the needs of both you and your dog. Ahead, find recommendations of what to look for when scanning different services:
Nutrition
The most important thing to consider is the nutrition of each service—in other words, it’s a good idea to look at the specific ingredients that make up the food being delivered. Take a cue from Dr. Ian Dunbar, a leading veterinarian and animal behaviorist: “First up would be a complete and highly digestible protein to ensure your dog has all ten essential amino acids,” he advises. “Second, a good source of fiber, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals. Third, the food should be cooked at a low temperature to ensure all the nutrients remain intact.” Your dog’s ideal diet might not be all that dissimilar to yours: It could include fresh or raw meats, digestible carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables.
Customizable Plans
Personalized meal plans for your dog can sometimes be more costly, but might still be worth it. Just like humans, all dogs have different needs, which means they can’t all eat the same exact food. Delivery services that allow you to input information about your dog, like their weight, breed and dietary restrictions, can result in food that better suit’s your dogs individual needs.
How The Food Is Made
Check whether the meals are made or vetted by licensed veterinarians or pet nutritionists on the brand’s staff. “By having a veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist on staff, they are ensuring that pet food is well-balanced, since dogs’ and cats’ needs are different than humans,” says Dr. Tori Countner, DVM, of Balanced Pet Vet in San Diego.
Price
Dog food delivery services vary in price pretty widely. Choose the cost that suits your lifestyle best, and be sure to factor in the number of shipments offered within each price bracket. There are plenty of great options that are also affordable.
AAFCO-Approval
An approval from the Association of American Feed Control (AAFCO) is an assurance that your pet’s meal is nutritionally complete or balanced. Before you hit checkout, make sure to look for an AAFCO statement on the back of the dog food bag, box or can, or scan the FAQ section on online meal delivery service platforms to get more information.
What Is The Best Pet Food Delivery Service?
If you’re looking to switch your dog over to a dog food delivery service, this is likely the question on your mind. In general, the best service is one that provides recipes customized to your dog’s health, medical and dietary needs. You want to be sure that your dog is getting what’s right for them. Additionally, the service should use whole, fresh ingredients that are minimally processed and packed with dog-friendly nutrients. Finally, check whether the service has veterinarians and nutritionists on staff. If a service can check off all the things above, it’s safe to say they’re a solid option.
If you’re looking for a solid recommendation, though, ask Dr. Countner: She says she’d go with Just Food For Dogs. “They have a variety of recipe options as well as veterinary prescription diets that you can order easily off of their website,” she explains. “They also have brick and mortar store locations around the US and conveniently in Petcos.”
Are Dog Food Subscriptions Worth it?
Yes—if you have the budget and storage space available. Dog food subscriptions can make life for both you and your dog easier in a number of ways. They’re definitely more convenient; for one thing, you’ll never run out of dog food so you don’t have to frantically run to the store on a random day. “It’s one less thing pet parents have to think about picking up at the store,” says Dr. Countner. Meals are customized to your dog’s specific nutritional needs, keeping their health in mind. You get peace of mind with fresh high-quality ingredients vetted by veterinarians and nutritionists as well as plenty of variety to choose from.
That said, again, you have to take your budget and storage space into account. Dog food subscriptions are expensive and often demand extra room in your freezer or refrigerator, as most meals need to be kept frozen. In the end, “this really depends on the dog’s needs as well as the human’s,” says Dr. Streeter. “If you are looking for a convenient way to obtain your dog food, a subscription provides that convenience.”
Is Fresh Dog Food The Same As Raw Food?
Fresh dog food and raw food are not the same, no. Fresh “usually refers to cooked or lightly cooked food made with minimal preservatives,” says Dr. Countner. “Raw diets do not go through a heating or cooking process.”
Fresh dog food is typically made in small batches, and then frozen or refrigerated to ensure freshness. They’re made with ingredients humans can eat as well, like fruits, vegetables, chicken and rice. Dr. Streeter notes that “some fresh dog foods are raw while others are cooked. Some raw foods are also in the form of kibble and would not be considered fresh.” Raw food generally contains raw muscle meat, organ meat and edible bone—things a dog might eat in the wild. Just like fresh food, you’ll need to keep raw food frozen.
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