Is It Weird That I Want to Be Just Like My Dog?
Every dog owner believes their pup is the best thing since peanut butter on a spoon. But my guy, Theo? He’s not like the others. His hair is sooo soft and shiny, and he’s always up for a jaunt, never sluggish or groggy. I’ve been to dog parks before—I know that not every dog is like him. It got me thinking: what, aside from my stellar parenting, could possibly be the reason for Theo’s superiority?
After wracking my brain for a bit, I realized it could very feasibly be the whole ingredient, minimally processed, human-grade dog food I switched him to a few months back… made by a brand called Ollie.
My Road to Ollie
Cut to four months ago. I kept seeing Instagram ads for Ollie’s extensive list of recipes (7 in total!) and rave reviews about the personalized menus they curate for each dog. They deliver custom boxes of food to your doorstep (with optional treat and supplement add-ons), and have received oodles of praise for their revolutionary approach to dog food. I’m a sucker for a deal, so when I read that Ollie offers 50% on your Starter Box, I figured we had to give them a shot. What was there to lose? (Nothing).
The rest, as they say, is history. I took the welcome quiz (which helps determine The0o’s portions based on key information about him) and Ollie recommended the Fresh Chicken with Carrots and the Baked Chicken recipes. Per Ollie’s “Welcome to the Pack” guide, I mixed Theo’s old food with their Fresh recipe at first so that his tummy could adjust. On day one he scarfed down the Ollie portion first, and to this day, he relishes every (now 100%) Ollie meal with a fervor that just wasn’t there before. And Theo loves to eat.
The (Ollie-Prompted) *Revelation*
A few weeks ago, while peeling back the wrapper on his Fresh Chicken with Carrots Recipe, I studied the ingredients more closely than I had before. Chicken, rice, carrots, peas, potatoes, spinach, cranberries… it was a shocking thought—could my dog have a better diet than me?
That fateful moment with Ollie’s nutrition label was pivotal. If my suspicions were true, then Theo’s clean, nourishing diet was the key player behind his salon-worthy coat, healthy energy levels, and overall joie de vivre. That meant I could (potentially) create the same effects for myself by imitating his clean eating habits.
With that, I decided to pull a page from Theo’s paybook by shopping, cooking, and eating with as many whole ingredients as were feasible (for my budget, schedule, and emotional wellbeing). Essentially, I wanted to treat myself the way Ollie treats Theo… very well.
My Foray Into Dog Food (Sort Of)
I kept it up for about a month… adding greens to every most meals, cooking at home whenever possible, baking instead of frying. In that short time, I noticed myself needing less coffee every morning and feeling I had better mental clarity throughout the day. By week three, there was a new pep in my step, and received a total of two (2) compliments on my hair. Coincidence? Doubtful.
It’s clear that my plan worked. And “the plan” was really very simple: to adopt Theo’s zest for life and generally buoyant persona by fueling myself with whole, fresh, thoughtfully curated meals. Theo sets an example for me in so many ways, and now I can add his wholesome eating to the list, too. (Thanks to Ollie!)
I (We) Owe It All to Ollie
If I learned anything this month it’s that (a) Theo lowkey eats better than I do, (b) what I eat shows up in how I feel every day, and (c) I am beyond happy that I chose Ollie for him. All dog food is not created equal, and nothing has been more illustrative of that than the difference I continue to see everyday.
This is not the mother in me talking… this is the informed conclusion of a scientist post-experiment. I don’t see myself separating Theo from his human-grade meals any time soon—and I don’t think he’d let me, for that matter.
