Get Joy Dog Food Review 2024: Good Enough?

Overview

Get Joy provides a comprehensive solution for pet parents, offering not only food and treats but also on-demand TeleVet services. This is particularly beneficial for those who find it difficult to visit a vet in person. The inspiration for Get Joy emerged in 2018, when founder Tom Arix began creating wholesome meals for his sick golden retriever, leading to the establishment of this comprehensive dog care service.

Get Joy prepares fresh meals that are beneficial for your dog's health. These meals are made from wholesome ingredients with no unwelcome additions. All its meals meet the AAFCO (The Association of American Feed Control Officials) standards, ensuring high quality. Plus, Get Joy has an on-site quiz to help you tailor the meals to your pup's specific dietary needs. Read on to learn more. 

Get Joy’s Meals: Healthy Foods with Lots of Customization Options

Get Joy has several product types on offer. We can categorize them into meals, treats, supplements, and gear. Fresh meals prove particularly beneficial for pets’ well-being and are the company's focus.

Below, find a breakdown of available recipes, treats, supplements, and accessories. 

Plans & Recipes: 4 Fresh Meals & 2 Freeze Dried Meals, Plus Treats

Get Joy had 2 meal types at the time of my research – Fresh Meals and Fresh Freeze Dried Meals. Fresh Meals are the provider's more popular products considering the number of customer ratings at the time (331:87).

One of the reasons for this may be the larger selection of proteins compared to the Fresh Freeze Dried Meals. If you opt for Fresh Meals, you can choose between dishes featuring chicken, beef, lamb, and turkey as key ingredients. 

Fresh Freeze Dried meals offer convenience for pet owners with a longer shelf life, but these meals only come in chicken and beef varieties. 

Get Joy's dog food delivery service also has trial bundles on offer. These sets, including the Fresh and Freeze Dried Bundles and The Works Sampler, are ideal for trying out the service before committing to recurring delivery. Each set includes a treat, too. 

Fresh Bundle contains all 4 fresh meals and a treat of your choice. But the Freeze Dried Bundle includes only a beef recipe. In other words, you cannot buy the chicken recipe in this particular set. But you can choose 1 of the treats to go with the meal. 

The Works Sampler is Get Joy's most extensive set. It includes both fresh and freeze-dried meals, along with a treat of your choice. This set offers all 4 Fresh Meals options, but only the beef recipe is available from the Fresh Freeze Dried selection.

Get Joy's Freeze Dried Treats selection features 3 choices. You can select from Superfood Beef Organ Treats available in heart, liver, and kidney variants. You choose which of these dog delicacies to include in a bundle if you opt for these kits. 

The pet food subscription service also offers Chews & Splits, featuring 3 product types. These are Bully Sticks, Bully Braids, and Antler Splits, each available in different versions. Bully Sticks come in 2 types – the standard and the Jumbo Bully Sticks. Antler Splits are available in Elk and Deer variants. 

Chews & Splits from Get Joy are available in various sets or sizes, depending on the product. You can buy Bully Sticks and Braids in single packages or sets of 3 or 5. For Elk Antler Splits, choose from Large, Extra Large, Jumbo, or Mega sizes. Deer Antler Splits are available in Large and Extra Large sizes.

Get Joy also offers a range of health-enhancing supplements, including Gut+, Joint+, and Calm+. These chews provide targeted and preventative digestive, mobility, and mood support, respectively.

If you click on Shop All after expanding the Shop Now drop-down menu in the header, you'll find various extras, too, namely hats, t-shirts, and a hoodie. By scrolling to the bottom of the page you'll also find a Gift Card.

Consider taking a meal customization quiz to tailor meals for 1 or more of your dogs. You’ll answer several questions in this survey and get recommended meals with serving sizes upon completion.

When customizing Get Joy's products, you'll answer specific questions about your dog. These include details about their current and ideal weight, weight goals (Lose, Maintain, or Gain), age, activity level (couch potato, athlete, etc.), and gender. You'll also provide information about your pet's breed and any potential protein allergies they may have.

You'll get the results upon completing the questionnaire. If you have more than 1 dog, simply take the quiz again. 

If your dog is female, you'll also have to answer whether she’s pregnant, nursing, or not. Depending on your pet's gender, you'll also have to specify if they're neutered or spayed. While I find the quiz helpful, I think it should include more details, like The Farmer's Dog's quiz, which is one of the very best I've taken.

You can customize Get Joy's products to fit your needs. Whether it's portion size, flavor, or anything else, customization is available for every product you choose. This flexibility extends to feeding 1 or more dogs.

Besides flavor, you can choose from 7 portion sizes ranging from 110 grams (158 calories per serving) to 500 grams (716 calories). If you take the meal personalization quiz and add a dog, you may choose to change the suggested portion size. Still, the company doesn't recommend it unless advised by a vet. 

With Get Joy's Fresh Freeze Dried recipes, you have several choices. You can choose the bag size, flavor, and quantity. You can also decide between Autoship & Save for regular deliveries and One-Time delivery. Also, select the delivery interval. Below these options, you'll find product details, including a Portion & Feeding Guide.

One limitation I found with the freeze-dried meals was that you could only choose between Chicken and Beef flavors for each dog. Even for fresh meals, you can only choose up to 2 of 4 flavors per dog. For a wider variety of Freeze Dried meals and more flexibility in recipe selection, I suggest exploring Open Farm.

You can customize bundles with Get Joy, too. The customization options are fewer but consistent across all 3 bundles. They include choosing 1 out of 3 treats, selecting the quantity, and deciding whether to supercharge the fresh and freeze-dried meals.

Consider supercharging your order if you have a large dog. This way, you'll get larger quantities of Fresh and Fresh Freeze Dried Meals to meet the dietary needs of pups weighing between 70 and 85 lbs.   

The supplier's fresh meals cater to pups with certain health concerns, like sensitive stomachs. Still, it doesn't have a special plan for dogs with allergies. If your companion suffers from skin allergies, I recommend checking out our Best Dog Food For Skin Allergies article to find options tailored to these specific health needs.

Get Joy works with veterinary nutrition and recipe formulation partners, including ACVN Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists. Moreover, animal science nutritionists with expertise in digestive and gut health craft the Freeze Dried Meals. They ensure the recipes meet AAFCO standards and are designed for optimal health. 

Ingredients: US-Sourced Human-Grade Products with No Fillers or Preservatives

The company sources organic and non-organic ingredients from USA farms. It adds supplements to fresh and freeze-dried recipes to ensure balance. Also, it creates meals using human-grade foods. Refer to our expert review for the best human-grade dog food delivery services. 

Most Get Joy meals within the same category (Fresh or Freeze Dried) share most ingredients. For the Fresh Meals, the type of oil used (such as fish, sunflower, or none) is the primary variable ingredient, aside from the main protein source. The lamb recipe is the only meal whose ingredients differ from other fresh meals, with extras including quinoa and cranberries. 

To provide a detailed assessment, I’ll focus on the Fresh Chicken Meal. Aside from the protein, which is among the best foods for dogs, the Chicken recipe contains brown rice, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, fish oil, flax seed, and turmeric. Brown rice is fiber-rich and helps ease constipation, while broccoli adds Vitamin C besides fiber. Carrots are good for eyes, teeth, and immunity.

Cauliflower is beneficial for eyesight, liver, muscles, and immunity. Fish oil is excellent for your dog's coat and skin, as well as flax seed. Turmeric serves primarily as a color and flavor enhancer. 

The dog food subscription service doesn’t add empty fillers, additives, preservatives, or any dubious ingredients to its meals and treats. 

Nutrition: Meals Cooked at Low Temperatures to Preserve Nutrients

I used the guaranteed analysis to find out the nutritional value of the chicken recipe. I found the following values:

• Crude protein (min.): 10%

• Crude fat (min.): 5%

• Crude fiber (max.): 2%

The team prepares meals by hand and cooks them at low temperatures to preserve their nutritional value. The company claims that its food finds its way to consumers quickly, remaining in storage for no more than a few weeks. 

What Makes Get Joy Different

Besides meals and treats for dogs, Get Joy also offers virtual veterinary services. You have the convenience of speaking to a veterinarian at any time of the day or night. This service provides immediate help, which can be especially useful when a physical vet is far away.

Unboxing: Meals Arrive Fresh in Fully Recyclable Packaging

Get Joy ensures that its meals are well protected during transit. Food is packed with dry ice, and each meal and treat is clearly labeled for easy identification. This packaging keeps the fresh meals frozen.

Upon arrival, store Get Joy's fresh meals in the freezer. For proper thawing, transfer them to the fridge 2 or 3 days before serving. If you’re in a hurry, defrost frozen food by immersing it in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes. The provider doesn’t recommend defrosting in the microwave. 

The Fresh Freeze Dried meals, on the other hand, don't need freezing or refrigeration. Store these in the pantry, and even after serving, you can reseal the package and continue to keep them there. You can prepare them with ease; simply add a bit of water before serving them to your pup.

The shelf life of fresh food is 4 months in the freezer and 3 days in the fridge. Fresh Freeze Dried meals can last 18 months if kept in a cool dry place. 

The pet food company has high environmental standards. When I reviewed Get Joy, it was on the verge of becoming a Certified B company. Simply put, all its packaging materials, including boxes and insulation, are at least made of recycled materials or recyclable, if not both. 

Prices: Costs Vary, but Subscribing Brings Good Discounts

The cost of your pet's diet with this company depends on various factors. Some of them are the meal type you're looking for, whether you choose 1 or 2 fresh meals when you go for this particular food, and your dog's size. Since I have 2 pups of different sizes and sexes, the cost of their meals was different. I'll break them down in the tables below. 

To give the tables more context, I'll briefly introduce my dogs. Timi is a very active little mixed-breed puppy under 1 year. He has no allergies and isn’t neutered. Judging by the size of his parents, I expect his ideal adult weight to be a bit less than 20 pounds. And I hope he maintains that weight since he is almost at full size. 

Dzeks is a young adult mixed-breed female. She weighs about 35 pounds and is moderately active (the Active option in the quiz). I think her weight is ideal and I hope she maintains it. She is not spayed, pregnant, or nursing. As for food allergies, she doesn't seem to like turkey. But I don't think it's an allergy because she'll eat it without consequences if there's nothing else in the bowl.

Speaking of bundles, their prices seem consistent regardless of the dog’s features since they are sold in bags. See the table below for the details:

Regarding Freeze Dried Treats and Chews & Splits, the prices are the following: 

If interested, you can buy various Get Joy extras:

Subscribing to Get Joy can lead to savings on your orders. This discount applies to meals and some treats, such as Elk and Deer Antler Splits. During my research for this review, I found that Superfood Beef Organ Treats weren’t included in this discount policy.

The shipping cost for your order depends on the total amount. Shipping is free for all purchases over $75, and $8.99 for others. This policy is universal, so whether you're in New York, Seattle, or Los Angeles, the shipping cost remains the same. Only Fairfield County customers pay a $4.99 service charge if their order doesn’t reach $75.

You can arrange a pickup if you live in or anywhere near Norwalk, Connecticut, where the company headquarters is. In this case, you don't pay for delivery. 

The dog food delivery service accepts several payment methods. You can pay with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express credit cards. You can also pay with Shop Pay and PayPal. 

The company doesn’t have a money-back guarantee. 

Shipping & Delivery: Flexible Scheduling & Delivery Across the Continental US

Get Joy ships products anywhere in the continental US. At the time of my review, it didn't deliver to Hawaii or Alaska. 

You can expect to receive your Get Joy order within 7 to 10 days after placing it, sometimes even sooner. In my inquiry about shipping times to New York, an agent mentioned that deliveries to the Big Apple typically take about 2 days. When you open an account with Get Joy, you can schedule deliveries from every week to every 6 weeks, depending on your preferences.

You can pause or cancel your deliveries from your account. If you need to reschedule a delivery after placing an order, I recommend reaching out to the company's customer support (more on this in a bit). 

Further, the company sends you a tracking number to your email. Also, rescheduling delivery is possible no later than 1 or 2 days before the scheduled ship date. The company processes delivery on Friday and fulfills it on Wednesday the following week. 

How Get Joy Works (Step by Step Guide)

You can shop as a guest or subscribe to enjoy membership benefits. Some advantages members enjoy are regular deliveries and discounts. Subscribing is easy and only takes 5 steps.

How to Sign Up (5 Easy Steps)

1. Click on the My Account icon in the top-right corner of the screen. After that, choose Create Account.

2. Fill out the necessary fields. Try to create a strong password that includes uppercase and lowercase letters, punctuation marks (!, ?, etc.), and symbols (i.e. $ and #).

3. You'll need to activate your account to continue. To do so, check your email for the message from Get Joy.

4. Review your account settings after redirection. 

5. Click on Your Pack to add your dogs. Then, select Get Started, and the side menu will open. 

Once you’ve added a dog, click on Edit next to their name to add another one if you have more pets. 

Managing Your Subscription

Through your Get Joy account, you can easily manage various aspects of your service. This includes updating billing information, mailing and physical addresses, changing products, and more. You can also review your order history and have the option to pause or cancel your subscription as needed.

You can also schedule a video call with a veterinarian from your account page. The session typically lasts 15 minutes. Don't forget to select a time zone. You can also schedule a live chat through the Televet Services feature. 

Customer Service: Helpful & Responsive Email & Live Chat

You can contact the team via live chat, email, phone call, or text message. Activate live chat by clicking on the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Send an email to [email protected]. Call or text at 203.296.3132. If you return items, send them to 22 Elizabeth Street, Norwalk, CT 06854.

The company has an FAQ sub-section in the Customer Care category in the header. But I find it rather basic and lacking many questions and answers most other pet food delivery services include among their FAQs. However, it makes up for that with one of the most efficient customer support services I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with.

I had a great experience with Get Joy customer support. I communicated with the agent via live chat during business hours and via email during off hours. The support representative was quick to answer my questions during the live chat. When I provided my name and email address, the rep was quick to respond.

Get Joy doesn't accept returns of perishable products or even non-perishable items if they have been opened. If you wish to return unopened accessories, you can do so within 2 weeks of receipt. In such cases, the service will refund the full amount, minus a $5 restocking fee, upon receipt of the returned items. The company may issue refunds if there’s a problem with a product.

Get Joy Recalls: No Recalls So Far

The company didn't have a product recall history when I researched the service for my review. Check out our expert list of the best dog food with no recalls for other outstanding services that manufacture high-quality pet meals.

How Get Joy Compares to Other Meal Delivery Services

Get Joy vs. The Farmer’s Dog: Both companies provide fresh dog food, while Get Joy adds freeze-dried meals. But The Farmer's Dog stands out with its meal customization quiz, 1 of the best I've taken so far. For example, it considers potential health issues for building your pup's mealtime, which is something that, in my experience, few providers take into account.

Get Joy vs. Ollie: Like its competitor, Ollie specializes in fresh food. But where Get Joy provides freeze-dried recipes, Ollie jumps in with high-quality dry meals. Like Get Joy, Ollie's line includes several health-promoting supplements. With Ollie, you can choose 1 of 3 plans to fit your pet's dietary needs and your budget.

Get Joy vs. We Feed Raw: If you're after fresh or freeze-dried food, Get Joy is an obvious choice. But if you want to feed your dog highly nutritious raw meals, go with We Feed Raw. Its meals contain a little more than animal proteins, making them highly digestible. Ph.D. animal nutritionists craft We Feed Raw meals, and they meet or exceed the AAFCO standards.

The Bottom Line: Is Get Joy Worth It?

All things considered, Get Joy is worth considering if you feed your dogs fresh or fresh freeze-dried meals. The company employs a team of professionals, including board-certified veterinary nutritionists, to craft and prepare its meals. 

You'll find various customization options and convenient on-demand vet services, ideal for pet parents without a regular vet or those living far from veterinary clinics. Additionally, Get Joy's commitment to environmental sustainability adds to its appeal.

I find the restricted number of meal options per dog quite limiting. You can only choose up to 2 out of 4 alternatives for fresh meals and 1 out of 2 for freeze-dried meals. Further, the meal personalization quiz is quite basic and likely inapplicable for dogs with specific health issues. 

Also, the company doesn’t offer an exit strategy for perishable products, as all purchases of these items are final. If you feed your companion fresh food, check out the best fresh dog food delivery services. Many of them offer a satisfaction guarantee or some other way out if your dog happens to dislike their meals. 

FAQ

Is Get Joy good dog food?

Get Joy is generally considered a good dog food option, especially for pet parents looking for fresh or fresh freeze-dried meals for their dogs. The company emphasizes the use of wholesome ingredients and offers meals formulated by veterinary nutrition experts. But, note that the limited meal choices and the basic nature of the meal personalization quiz may not meet all specific dietary needs.

What is the number 1 brand of dog food?

Ultimately, it comes down to your budget and your dog's eating preferences. But The Farmer's Dog is always at the top of the list for pet parents feeding their dogs fresh meals. We Feed Raw is among the best raw food providers for cats and dogs, and Ollie is often the best choice for people who mix and match fresh and dry meals or wish to combine recipes from more than 1 service.  

What is the healthiest food to give your dog?

Fresh food is often considered best for canines. Professional delivery services specializing in fresh meals gently process ingredients to keep their nutritional value. I recommend reading our Kibble vs. Fresh article to get an idea.