Dandy Pet Wellness: Personalized Supplements for Your Pup

That goes for our furry best friends, too. After all, we’re in charge of keeping them healthy so we can keep playing fetch with them for as long as we can.

The pet supplement market has expanded over the last several years, much as the human supplement market. A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that up to a third of all dogs in the United States are given nutritional supplements for their health.

So how’s a dog parent to find the best supplements for dogs? Every dog is different, and every dog’s needs are different.

And that’s just what dandy decided to tackle with their customized pet supplements (in delicious treat form) that come each month right to your door.

All About dandy

dandy is different. 

As many of the best products are, dandy was created when dog mom Danielle Sobel was looking for the best ways to supplement her senior rescue dog Zoe’s health. Not finding anything that was all-inclusive for Zoe, she figured she wasn’t alone in the world of those who needed specific lines of supplements for their best friends. In 2018, she tackled that problem, founding dandy, and bringing in the help of pet scientists and nutritionists, created a way to make customized supplements available for all dogs. 

This customized approach to dog health and wellness, offers a line with 15 different supplements that can help balance a dog’s diet and support them nutritionally in the places THEY need it most.

How Does dandy Work?

No one-stop-supplement shopping here; you start with a quiz that is in-depth about the needs your dog has. You’re able to add additional dogs from your (pack) and at the end, there’s an awesome little profile review that shows you some specifics about the wellness blend that was chosen for your dog and what it will do to help supplement.

Though it asks about things like their exercise level and allergens, as well as other lifestyle issues, it only takes a few minutes, and you get your dog’s customized recommendation immediately. 

dandy has a unique and proprietary database full of research that’s built algorithms that enable a customized set of four daily treat supplements to tackle the problems your dog may face.

The neat thing is that you can swap supplements out too. If you’re recommended something that you believe may not be as beneficial to your dog as another formula, no problem. They will switch it out and include it in your monthly order and deliver right to your door. It’s part of their ‘Build a Pack’ option and allows you a lot of flexibility.

If you have specific problems you want to target uniquely, they also have vet-formulated packs that are research-based and designed to address anxiety, gut health, allergies or joint care. 

And as easy as it can be, it’s delivered to your door once a month, though you can choose plans that allow for various discounts for longer terms. For my 50-60-pound retriever mixes, a one-time box would be about $54 but if I signed up for an annual plan, it would be more like $38 a month—which isn’t too shabby considering all ingredients are non-GMO, vet-formulated, made in the U.S. and have no added sugar, fillers or dyes.

They’ll Go Nuts At Mail Time

When the dandy Box came, my dogs went nuts! They kept jumping and trying to get to what was inside, like how they are with a new toy that’s delivered.

As soon as I opened the box, I knew why! It smelled like delicious treats, and they didn’t even know that it was full of wellness! You can get everything from heart supplementation to allergy attackers, as well as formulations that address gut health, skin & coat health and even anxiety. The 15 different formulations ensure that there’s help for whatever your dog’s unique needs are, and they’re deliciously formulated to ensure your dog takes them with joy. 

Dandy makes sure that all their supplements go through rigorous testing as raw ingredients and again after production, and the facility they use is certified by the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC). As their website says—there are not tricks, only treats, and you can read every ingredient they use on their site.

One of my dogs is super picky, and even she was begging for the Dandy treats.

What We Dig About dandy

There are a lot of great things about dandy supplements. We always find that products created by dog parents to address a problem are typically those made with the most love and concern for ingredients and production. These seem no different in that the ingredients seem clean and sourced in the USA, as well as are purposed to be without some of the unnecessary stuff you find in many supplements (and treats), and they don’t have added sugars. They’re non-GMO and they show a concern for what goes into your dog’s body being important and thoughtfully considered.

We also love that there are 15 different formulations. Sometimes ‘customized’ means that there are a couple of different choices you can make, but with 15 different lines, you can really create (or have recommended) a supplement line that’s unique for your dog and targets their individual needs.

We find the pricing to be reasonable, particularly if you are part of an annual subscription, and the cancellation process is one that doesn’t penalize you if you should unsubscribe.

Speaking of subscription, again—that convenience of having well-thought supplementation for your best friend delivered right to your door is super appealing. The dandy box delivery had my dogs drooling for sure! And shipping is FREE!

We love that you can customize as well as receive recommendations; some ‘customized’ programs only allow you very limited customization options.

We also think the packaging is adorable and we’re suckers for presentation.

What We Would Like To See

While there’s a lot of room to customize, there are only four supplement options with subscriptions. If you want more, you need to shop individually or consider the vet-formulated packs in addition. Not a deal-breaker, but sometimes dogs have more than four issues we’d like to supplement. 

The location limitations on the quiz were a bit frustrating as well—I entered about 10 local towns before I just gave up and found the closest metro-suburb. More individualization there would be nice. 

The Final Paw On Dandy

Like we said, we live in a world of supplementation. Lots of things prevent us from getting all the nutrients we should from our food, and that goes for our dogs too. Limited ingredients, environmental issues and gut health disruptions often mean there are gaps in our dog’s diet and Dandy works to bridge those gaps.

Like any supplement, we suggest talking with your veterinarian about what you’d like to supplement and be aware that Dandy suggests waiting until puppies are at least six months old before you start them on Dandy supplements. 

That all said, the ingredients in Dandy supplements are clean and focused, well-thought out and using nature’s own to start helping health in our dogs and we love that. They’re also reasonably priced for what you’re getting, and you can’t beat the convenience of customized treats right at your doggy door.

Plus, like I said, my dogs went NUTS and tried to tear into the box before I could even get to it myself—a sure sign that they were excited about what was inside!

All-in-all, an easy way to bond with my dog (they love the ‘treat’ aspect) while taking care of her at the same time. Pretty winning combination if you ask us!