Spot and Tango Review: Is It Worth It?
If you’re like many dog parents, it’s hard to find healthy dog food that is free of additives and unnecessary ingredients, especially at the local store.
Spot and Tango attempt to solve this problem by offering personalized meal plans created with real human-grade ingredients for your pup.
You can get their custom plans delivered directly to your door whether in dry form (with their Unkibble product) or wet form (with their Fresh plan).
In this blog post, I give you my Spot and Tango review to help you decide if it’s worth it. I mention key details and benefits of their plans, the cost, what customers say about them, and more.
As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases, but I only recommend products I find trustworthy and you pay nothing extra.
Table of Contents
What is Spot and Tango?
Spot and Tango is a dog food company offering all-natural meals customized to your dog’s age, breed, weight, and activity level. They offer 100% whole foods prepared with simple recipes each containing 12 ingredients.
Right now, they’re offering 20% off their plans.
Their dog food is delivered directly to you, so the food stays fresh. Spot and Tango promise you three things:
- Healthy ingredients: Fresh and ready to serve to your pet
- Convenience: It doesn’t get better than receiving your pet’s food right at your front door.
- Risk-free trial: If your dog doesn’t like the food, your money will be returned. No questions asked.
Where Does Spot and Tango Get Their Ingredients?
The ingredients for Spot and Tango dog foods are sourced from food suppliers in the United States. They use only whole food ingredients that meet all USDA standards for humans.
Three of the most dangerous chemical preservatives found in most dog foods and treats are Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), and Ethoxyquin. Spot and Tango’s dog food contains no preservatives.
Their plans include minimal ingredients that are non-feed grade. You’ll never wonder what’s inside Spot and Tango dog food since they list all the ingredients on the front of the food pouch.
Every recipe is evaluated by a team of veterinarians to guarantee your dog is getting good nutrition.
What Type of Meal Plans Do They Offer?
Spot and Tango offer two food choices for your dog: UnKibble and Fresh. Here is more info on their meal plans:
1. Unkibble
Unkibble opened packet of their dry dog food
UnKibble is a dehydrated fresh ingredient type of dog food. Unlike other kibbles, Spot and Tango’s Unkibble contains starches, proteins, fresh vegetables, and fruits blended and processed at low temperatures for dehydration.
This ensures the food retains its vitamins and minerals and flavors. UnKibble will last up to three or four weeks once you’ve opened the package.
Unkibble is less expensive than the Fresh plan because it doesn’t require refrigeration and is shelf-stable.
2. Fresh Dog Food
Bowl of the lamb and brown rice fresh meal
Spot and Tango’s Fresh dog food contains human-grade ingredients including vegetables, meats, starches, and proteins. It has a soft and wet texture compared to the crunchy texture of Unkibble.
Their Fresh plan works for any dog, but is especially suitable for picky eaters and dogs with brittle teeth.
The company cooks small batches of Fresh each week and portions the batch just for your dog.
They will send your order in pre-packaged sealed containers that can be stored in your freezer.
There is a quiz on their website that helps you determine which plan is best for your dog.
Key Benefits
Here is a list of some benefits of this unique dog food:
Cost
You would expect that homemade dog food created from fresh ingredients and delivered conveniently to your front door, would be extremely expensive. Right now you can get 20% off their plans.
The Unkibble plans start as low as $7 a week. Fresh plans start at $15 a week. The cost varies depending upon your dog’s age, breed, weight, and activity level. Unkibble costs less since it doesn’t require refrigeration.
Good quality always comes at a cost. Because Spot and Tango contain fresh ingredients, it may not be as cheap as commercial dog food brands, but you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your dog is getting quality ingredients.
Easy to sign up
Spot and Tango offer you a short quiz on their website to help you decide which type of food will be best for your dog.
The personalized plan helps you choose either Fresh or Unkibble. The quiz will also determine how much you should feed your dog every day. There’s no guesswork. It’s that easy to use.
Soon you will be having their meals delivered directly to you.
Convenience
Pre-packaged Fresh meals in pouches
Spot and Tango offer free two-day shipping throughout the continental United States, The Fresh meals come in pre-portioned pouches, while the Unkibble has a small serving scoop to eliminate the need to guess how much to feed your dog.
Storage
With the Fresh plan, you can store their meals directly in your freezer. You can then either thaw the pouch in your fridge overnight or thaw it out in warm water right before you serve it to your dog.
After you thaw out a Fresh meal, it will last in your fridge for four days.
Unkibble Spot and Tango dry dog food can be stored in a dark, cool place such as your pantry for up to twelve months. But remember, there are no preservatives. So once you open a bag of the Unkibble, it will last only 3 to 4 weeks.
Additional Notable Features
- You’re in control of your subscription so you can choose to rush or delay their food if needed.
- It’s easy to cancel your subscription.
- Spot and Tango meet all your dog’s nutritional requirements.
- Your dog won’t be getting fake “meat” or roadkill like some dog foods are known to have!
- Feeding your dog Spot and Tango dog food reduces the chances of your pet becoming overweight.
- The all-natural dog food flavors should be good for picky eaters.
What Do Customers Say?
Over and over, customers say they love these things about Spot and Tango dog food:
- They love the farm-fresh ingredients in the food.
- They enjoy the convenience of using this dog food and having it delivered to their front door.
- Spot and Tango customers across the board said they feel their dog is healthier eating their food.
- Most customers say they’d rate this dog food as a 10 out of 10.
Are there Drawbacks?
As with any product, there may be some drawbacks. Here are a few you may want to think about:
Limited Service Area
If you live in Hawaii or Alaska, Spot and Tango won’t ship to you. This is probably due to keeping the food fresh during the shipping time.
Hours Are Limited
Their offices are open from 9 am to 5 pm EST, which means that customers in other time zones may have a harder time contacting them.
Pricing Questions
The only way for dog parents to understand the total cost is to fill out the personal quiz offered on the Spot and Tango website. If you don’t like this type of thing, you’ll be at a disadvantage.
Some people think that Spot and Tango falls within the gourmet dog market so it’s not as economical as other dog food delivery services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns this brand of dog food?
Spot and Tango is a family-owned business started by Russell Breuer who is the CEO and founder, although it appears the company now has investors to expand its business.
The inspiration for Spot and Tango came due to the large amount of pet food recalls that were taking place. These recalls prompted Russell Breuer to take action. At the time, him and his wife were making homemade meals for their dog, Jack.
What started as a good idea and a weekend side project turned into a full-fledged company. The company grew as his family and friends started requesting their meals. They’re still a family-owned business out of New York, but now ship nationwide.
Where are they located?
The company is located in New York City where it originated. Today, they sell Spot and Tango dog food products online or in some pet specialty stores.
Is it grain-free?
No, it’s not grain-free. Their meals contain whole grains along with other quality ingredients. They offer three gluten-free options for their Fresh meal plan:
- Turkey and red quinoa (least expensive)
- Beef and millet
- Lamb and brown rice (most expensive)
Their UnKibble plan also has three gluten-free recipe choices:
- Duck and salmon
- Beef and barley
- Brown rice and chicken
Is it raw?
No, it’s not raw. This company offers two different cooked meal plans for your dog: UnKibble or Fresh dog food. Both plans offer 100% fresh and cooked ingredients.
The Unkibble meal ingredients are both pasteurized and then dehydrated at a low temperature to maintain their health benefits.
The Fresh meals contain ingredients that are cooked at a low temperature in small batches then flash frozen to keep them fresh.
Is it organic?
No, it’s not organic. The company boasts human-grade level ingredients sourced from local farms and suppliers, but these products aren’t organic.
Can puppies eat their dog food?
Yes, but speak to your veterinarian. The Spot and Tango recipes are meant for all stages of a dog’s life and meet all of the requirements according to the standards of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
Their website has a quiz to help you choose the best-customized meal plan for your dog according to breed, age, gender, weight, and activity level. The website says they will adjust a meal plan according to your puppy’s needs.
Conclusion
To answer the original question of this blog post, Spot and Tango is worth it if within your budget. They are currently offering 20% off their plans. Pets receive high-quality nutrition through Spot and Tango’s fresh human-grade ingredients. Your dog will be eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats with homemade flavors that they should enjoy.
Whether your pup likes dry dog food or wet food, the company offers both options through either their Unkibble or Fresh meal plans. While more expensive than commercial dog food, the convenience and health benefits of their food should outweigh that downside.
If you decide to sign up for the Spot and Tango program, they’ll offer you a risk-free two-week trial to see how you like it. By the way, I also wrote a post discussing the best gently cooked dog food, which includes Spot and Tango.
Hopefully, you enjoyed my Spot and Tango review. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments below.
I need to know about the food, is it fairly soft? I have a pup with few teeth. Currently feeding a refrigerated softer food but want something I can give them and travel as well.
The texture of UnKibble has a bit of a crunch, but it wouldn’t be characterized as “hard”. If you’re concerned about size or texture, UnKibble can always be rehydrated with a bit of liquid and will take on a similar texture as their Fresh meals. This isn’t required, but some customers like to do that.
How do you suggest switching from their current food, nutrisource, to this brand, unkibble choice? Thanks.
Also I thought I saw online a 50% discount right now? Snd is this auto billed? Thx
The two-week trial box includes detailed transition instructions – they recommend transitioning for about 7-10 days, mixing Spot and Tango in smallest amounts with the old food until you start feeding Spot and Tango for full meals.
And yes, Spot and Tango is a subscription service that is automatically billed every 1/2/4/8 weeks, depending on the dog’s plan size. I offer one coupon on my blog post, but it’s only for 20% right now. However, there may be better ones in the future. I am not aware of a 50% one right now.
Spot and Tango.. Worst food and service ever, my 3 terriers won’t touch it. I got stuck with 150.00 bucks of this garbage and they told my to donate it. No, give me my money back and YOU donate 150 on behalf of your company. I work rescuing in the slums off Rio. I already do more than my share of donating my medicines, money, and Time YOU DONATE 150 SPOT AND TANGO of your dried out food
Great food awful customer experience. Our dog’s food has been lost by ups and s&t will not send replacement food. No phone number to connect with them. Website does not allow for real customer feedback.
VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES .. I DIDNT ASK FOR A DISCOUNT OR ANYTHING FREE , JUST REPLACE THE BAD PRODUCT ….
I am on the start of my third month with Spot and Tango. I notified them that two months in a row they shortchanged us on dog food.The last month I was surprised when food ran out five days ahead of time. As a result we had to feed with different food. My puppy got diarrhea on the carpet. It costs us $150 to clean the carpet. I literally measured out each serving for the upcoming month and discovered we would be short again. They gave me a laundry list of steps I needed to take down to taking pictures of bar codes the actual scoop they provided etc. We are literally talking about a difference of $12 monthly of food and I just wanted the amount shipped to me so my dog would not get sick again. I followed up again and they refused to even address getting me the food so my dog would not get sick. (Whether I pay extra for it or not) Their customer service is terrible and they are more concerned with proving the consumer wrong then the care for the puppy. Think twice before using them.