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9.2/10
Summary
Spot & Tango is an appealing option for fresh dog food, but we prefer a few other companies like The Farmer’s Dog and NomNomNow. These companies provide more information around their formulation and manufacturing process that make us feel more comfortable recommending their products.
Spot and Tango Review
Thinking that your dog needs a change from dry kibble dog food? Spot & Tango is a new fresh dog food delivery service that provides human-grade food direct to your door on a regular basis.
Made using locally sourced ingredients in New York, the Spot and Tango recipes contain a protein, starch, fruits, vegetables, and a blend of natural minerals and vitamins to give your dogs all the nutrients they crave in a fresh form.
Delivery and Unboxing
Spot & Tango meals are cooked to order, typically the day before they’re shipped out to you. The food is mailed out in a box with 100% biodegradable insulation and dry ice to ensure food safety while it’s in transit.
What I found interesting was Spot & Tango has another brown box inside the insulation, which contains the food. Most other fresh dog food companies have the food piled loosely inside of the insulation. It seems like Spot & Tango’s method will keep the food much more secure and should stay cold just as long.
Once you open up the insulation, you’ll see that each package of food is vacuum sealed in certified BPA-free pouches, then flash-frozen to preserve nutritional integrity.
Once you receive your dog food, it’s recommended you place most of it in the freezer. The food packs can be stored in the fridge if you use them within 4 days, otherwise you can freeze the food and they’ll be good for 6 months.
Quality and Ingredients
Spot & Tango meals are developed by veterinarians and animal nutritionists to ensure the formulas include everything a dog needs for a healthy lifestyle. The recipes are all grain and gluten free.
All ingredients used in the formulas are human-grade, as well. There’s no nasty mystery meat mashups that often get tossed into dry kibble.
Spot & Tango Recipe Analysis
Spot & Tango currently offers 3 different meal formulas to choose from. Here’s a breakdown of the 3 recipes and what you’ll find in them –
Turkey & Red Quinoa
This recipe is the cheapest recipe of the 3. At the time of writing, it costs around $2.12 per meal for a 50 lb dog. Here are the ingredients and nutrients –
Ingredients: Turkey, Red Quinoa, Apple, Spinach, Carrots, Peas, Eggs, Parsley, Apple Cider Vinegar, Safflower Oil, Vegetable Stock, Spot & Tango’s natural blend of vitamins & minerals
Overall this ingredient list is very limited and full of healthy options. It’s also a very high in protein dog food which is very important.
Beef & Millet
Next up, the Beef & Millet recipe. If you’re like me, you have no idea what millet is. Apparently it’s similar to quinoa, and a big part of human diets in India and parts of Africa. This recipe is slightly more expensive at $2.27 per meal.
Ingredients: Beef, Millet, Cranberries, Spinach, Carrots, Peas, Egg, Parsley, Apple Cider Vinegar, Safflower Oil, Vegetable Stock, Spot & Tango’s natural blend of vitamins & minerals
This recipe has a very similar nutrient breakdown to the turkey recipe with slightly less protein and more carbs/fat.
Lamb & Brown Rice
Last up, lamb & brown rice. Lamb is typically a bit of a more expensive protein than beef or poultry in the United States, so I’m not surprised to see that this recipe is a bit more expensive still at $2.50 per meal.
Ingredients: Lamb, Brown Rice, Blueberries, Spinach, Carrots, Peas, Egg, Parsley, Apple Cider Vinegar, Safflower Oil, Vegetable Stock, Spot & Tango’s natural blend of vitamins & minerals
This recipe has the highest fat content and lowest carbohydrate content of the bunch.
Taste Test
Sasha devoured her first meal. She particularly loves the lamb recipe and gets excited any time I take another package out of the freezer to thaw. I urge all dogs to slowly transition to fresh dog foods such as Spot & Tango, especially if they are on a kibble diet right now. This is largely because of stomach sensitivities from making such a drastic change in diet. However, it’s also because your dog will likely inhale the food! So be sure to feed in small amounts to start.
Ordering Process
When you go through the Spot & Tango ordering process, you have the option of choosing one or all three of their recipes to purchase. You can also choose to buy the full meal plan, or a “topper plan”.
The topper plan gives you a smaller portion of fresh dog food that you mix in to your dog’s dry kibble with each meal. This is a more affordable option that gives your dog’s diet a boost of freshness without going all-in.
Once you sign up for a plan, the order will automatically ship to you every 2 weeks. If your dog doesn’t like the food, Spot and Tango will refund you for your order. You can also cancel any time, there’s no long-term commitment or contract.
Downsides of Spot and Tango
Fresh dog food is far more expensive than dry dog food; therefore, it might not be an option for many dog owners. You can give it to your pup as a topper, but if you want to feed your dog fresh food exclusively, Spot and Tango may not be the brand for you.
Another downside of opting for Spot and Tango fresh dog food is that there is only three recipes to choose from. This won’t be an issue for dogs that haven’t got specific dietary requirements, but if your furry friend suffers from allergies, you might be stuck with what to feed your pet.
The food comes frozen, which is great, but that means that you must plan your dogs’ meals in advance as the food should be thawed thoroughly before feeding it to your pet. You will also need to keep the thawed food refrigerated in order for it to stay fresh and safe for consumption.
Finally, I wasn’t very impressed with how there isn’t a telephone number for their customer service department. You can contact them via email; however, the lack of human interaction from the customer service department is rather disappointing.
Spot and Tango Reviews – What Other People Say
Many dog parents report that their pups feel energized and satisfied after eating a bowl of Spot and Tango dog food. It doesn’t leave their dogs sluggish and grouchy like many other dog food brands, and they even noticed a difference in the quality of sleep that their dog got once they switched to this fresh dog food brand.
Unfortunately, if you do run into issues, their customer support team is less than helpful. Most customers who are unfortunate enough to run into issues with the dog food brand have found themselves in a constant back and forth with the company, with very little being resolved.
Overall, most customers seem pleased with Spot and Tango. It is a great dog food brand for puppies and adult dogs who don’t have medical or dietary needs, but you should be a little more cautious if your pup needs a little extra care.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Spot & Tango seems like a good choice for fresh dog food, but in my opinion there are better options available. Companies like The Farmer’s Dog and NomNomNow seem to cost less per week and do a better job at conveying important information about their company such as who their vets are that are formulating the food.
Another question mark is what exactly is in “Spot & Tango’s natural blend of vitamins & minerals” that’s listen with every formula? Other companies also offer more recipe variety. I don’t think you’d be wrong to go with Spot & Tango, but personally I would check out other brands before making a decision.
Take a look at this Spot and Tango unboxing video to get a feel for what you can expect when you order this product.
This article states that, “ Companies like The Farmer’s Dog and NomNomNow seem to cost less per week”, yet that is not Accurate. Even with the 50% off the trial, The Farmer’s Dog cost more. Spot and Tango is just under $110 a month for my 7 month puppy. The Farmers Dog is nearly 400 a month. Same with NomNomNow, being 94 a week. Readers please do your own research before going alone with this review.
Can you explain the breakdown of those prices? I just checked The Farmer’s Dog and Spot and Tango’s prices again – entering in a 25lb dog for each, and S&T comes out to $31.90/week with the 20% off and TFD comes to $29.40/week with 20% off.
Yes I found Spot and Tango to be the most cost effective at least compared to Farmers Dog
I hope small dogs everywhere enjoy this fresh food. Feeding this stuff to a large dog would bankrupt all but the .1% (who are probably the main users of home delivered dog food anyway).
I just ordered a trial for my two Cavaliers. Would like a list of ingredients that are added as vitamins and minerals. Thank you
Have you ever tried cancelling your subscription with Spot and Tango, and have you had any issues with customer service? They’ve been extremely unhelpful, and now I have to contact my bank about it.