Spot and Tango Reviews: Unkibble and Fresh Dog Food

We all want to feed our dogs nutritious food that keeps them healthy and living longer.

And as a canine nutrition consultant, I know that navigating dog food labels and knowing what’s healthy is not always easy.

A big part of my work is coaching dog-guardians to make educated food choices for their dogs. And that’s what these Spot and Tango reviews are about.

This article will look at the two products that Spot and Tango offer – Unkibble and Fresh Food Recipes.

After the Spot and Tango reviews, I’ll also share the company’s most important details and how to get started with them.

As well as answer vital questions about their foods, testing, ingredients, packaging, shipping, and nutrition facts.

Spot and Tango Unkibble Reviews

Unkibble from Spot and Tango is a dry dog food that gives you the convenience of kibble. And that’s where the parallels with kibble end.

Unkibble is nothing like regular, highly processed kibble.

It contains no meat meals, meat meal by-products, or fillers. And it’s not made from “feed-grade” ingredients.

It contains zero artificial preservatives or additives. And unlike regular kibble, the technology Spot and Tango use to prepare Unkibble means it’s still bursting with living nourishment.

So now that you know everything Unkibble is not, I’m guessing you’re wondering what this Unkibble actually is.

What is Unkibble?

According to Spot and Tango’s website, they are “rewriting the rules of dry dog food.”

And when you consider what goes into their Unkibble, it’s plain to see that they are making good on that statement!

Unkibble is a nutritious slow-dried food that’s easy to store, scoopable and crunchy.

It’s made with real meats, healthy starches, fruits, and veggies that fit human consumption.

And Spot and Tango use their very own Fresh Dry™ process for low-temperature dehydration of Unkibble.

Unlike high-temperature extrusion, this method helps preserve most of the ingredients’ natural vitamins, minerals, amino and fatty acids.

Spot and Tango Unkibble Recipes

Spot and Tango’s Unkibble offers 3 different recipes that are good for shelf-storage and don’t require refrigeration.

• Beef and Barley.
• Chicken and Brown Rice.
• Duck and Salmon.

And you’ll be happy to know that Unkibble ingredients are GMO and hormone-free! I’ll be diving much deeper into their ingredients later, so keep reading!

Is Spot and Tango Unkibble Raw?

No, Spot and Tango’s Unkibble is not raw in the true sense of the word.

Instead, it’s gently dehydrated at low temperatures. Essentially making it a dehydrated food with one small difference.

Unlike other dehydrated foods like The Honest Kitchen, you don’t need to add water to Unkibble before feeding it to your dog.

Is Spot and Tango Unkibble Grain Free?

Spot and Tango Unkibble are not necessarily grain-free. But instead, label their foods that contain no gluten as gluten-free.

Although gluten intolerance in canine is pretty rare in dogs and usually linked to a genetic line, if you’re looking for a gluten-free option, you have some Unkibble options!

Their Duck and Salmon recipe is gluten-free.

The Beef and Barley recipe is not grain-free (and by definition, not gluten-free) because it contains Barley, which is a cereal grain.

How much is Spot and Tango UnKibble?

Unlike regular kibble, which gives “feeding guidelines,” Unkibble from Spot and Tango gives you the exact amount your dog should be eating per day.

And so, the Spot and Tango Unkibble prices are based on your dog’s individual nutritional needs. Of course, the bigger your dog, the higher the price will be.

They do this by taking you through a 4-step questionnaire before creating a custom meal plan for your dog. But more on that in the “Getting Started” section.

The benefit of a custom meal plan is that you know your dog is getting the specific nutrients they need daily. And you know exactly what your dog’s meals are costing per day.

When publishing this article, I’d be spending $47.00 per week on my healthy 7-year-old, active, 81 lbs German Shepherd. That equates to $6.72 per day.

With a 20% discount for a trial period of 2 weeks at $37.60. Get your 20% discount here!

I feed my dogs a homemade raw diet and spend more per week than I would spend on Unkibble.

And I spend at least a couple of days a month calling and driving around to source ingredients.

This time spent costs me money to do but is not accounted for in the daily meal price I calculate.

An article by Linda Case referencing price comparison studies on homemade, dry extruded, and wet foods should put this into perspective.

Small Dogs (6lbs or under):

• Homemade (Chicken) – $0.56 to $0.81 per day
• Dry Extruded – $0.12 to $0.20 per day
• Wet food – up to $2.00 per day

Medium Dogs (between 30 and 60 lbs):

• Homemade (Chicken) – $2.00 to $3.00 per day
• Dry Extruded – $0.50 to $1.00 per day
• Wet food – $6.00 to $11.00 per day

Large and Giant Dogs (100 lbs or over):

• Homemade (Chicken) – $4.00 to $7.00 per day
• Dry Extruded – $1.00 to $1.50 per day
• Wet food – up to $15.00 per day

Is UnKibble Good?

In a nutshell, the answer to this question is “yes!” And here’s why.

Unkibble is made with real fresh ingredients, including meats and no meat meals or meat meal-by-products.

Due to the gentle drying process, Unkibble is not only safe for shelf storage, but it also retains most of its nutrients.

Its benefits are comparable to feeding a homemade diet without the extra hassle of refrigeration, sourcing ingredients, or the price factor.

And although I have not touched on this yet, Unkibble is a complete and balanced food according to AAFCO and suitable for All Life Stages (ALS).

This gives you the peace of mind to feed Unkibble to a dog of any age or reproductive stage.

Learn More About Why You Should Consider Spot and Tango + Get Your 20% Discount!

Spot and Tango Fresh Dog Food Reviews

Spot and Tango also offer Fresh Dog Food recipes. Like Unkibble, these recipes are made with USDA-certified, wholefood ingredients.

All the ingredients in their Fresh Dog Food recipes are human-grade. There are no junk “feed-grade” ingredients in their food.

This means your dog is eating the same ingredients fit for you to eat!

They contain absolutely zero meat meals or meat meal by-products. And you won’t find any artificial additives or preservatives in spot and Tango’s Fresh Dog Food recipes.

These recipes are cooked and prepared in a USDA-certified and FDA-inspected kitchen in N.Y.

And each ingredient is cooked individually at a low temperature before mixing them together.

From a nutrition perspective, this is a big deal because different cooking methods better preserve the nutrients of the various ingredients.

So cooking them individually means that each ingredient is cooked in the best way to preserve its nutrients. And the nutrient-preservation does not stop there.

Spot and Tango go even further to retain the nutrients of their Fresh Dog Food recipes because, once the ingredients are mixed together, they are flash-frozen to further preserve their nutrients!

This is achieved because the cellular integrity of the food is maintained.

Spot and Tango Fresh Dog Food Recipes

Spot and Tango’s Fresh Dog Food recipes come in 3 distinct flavors.

• Turkey and Red Quinoa.
• Beef and Millet.
• Lamb and Brown Rice.

Is Spot and Tango Raw?

No, the Fresh Dog Food recipes from Spot and Tango are not raw. As I mentioned above, their ingredients are slow-cooked at low temperatures, mixed together, and flash-frozen.

Is Spot and Tango Grain Free?

Similar to Unkibble, Spot and Tango label their Fresh Dog Food recipes as gluten-free.

And you’ll be happy to know that currently, all their Fresh Dog Food recipes are gluten-free.

If going grain free (or not is a real sticking point for whatever reason), it’s good to note that Millet and Quinoa are actually seeds and not considered grains.

Is Spot and Tango Organic?

For a pet food to be labeled organic, all the ingredients (the organic food-chain), including the farms and products used in raising and growing those ingredients, must be organic.

This is an almost impossible feat when we consider the costs involved in a 100% organic food-chain—these costs would be passed on to you, the consumer.

Spot and Tango do not claim organic status on their labels. And so it’s logical to assume that not all of their ingredients are organic.

However, just like with Unkibble, their Fresh Dog Food recipes carry a GMO and hormone-free label.

That’s light-years ahead of most commercially prepared dog foods. In my opinion, if I can eliminate hormone-filled and GMO foods, I’m happy!

How Much Does Spot and Tango Cost?

As with Unkibble, Spot and Tango’s Fresh Dog Food recipes’ price is based on your dog’s size, age, and nutritional needs.

At the time of publishing this article, I’d be spending $87.78 per week on my healthy 7-year-old, active, 81 lbs German Shepherd. That equates to $12.54 per day.

With a 20% discount for a trial period of 2 weeks at $43.89. Get your 20% discount here!

I like the fact that I can choose to use Spot and Tango’s Fresh Food as a topper by adding it to my dog’s regular food.

In this case, it would work out to $5.37 per day at the regular price.

In case you missed the breakdown I shared earlier from The Science Dog, here’s what cost comparison studies found.

Small Dogs (6lbs or under):

• Homemade (Chicken) – $0.56 to $0.81 per day
• Dry Extruded – $0.12 to $0.20 per day
• Wet food – up to $2.00 per day

Medium Dogs (between 30 and 60 lbs):

• Homemade (Chicken) – $2.00 to $3.00 per day
• Dry Extruded – $0.50 to $1.00 per day
• Wet food – $6.00 to $11.00 per day

Large and Giant Dogs (100 lbs or over):

• Homemade (Chicken) – $4.00 to $7.00 per day
• Dry Extruded – $1.00 to $1.50 per day
• Wet food – up to $15.00 per day

As a raw feeder and depending on the ingredients available, I spend roughly the same amount per day on meals for my large dogs.

The only difference is, with Spot and Tango, you don’t have to source, collect, prepare or balance the meals. It’s all done for you!

Is Spot and Tango a Good Dog Food?

Yes, Spot and Tango is a good dog food!

Their Fresh Dog Food recipes are made with human-grade ingredients and no meat meals or meat meal-by-products.

Due to the slow cooking and flash freezing methods they use, these recipes have locked-in nutrients.

In fact, I’d go as far as saying, you’d be hard-pressed to home-cook a nutrient-dense recipe that rivals Spot and Tango’s Fresh Dog Food.

The Fresh recipes are also complete and balanced according to AAFCO and suitable for All Life Stages (ALS).

This means you can feed Spot and Tango’s Fresh Recipes to dogs of any life stage or age.

Now that you have the lowdown on Unkibble and the Fresh dog Food recipes let’s take a closer look at Spot and Tango, the company.

Learn More About Spot and Tango Fresh Food Recipes + Get Your 20% Discount!

Spot and Tango – The Company

Who Owns Spot and Tango

Spot and Tango recipes were born in the kitchen of Russell Breuer and his wife. In 2018 the company officially launched and is still owned by the Breuer’s today.

Both Unkibble and the Fresh Food recipes are still the original ones created in the Breuer’s kitchen – except now they have been perfected by a team of vets and nutritionists.

Personally, I love pet food companies that are not owned by the big 4!

Spot and Tango Ingredients

Unkibble and the Fresh Dog Food recipes are made with 12 simple, wholefood fresh ingredients.

Each ingredient is USDA-certified human-grade. This means what your dog eats is fit for humans too!

This is a pretty big deal because a pet food manufacturer may only claim this under the most strict regulations.

Their ingredients are sourced from local farms in the United States – another big deal when considering the risks of sourcing imports from places like China.

And as if that’s not enough to boast about, Spot and Tango’s recipes are prepared in high-tech facilities in New York and Wisconsin – an all-American company!

Both facilities are USDA audited and hold SQF Level 3 certification. Here’s a link to an in-depth look at SQF Level 3 – if you want to know more.

But without getting technical, this level of certification is the highest any food preparation facility can achieve. And in a nutshell, it’s the yardstick of food quality and safety.

Spot and Tango Nutrition Facts

The journey to better nutrition for my own dogs has come a long way. Way back, almost a decade ago, I believed the status quo that ratio diets are all dogs need.

That was until I began formally studying canine nutrition.

That’s when it dawned on me that the status quo and ratio diets are not nutritionally balanced or based on any kind of science.

From someone who has journeyed from feeding ratio diets to feeding for nutrients, I can vouch for the importance of dog food formulated to nutrient guidelines.

To put things into perspective, an analysis of 106 homemade recipes for dogs and cats found some shocking results.

The below results are nutrient deficiencies found in the homemade recipes for dogs.

• 68·3 % of the recipes were low in Iron (Fe).
• 82·9 % of the recipes were low in Vitamin E.
• 75·6 % of the recipes were low in Zinc (Zn).
• Ca 73·2 % of the recipes were low in Calcium (Ca).
• 85·4 % of the recipes were low in Copper (Cu).
• 85·4 % of the recipes were low in Choline.
• 65·8 % of the recipes were low in Riboflavin.
• 39 % of the recipes were low in Thiamine.
• 61 % of the recipes were low in Vitamin B 12.

All that being said, you’ll be happy to know that Spot and Tango work side-by-side with a team of animal nutritionists, veterinary nutritionists, and DVMs.

The team steers spot and Tango’s food from R&D and formulation to lab analysis, feeding trials, and licensing.

And unlike regular commercial pet food manufacturers, Spot and Tango are so proud of the nutrition their food provides and the ingredients they use – the information is displayed front and center on their packaging.

Earlier I mentioned that Spot and Tango add a blend of vitamins and minerals into their food.

So I reached out to them to find out more. And I’m super happy with the response I got.

Most of the vitamins and minerals in our meals come from the ingredients themselves, but we do add additional minerals through a custom vitamin mix. This vitamin mix is a natural blend derived from whole food sources, and it is custom to Spot & Tango. The mix is made for us by a 3rd party manufacturer in the U.S. to maintain high-quality standards. The ingredients for the vitamin mix are US-based as well!

This is another pretty big deal, in my opinion. Especially considering the food recalls over the years due to vitamin toxicity.

This tells me that Spot and Tango really care about what goes into their foods.

The fact that their vitamin and minerals are sourced in the United States places them head and shoulders above other pet food manufacturers.

Spot and Tango – AAFCO

Is Spot and Tango good for puppies?

Is Spot and Tango good for adult dogs?

If you missed this earlier, the answer to both of those questions is “yes!”

And here’s why.

With both Unkibble and the Fresh Dog Food recipes, Spot and Tango fully comply with AAFCO nutrient profiles.

And their food carries the AAFCO statement “Complete and Balanced for All Life Stages.”

This means their food meets the nutritional levels for any breed and dogs’ of all ages. So you can feed Spot and Tango to a puppy, adult, senior dog, and even a pregnant or nursing female.

Spot and Tango also fulfill all of the recommendations given by WSAVA (World Small Animal Veterinary Association).

The benefit of this for you and your dog is the assurance that you’re working with a company that’s legit.

And there’s no BS or evasive answers you need to wade through to determine if their food meets your dog’s needs.

Read More about How Spot and Tango are Meeting WSAVA’s Pet Food Selection Recommendations.

Spot and Tango Customer Service

Since reaching out to Spot and Tango with a few questions, I can vouch for their lightning-fast customer service.

When you reach out, you’ll get an automated message letting you know they have received your email. And they endeavor to reply within 24 hours.

Taking timezone differences into account, I was pleased to get a response to my questions in less than 24 hours!

Spot and Tango’s customer service also makes it super easy to never run out of food! They offer a food subscription service to keep on top of things.

And a food delivery service that drops off your dog’s food right at your door every 4 weeks!

Is Spot and Tango Worth it?

If you scanned through the Spot and Tango reviews, and you’re wondering, “is Spot and Tango worth it?”

If you want to feed your dog a balanced meal that’s nutrient-dense and made from human-grade ingredients in a human-grade preparation facility.

If you want to work with a pet food manufacturer who values your trust and cares about the health and well-being of your dog.

If you want to support a company that is 100% US-based.

Then as a canine nutrition consultant and a dog-lover, I can honestly say that Spot and Tango is most certainly worth it!

How to Get Started with Spot and Tango + a Discount Code

If you’ve made it this far, and all your questions have been answered, here’s a 20% discount code for you to give Spot and Tango a trial run for 2 weeks!

And in this 1-minute video I made you’ll see just how easy it is to get started with Spot and Tango.

Unless otherwise stated, all images used with express permission from the manufacturer for German Shepherd Corner. All copyright of the images remains that of the manufacturer.