Spot & Tango vs. The Farmer’s Dog 2024: Best Fresh?

Navigating the sea of dog food brands can often feel like a daunting challenge. I understand your frustration – sifting through countless options, each claiming to be the best, only to find many are dressing up substandard ingredients in fancy packaging. The struggle to ensure our 4-legged friends receive top-quality nutrition is real.

I've closely evaluated dozens of services and finally found a winner: The Farmer’s Dog. This isn't to say Spot & Tango lacks merit; it has plenty of redeeming features. However, The Farmer’s Dog clinches the top spot due to its unflinching commitment to super high-quality ingredients and a more detailed customization questionnaire.

Reading on will arm you with the knowledge to make the best choice for your pet. And remember, both services offer you the comfort of a risk-free experience with a 30-day money-back guarantee. So, why not give them a try?

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

The Farmer's Dog ingredients give it a slight edge due to their top-notch quality, although the companies are otherwise neck-and-neck in this area.

Both The Farmer’s Dog and Spot & Tango use 100% AAFCO-approved ingredients and veterinarian-recommended recipes, and neither company adds fillers or preservatives. All food is made fresh, and the primary preservation process for all food is freezing. Ingredients are sourced from local farms and fresh food suppliers with whom both companies maintain close relationships.

Both companies prepare food in USDA-approved kitchens that are safe for animal food. The Farmer’s Dog takes this a step further and only preps human-grade ingredients in its USDA-approved kitchens, with each recipe approved by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.

Spot & Tango also includes human-grade ingredients, and it only uses humanely raised proteins – no powdered meats or ill animals are used in its foods. Many owners who can afford human-grade ingredients choose to do so even though the benefits of using human-grade ingredients vs non-human-grade, high-quality ingredients are debatable.

Neither company processes its fresh foods to be shelf-stable. Each meal is made fresh, gently cooked, then quickly frozen for shipping and for you to store until you’re ready to serve.

Spot & Tango also offers a dry version of food called Unkibble, which is made with the same high-quality, 100% non-GMO ingredients. As mentioned, the primary preservation process is freezing, with a splash of apple cider vinegar in its wet food. However, the company also uses mixed tocopherols in its dry food, which is a natural preservative derived from vitamin E.

One recipe difference is that The Farmer’s Dog is completely grain-free and fruit-free. Spot & Tango includes fresh fruits in some of its recipes. While grain-free and fruit-free aren't always necessary to create healthy dog food recipes, some breeds or dogs with special diets may benefit from these options.

The Farmer’s Dog food contains higher protein content than Spot & Tango’s. The Farmer’s Dog’s fresh recipes have a protein content of around 40%, whereas the fresh recipes from Spot & Tango range from 11-14% crude protein.

Meals and Customization: Spot & Tango Has Dry Food Options

Spot & Tango wins because it offers 4 dry foods, as well as fresh food, while The Farmer’s Dog only offers fresh.

You’ll also find 3 snack options in the flavors Sweet Potato Bites, Chicken Bites, and Bison Bites. Snacks are made with the same high-quality ingredients and prep standards as Spot & Tango’s entree foods. You can add this to your normal plan, order once, or order them as a separate plan.

Both companies offer recipe customization quizzes based on your dog’s needs. Quizzes ask about your dog’s breed, weight, whether it’s a picky eater, activity level, physique, and more, to then pick the best fitting formula available for your pup.

After completing either quiz, you’ll receive a recommendation for which formula is best for your pup. To be clear – neither company changes the content of its recipes. What they do based on the quiz is to recommend which recipe might have the best nutritional content for your pup’s needs and change the portion of each individual package.

Spot & Tango offers 3 fresh recipes, the portions of which it tailors to fit your dog’s size. 

• Turkey and Red Quinoa

• Beef and Millet

• Lamb and Brown Rice

Each of these is gluten-free and non-GMO. The formula is AAFCO-approved for All Life Stages, meaning it's great for dogs of any size at any age. You can choose a mix of these recipes.

Spot & Tango also offers 4 flavors for its dry food called UnKibble:

• Cod and Salmon

• Beef and Barley

• Chicken and Brown Rice

• Turkey and Sweet Potato

The Farmer’s Dog offers 4 fresh recipes, and it changes the portions to fit your dog’s size. You can order a mix of up to 3 different recipes. These are:

• Turkey

• Beef

• Chicken

• Pork

While The Farmer’s Dog only offers wet foods and no snacks, it does offer toppers, as does Spot & Tango. Toppers are smaller portions of the companies’ recipes that you can mix into your dog’s current meals. This is great if you don’t want to pay for a full plan but know that your pup could use an extra nutritional boost in its current diet.

Ordering and Delivery: Both Offer Simplicity & Convenience

Ordering is straightforward for each company. You can take the quiz and select the recommended recipes or choose recipes and portion sizes you’re confident are great for your pup. Once you select what recipes you’d like to order, you simply need to fill out your shipping and payment information.

Both services deliver to the 48 contiguous states and begin with a 2-week trial. If you’re satisfied after the trial, you’ll begin to receive regular shipments.

The frequency of your The Farmer’s Dog delivery depends on how much food your dog receives per shipment. Food is delivered in a timely manner, so your dog never runs out of food. As covered in depth in our The Farmer’s Dog review, you can use your account to change a delivery date, make a rush delivery, skip a delivery, or edit the amount of food in your delivery.

Spot & Tango offers flexible deliveries every 1, 2, 4, or 8 weeks depending on your dog’s portion size. Like The Farmer’s Dog, you can manage your delivery, change the recipe selection, portion size, pause, or cancel deliveries from your online account.

What’s super convenient is that each company offers vet consultations before you order. This is great if your pup has specific sensitivities that you’re unsure either company’s formula recipes can accommodate.

If you have any ordering or delivery questions – you can call or text either company. Spot & Tango’s live customer call and text support are available 7 days per week from 10 am to 5 pm ET, and you can schedule a phone consultation with a vet Monday to Friday during the same hours. The Farmer’s Dog live support hours aren’t posted on the website. You can email either company with any dog or food-related inquiries.

How Do the Meals Arrive? Both Have Individually Packaged Meals

Fresh foods for both companies arrive individually packaged in meal-size portions. That means no saving half-opened bags or cans in the fridge. All you have to do is defrost, cut the package, and pour it into your pup’s bowl.

However, Spot & Tango’s Unkibble arrives room temp in a bag with a customized scoop. To help you scoop the right portion each time for your pup, Spot & Tango sends you a personalized portion scoop based on the quiz you completed.

Fresh foods for both companies are kept cool in insulated cardboard boxes with dry ice. You can place food for the week in the fridge, and freeze the rest until you need to defrost it. The box and contents from both services are fully recyclable. The Farmer’s Dog’s food containers are recyclable too.

Pricing: Both Services Offer Good Value

The Farmer's Dog costs less for its fresh food options compared to similar offerings from other companies, but Spot & Tango's Unkibble option remains cheaper than either company's fresh food alternatives. For both plans, the price changes depending on which recipe you choose and increases per meal the more food you need to order for your pup. Let’s look at 2 examples to compare.

The first is for a 25 lb active dog without any dietary restrictions. Spot & Tango offered 2 recommendations. For an UnKibble plan, the price would be about $21 per week. For the fresh plan, it recommended the Turkey recipe and the price would be $32 per week with an initial discount. After this, the price would be around $40 per week. The Farmer’s Dog’s fresh food recommendation starts at $28 per week, increasing to $35 per week after your initial discount.

For a 75 lb active dog, you’ll need more food, meaning a higher price per meal. The Farmer’s Dog offers fresh food for $53 per week. Spot & Tango’s fresh food recommendation was around $65 and its dry food recommendation was around $42.

Spot & Tango also offers treat add-ons for between $10 or $15 per bag and supplements for $26 per pack. Plus, there are plans available to just purchase partial portions to add the fresh food to your dog’s current kibble to improve the overall quality at a fraction of the price. With those options, this company has a wide range of price options.

Topper prices for either company depend on the recipe and amount you order. The more you order, the more the price will increase. This is a great option if you don’t want to pay for a full plan for your pup and instead just want a nutrient boost for their weekly meals.

Features Comparison: Spot & Tango vs. The Farmer’s Dog

And the Winner Is: The Farmer’s Dog

Between The Farmer’s Dog and Spot & Tango, I favor The Farmer’s Dog for a couple of reasons, such as a more tailored questionnaire and better pricing for fresh food. Spot & Tango isn't far behind, though, offering a wider range of recipes, dry food, and snacks.

Should you be interested in additional fresh food choices for your dog, our review of the Top 10 Fresh Dog Food Delivery Services 2024 is available for you to explore.

FAQ

What is the healthiest dog food brand?

Spot & Tango and The Farmer’s Dog are both great options for healthy dog food. Healthy dog food brands should meet all the requirements of the AAFCO and include quality ingredients, which both companies do. They both provide extensive ingredient details and nutritional information.

Do vets recommend Farmer’s Dog?

All the recipes from The Farmer’s Dog are formulated by a veterinary nutritionist to meet all the different nutritional levels set up by the AAFCO following years of research and veterinary hospital practices. If you have any concerns, discuss them directly with your vet. Each dog has different needs.

Is Spot & Tango raw food?

Spot & Tango has 2 different types of food and neither is raw. There’s a fresh option that’s gently cooked and then a dry food option called UnKibble. Both options utilize only human-grade ingredients and dog-optimized vitamins and minerals.

What are the benefits of human-grade dog food?

Human-grade dog food often includes high-quality ingredients like lean meats and fresh fruits and veggies. It’s also typically made in USDA-approved kitchens to ensure the cleanest prep processes. It can be a bit pricier than most dog foods but is worth the cost since it lacks the filler, artificial colors, and preservatives found in conventional dog foods.