MONTEGO - Monty and Me ! No thank you ...

Complaint: Montego “Monty & Me” Dog Food

I am writing this as both a formal complaint and a warning to fellow pet owners regarding Montego Monty & Me dog food. Although this happened in August 2025, I decided to wait before posting this complaint so as to let Montego fully respond

After feeding this product to my five dogs, every single one of them became sick within a day. The symptoms included:

Vomiting

Explosive diarrhea

Severe flatulence

Scratching, itching, and skin irritation

Hair loss and hot spots (in my Schnauzer) since we started on Montego sometime back

Shaking, shivering, and general distress

Sadly, I didn’t know that dog food could cause this! But when all five dogs got sick after buying a new bag of Montego Monty & Me on the 5th of August, I knew something was wrong. Since it affected all of my dogs, it had to be the food.

They became sick immediately, and I was alarmed.

Once I stopped feeding Montego and switched to different food, the difference was clear:

The vomiting and diarrhea stopped.

They weren’t shaking or shivering anymore.

The flatulence disappeared.

Their energy returned.

1month later -Their coats feel softer, the hair loss had decreased.

The itching stopped.

They regained healthy weight (they had been unnaturally skinny on Montego).

Their digestion improved (smaller, healthier stools), which means the food I switched to is being properly digested.

Unfortunately, certain ingredients in dog food are just fillers with no nutrients or goodness—and Montego seems to be full of them.

This has proven to me beyond doubt that Montego Monty & Me was harming my dogs—and sadly, I had been feeding this food for some time, had I know of all the BAD REVIEWS I would have NEVER PURCHASE THE PRODUCT.

Response from Montego

When I initially complained, Colleen from Montego responded quickly, and at first, I believed she was genuinely concerned. Montego offered to collect the food, test it, and refund me. While I did receive my money back, the “test reports” they sent were questionable- which I had to press them for, they coming from an in-house twsting facility. When I pressed them further, asking if they were claiming there was nothing wrong with the food and told them I had kept 4kg aside for my own testing—Colleen stopped responding altogether.

So no they were not willing to in writing say it wasn't their food ??

After researching online, I was horrified to see countless other complaints from pet owners across South Africa reporting the same issues: vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, skin problems, weight loss, even mold and maggots in the food. Clearly, this is not an isolated incident, as Montego first suggested—it is a widespread problem.

While chatting with my uncle in East London, he told me he had recently had the very same issues with Montego Monty & Me and also decided to take his dogs off it.

Complaint after complaint—read the internet. It’s not isolated. It wasn’t a coincidence. It was their product!

My Conclusion

Montego Monty & Me made 5 of my dogs sick. The food caused vomiting, diarrhea, shivering, itching, and visible suffering. Montego may want to pretend their food isn’t the problem, but my experience—and the experiences of many others—say otherwise.

I will never purchase Montego again. I trusted the pretty packaging and the sales pitch, but my dogs’ health paid the price. Since changing to a better brand (at just R150 more per month, about R3 per day extra), my dogs are healthier, happier, and thriving. I even found excellent food online that can be delivered to my door, and with just a few changes, my dogs are much happier.

⚠️ My warning to fellow pet owners: Do not feed your beloved pets Montego products. If your animals start getting sick, don’t assume it’s just a “bug.” Take them off Montego immediately. Your pets deserve safe, nutritious food—not this absolute garbage.

Talk to other pet owners, because it’s good to be informed. I am going to share my experience on as many forums and websites as possible, because far too many people trust the fancy packaging.

Montego, thank you for the refund, but no amount of money can undo the harm your product caused my dogs—or restore my trust in your brand.