Horizon is a family owned dog food company based in Canada. They’re located in a small town along with their own manufacturing facilities. They’re owned by two families who’ve lived in Canada all their lives and source ingredients as locally as they possibly can.
These characteristics make them attractive for those who are looking for more transparency and a way to escape the big box store brands that aren’t always transparent about their practices.
The company has a commitment to sourcing local ingredients and respecting their communities. If you’re looking to upgrade your food to something better than foods with a bunch of mystery ingredients, this could be just the food you’re looking for.
Let’s break it all down in this in-depth Horizon Dog Food Reviews.
The brand is one of the few companies that completely controls the entire dog food process. They opened their first plant in 2007 and now use their two local plants to employ locals from the community and manufacture all their recipes. There are no co-packers and no outsourcing.
They strive to find local ingredients from the farmland in rural Saskatchewan, Canada. Their recipes use high-quality ingredients that mostly come from their local sources but even when they have to go out further to find an ingredient, they always buy from trusted sources.
It’s locally operated and family owned, so transparency is a huge part of their mission.
Backed by the historical knowledge of experts regarding a dog's diet, this ancestral recipe is loaded with premium meats plus organic fruits, veggies and supplements to boost immune health.
Horizon’s Legacy line is an ancestral inspired diet that uses whole proteins with quality grain free sources of carbohydrates.
Salmon is an excellent source of lean protein with plenty of omega fatty acids to help protect against inflammation and improve the quality of your dog’s skin and coat. It uses simple proteins and low glycemic carbs to keep your dog energetic all day.
It has fresh fruits and vegetables to provide vitamins and minerals for a healthy immune system and to support the building blocks of good health. Added glucosamine and chondroitin help protect delicate joints and keep dogs from feeling the effects of aging or to help prevent injuries in dogs prone to dysplasia.
It has pre and probiotics for healthier tummies, but some dogs may not enjoy the taste of the salmon. If that’s the case, you can try adding a little wet food on top, or you can introduce the food slowly from your old brand.
Crafted with lamb with low glycemic, high fiber ingredients such as lentils and peas and organic fruits and veggies for a meal that promotes overall wellness and helps in maintaining blood sugar.
This is a high protein and high fiber nutrition diet that uses a single animal protein source, which is lamb. Unlike other grain-free diets, every recipe in the Pulsar line uses low-glycemic pulses (lentils and peas) to provide gluten-free carbohydrate content.
Lamb meal and lamb in tandem bring the protein level up to a respectable 26%. While most know that fresh lamb is a quality ingredient, some are not aware that lamb meal is the same.
Lamb meal is produced when fresh lamb is cooked until its moisture content is greatly reduced. The nutrient profile remains basically the same.
Like other Horizon recipes from other lines, this Pulsar formulation is also free from byproducts, GMO ingredients, artificial preservatives, or products with gluten. It has, however, 600 million CFU/lb of probiotics, added taurine, and chondroitin and glucosamine.
One thing that takes down this recipe a notch or two is its use of canola oil. While canola oil has numerous benefits, it’s also extremely processed, which is kind of contradicting to the whole natural and wholesome outlook of this recipe.
The list of ingredients in this Pulsar formulation is short. There are fruits and veggies (5 of them aside from the lentils and peas), botanicals, probiotics, and added vitamins and minerals.
This recipe starts with real steroid-free and growth hormone-free pork with a blend of fresh fruits and veggies, along with carbohydrates that are locally sourced and 100% free from GMOs.
This is a meat-concentrated formula with pork acting as its single animal protein source. Instead of the pulses used for the Pulsar grain-free range, this formula instead uses whole grains like rye, barley, and oats to provide the necessary carbohydrate and fiber content.
Unlike milled grains, whole grains can help with energy absorption by as much as 20%. They’re also packed more with vitamins, fibers, and trace minerals. A diet with whole grains has been shown to reduce obesity and the risk of heart disease.
This recipe starts with a steroid-free and growth hormone-free pork meal followed quickly by fresh pork. What’s the difference? Just in the water content, because pork meal has had its moisture removed.
When an equal amount of pork meat and pork meal are compared, the protein content of pork meal will be higher because water has been removed from it but not the nutrients.
A consistent feature of Horizon meals is the low-glycemic ingredients. This is important, especially for obese-prone dogs, because high glycemic food tend to result in more weight gain and blood sugar spikes after eating.
The low-glycemic content of this whole grain pork formulation helps your pooch in eating more healthy. This is an excellent diet that has an optimum amount of protein, fat, and fiber. However, we’ll have to remove some points for its use of canola oil.
While canola oil is considered safe and carries many benefits for dogs, this recipe would be better served with a fat source that is more natural (in keeping with its wholesome goodness marketing). Canola oil is known for being highly processed.
What types of dog food do They offer?
Horizon makes kibbles and dry foods that mimic the canine ancestral diet based on the omnivore assessment. They use only premium ingredients and never any cheap fillers such as corn or soy and no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors.
Each ingredient is assessed based on research and intended to provide dogs with solid nutrient options that help keep them energized all day.
The foods are arranged in four different lines. The lines have options for life stages and different proteins as well as a few choices for breed size.
They do offer two different grain free choices, and all the recipes try to eliminate foods that are familiar allergy sources, such as those cheap fillers we mentioned.
Be aware of the link between a diet heavy in peas, lentils, and a possible enlarged heart and talk to your vet about the risks.
Amicus
The Amicus line is specially formulated for small and toy breed dogs. It’s grain free and uses no cheap fillers or artificial ingredients. The kibble is smaller and softer, allowing small dogs to chew correctly despite the unique needs of their jaws and teeth. It also has premium ingredients in a nutrient-dense recipe. Unfortunately, this line has been discontinued.
Complete
The Complete line is a whole grain, meat based dog food that provides plenty of energy but is low glycemic so it won’t spike your dog’s blood sugar. It uses no cheap fillers or artificial ingredients, and you can actually feed less of it than what you would that bargain food you’re currently buying.
Legacy
The Legacy line has a higher protein level and is a nod to the ancestral diet of your dog’s predecessors. It uses a whole protein source with fruits and vegetables in a convenient kibble size that’s great for storage. It’s clean and uses no cheap fillers or artificial ingredients. It’s also grain free.
Adult
Fish All Life Stage
Puppy
Pulsar
Pulsar is a new type of grain free food that uses pulses (lentils) to help reduce the cost of going grain free. It starts with a protein source sourced as locally as possible and lentils from their area. The recipe also uses plenty of fruits and vegetables to round out critical vitamins and minerals. It’s also one of the most affordable grain free options out there.
While the line started with grain-free food, it now also contains grain inclusive recipes. Instead of pulses, the grain-inclusive formulas contain core grains like barley, rye, and oats.
All Pulsar recipes contain a total of 66% of animal protein.
Grain-Free Chicken
Grain-Free Turkey
Grain-Free Fish
Grain-Free Lamb
Grain-Free Pork
Whole Grain Chicken
Whole Grain Pork
Taiga
The Taiga line contains formulas with moderate animal protein with the best ingredients that Horizon has to offer. All Taiga recipes are available in 35 lb. bags, offering more food than standard dog foods but for typically less the amount.
Each Taiga formulation contains 50% animal protein content and 600 million cfu/lb probiotics.
Grain-Free Chicken
Grain-Free Pork
Whole Grain Chicken
Whole Grain Pork
Recall History
The company carefully controls every stage of production, so there have been no recalls so far. Although we know it’s possible that accidents can happen, we are pleased with the quality and precautions taken during manufacturing.
We also think that manufacturing “in house” instead of using co-packers also reduces the risk of contamination or other things that can trigger a recall.
Customer Reviews
People like that Horizon is a family-owned company. It’s nice to find a company like that in a world of huge corporations and conglomerates. They give back to their community and have transparent manufacturing and recipes that help your dog to feel its best.
The company regularly has four to five-star ratings on chewy and Amazon with many of those ratings coming from longtime fans of the food and the company.
What do people like and dislike about It?
People like the full range of grain free options. Often, people want to switch to a grain free food, but there aren’t a lot of choices. With Horizon, there are plenty of choices. Customers also liked that the ingredients were better suited to their dog’s digestion and health. Others liked that their small breed dogs could finally have a food that is best suited to them.
As always, not every dog is going to like the food, and some customers noted that their dogs couldn’t be convinced to eat it. It’s not prohibitively expensive, but some of the recipes are a little more expensive for your dog not to like it. Most dogs seem to enjoy the taste, however.
Positive
“Pulsar horizon dog food is the only food my dog’s sensitive system can take. I have not had any issues with any of the choices, and they are created, so you don’t have to have a transition period.” Dexter, chewy.com
Negative
“I have two labs, one a picky eater and the other a vacuum for all foods..but, they would not eat this brand. Ingredients sound very good and yet, no go with my dogs” Siggie13, chewy.com
Parting Words
Horizon Dog Food has built a reputation for using locally sourced, high-quality ingredients with a focus on grain-free and whole grain options. Their commitment to crafting nutritionally balanced recipes made them a popular choice for pet parents looking for Canadian-made, high-protein dog food without artificial additives.
However, over time, Horizon has discontinued many of its product lines, leaving fewer options available for pet owners who once relied on their diverse selections.
While their remaining formulas still offer quality nutrition and transparency in sourcing, the reduced variety may limit choices for dogs with specific dietary needs. For those who can find a suitable formula, Horizon remains a solid choice for premium pet food with an emphasis on natural ingredients.
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An individual with a profound affection for animals, who was brought up in an environment surrounded by dogs, cats, and chickens. A self-taught enthusiast in the realm of pet care. At present, the proud caretaker of two rescued felines and two lovely mixed-breed canines.
