Pulsar Adult Grain-Free Chicken, Turkey & Salmon Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 8.8-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Horizon Pulsar Adult Grain-Free Chicken, Turkey & Salmon Small Breed Dry Dog Food is a dry food for adult dogs, primarily featuring chicken and turkey.
This food has a strong protein profile, with chicken meal as the first ingredient, which means good biological value. It also includes salmon meal and egg product, adding diverse, high-quality protein sources.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for small breed adult dogs. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for lower-energy small companion breeds like French Bulldogs, Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers navigating a sensitive stomach. Chicken meal leads at position 1, but 4 stacked proteins make isolating triggers harder. Worth watching: multiple protein sources stacked (harder to isolate triggers). Frenchies have notoriously sensitive GI tracts plus a tendency toward obesity given their low activity needs. Limited-ingredient formulas with moderate calorie density tend to fit them well.
Looking at this for adult French Bulldogs or French Bulldogs with a sensitive stomach ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- NRC, 2006digestibility · fiber· cited in 2 claims
- AAFCO, 2024zinc
- Swanson et al., 2002prebiotics
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 66/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+20 points): Strong protein profile with chicken meal as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value. Also adding to the lift: ingredient diversity (+5). Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein. The 9-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in carbohydrate quality (5 of 16 possible). Full carbohydrate quality requires whole-grain or single-source carbohydrates with a declared fermentable fiber.
Strong protein profile with chicken meal as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
AAFCO formulation inferred from declared adult maintenance. Verbatim statement not published by retailer.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Lowest carb quality in Horizon's lineup (5/16)
- Top 10% for DMB fat in Horizon's lineup (17.8%)
- Bottom quartile for caloric density in Horizon's lineup (393 kcal/cup)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
ORIJEN Amazing Grains High-Protein Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 10-lb bag
Scores 13 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Eukanuba Adult Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 4.5-lb bag
$3.33/lb vs your seed's $4.09/lb (19% less) at a comparable score.
Wellness CORE Small Breed Adult Grain-Free High-Protein Natural Turkey & Chicken Dry Dog Food, 12-lb bag
Turkey instead of chicken, 7 points higher, different brand.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalchicken meal
Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken. See why →
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2legumered lentils
Same concern as other lentils. Affordable plant protein, part of the legume stack the FDA examined. See why →
Position 2. Pulse-family ingredient this high in the deck is a notable build choice. When stacked with other pulses in the top 10, matches the formulation pattern the FDA flagged in its diet-associated DCM investigation.
- 3protein animalturkey
Real meat. Lean protein, good amino acid profile, often well-tolerated by dogs sensitive to chicken.
Position 3: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 4legumepea flour
Powdered peas, usually used as a binder or filler. Counts toward the legume stack the FDA flagged.
Position 4. Within the FDA's top-5 DCM-pattern threshold. Especially notable if multiple pulses stack here.
- 5fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 5: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 6flax seed
- 7supplementalfalfa meal
Dried alfalfa. Real fiber and trace minerals. Functional plant ingredient.
- 8pea fibre
Position 8. Moderate inclusion. Contributes carbohydrate and some plant protein.
- 9protein animalsalmon meal
Salmon cooked into a dry concentrate. Carries both protein and natural omega-3s in one ingredient. See why →
Position 9: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 10protein animalegg product
Processed whole eggs. Same nutritional profile as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
Position 10: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 11vegetablecarrots
Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.
Position 11: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 12fruitapples
Real fruit, some fiber and antioxidants. The amount in kibble is too small to matter much.
Position 12: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 13vegetablebroccoli
Real vegetable. Adds fiber and some antioxidants. Fine in the small amounts used in kibble.
Position 13: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 14bok choy
- 15vegetablecabbage
Position 15: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.
- 16fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
- 17mono-dicalcium phosphate
- 18mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 19mineralcalcium phosphate
- 20supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 21fiberfructooligosaccharides
Prebiotic fiber, often called FOS. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria, similar in function to inulin.
- 22hydrolyzed yeast
Yeast broken down with enzymes. Strong palatant plus a real source of B vitamins and amino acids.
- 23supplementyucca schidigera extract
Plant extract added to reduce stool odor. Functional, not nutritional. Fine in trace amounts.
- 24supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
- 25dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract
Showing first 25 of 56. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
18 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.