Halo Dog Food Review

Halo is a holistic pet food brand that promises to make use of only real, whole meat, not meat meal, and promises to be one of the most digestible foods on the market with their slogan “the proof is in the poop”, proudly featured on their bags and website.

For this review, we will analyze Halo’s Holistic Lamb and Lamb Liver Adult formula.

Quality of Ingredients

Halo is serious about the quality of their ingredients, and sources only the finest products from the USA, Canada and New Zealand for its food. Several of their plant-based ingredients also come from Europe, where the use of genetically modified food is prohibited by law. None of their ingredients, they say, come from places like China where the laws are lax concerning safety issues, and every item is inspected before it makes its way to the manufacturing plants.

The company takes a strong stand against GMO’s, and not only pledges to never use ingredients that have been genetically modified, but also promises to only use protein sources that have been humanely raised or wild caught, and have never been given any kinds of antibiotics.

Full Ingredients and Analysis

Analyzing the first 10 ingredients in a dog food is a great way to understand the overall nutrient content of the dog food because AAFCO requires all dog food ingredients to be listed in order of predominance by their weight. Here’s a closer look at what’s inside Halo Holistic Lamb & Lamb Liver Adult Dry Dog Food.

This dog food was found to have a healthy nutrient breakdown. Ideally, we would like to see a bit more protein and less carbs.

Ingredients You May Wonder About:

• Mixed tocopherols: Tocopherol may sound like a nasty chemical, but it’s actually a naturally occuring organic chemical compound and a type of Vitamin E. Tocopherol can be derived from various nuts and vegetable oils. These serve as a natural preservative for dog foods.
• Chickpeas: Chickpeas provide excellent nutrients for your dog including proteins, lecithin, potassium, magnesium, copper, folate, and a wide variety of vitamins. Chickpeas also have fiber to help digestion. ^Reference
• Flax: Flaxseed or flaxseed oil is a great source of healthy fats for your dog. It has a variety of health benefits including anti-inflammatory properties and helps maintain a healthy coat and skin. ^Reference
• Carrot: Carrots are high in fiber, beta-carotene, and Vitamin A.
• Methionine: This is a naturally occurring essential amino acid for your dog.
• Taurine: Taurine is an essential amino acid commonly added to meet your dog’s nutritional requirements. ^Reference
• Niacin: Also known as Vitamin B3.
• Thiamine mononitrate: This is a scientific name for Vitamin B1. Too little Vitamin B1 can cause a variety of health issues and any excess is easily flushed from the body. Most manufacturers add this dog food to stay in line with AAFCO guidelines. ^Reference
• Calcium pantothenate: This is another B Vitamin that’s healthy for your dog and considered a requirement for a complete diet by the AAFCO. ^Reference
• Pyridoxine: Also known as Vitamin B6, a healthy part of your dog’s diet. ^Reference
• Copper: Copper is found in nearly all living things and is required in the diet to keep a dog healthy. As a result, nearly all dog foods add small levels of copper in accordance to AAFCO guidelines.
• Copper: Copper is found in nearly all living things and is required in the diet to keep a dog healthy. As a result, nearly all dog foods add small levels of copper in accordance to AAFCO guidelines.
• Mixed tocopherols: Tocopherol may sound like a nasty chemical, but it’s actually a naturally occuring organic chemical compound and a type of Vitamin E. Tocopherol can be derived from various nuts and vegetable oils. These serve as a natural preservative for dog foods.

Dry Dog Food Product Line

Halo’s food lines are pretty straightforward, and don’t attempt anything fancy. Interestingly, however, Halo is one of the few brands out there that makes a dedicated vegan formula, which helps them to stand out from many of their competitors. The company also produces a variety of treats and wet foods as well, so customers can be sure to turn to the company to meet all of their needs and ensure a diversified diet for their pets.

There are also some more dedicated formulas, such as puppy, senior and small breed, but we are just going to look at the more typical, adult varieties for the sake of brevity.

Adult

Halo’s adult formula promises to always use real whole meat, poultry, or fish protein, and non-GMO vegetables as their main ingredients. The company also adds in several healthy vitamins and minerals to help provide a balanced diet in every bowl, and makes use of a patented ingredient known as DreamCoat® to help provide your four legged friends with a smooth, clean coat and healthy skin.

The company also produces their adult formula in five different flavors, to help ensure your dog never gets bored of eating the same old thing over and over again.

Grain Free

As the name suggest, the Grain Free formula never makes use of any corn, wheat, soy, or grains, which are known to trigger food sensitivities in some pets. Like the standard Adult formula, the Grain Free blends also only make use of whole meats and non-GMO ingredients, and are fortified with a selection of vitamins and minerals as well as the company’s patented DreamCoat®.

Halo produces two different adult varieties of their Grain Free formula, as well as a dedicated small breed one and two senior blends.

Vegan

One of the more unique aspects of the Halo brand is their Vegan line, which is made with peas and chickpeas as the main source of protein, as well as several other non-GMO fruits and vegetables, and fortified with an array of vitamins and minerals as well as their patented DreamCoat®.

Halo’s Vegan formula promises to never contain any rice, and is marketed as a great alternative for dogs with a number of food sensitivities, especially to poultry products. Halo also makes a line of treats to complement their Vegan blend, made primarily from peanut and pumpkin, both of which dogs love.

Healthy Weight

Halo’s entrant into the diet field, the Healthy Weight formula makes use of reduced fat and lower calorie ingredients, and promises a grain free bowl using antibiotic free protein sources and non-GMO fruits and vegetables that your dog will love or your money back. The food is also packed full of fiber, to not only aid in your dogs digestion but to also keep him (or her!) feeling full after every mealtime.

About Halo

Halo’s story began when some concerned pet parents began seeking the best way to treat their dog’s unique food sensitivities. After much searching, it was discovered that the dog, named Spot, was primarily eating a diet of rendered, powdered meats, and that these were largely responsible for his health problems.

With this philosophy in mind, Spot’s parents, along with a team of dedicated pet nutritionists, set out to create a new pet food that made use of only whole meats and GMO-free fruits and veggies. In almost no time, their ideas caught on, and before long the company found itself in demand all over the world, growing from a small operation to a major multi-national brand, even attracting the attention of Ellen DeGeneres, who bought into the company in 2008 and helped create their Vegan line of foods.

Oh, and as for Spot? His health got much better after changing foods, and he was able to live out the rest of his years happy and healthy in the care of his loving pet parents.

Where to Buy

Halo has been wildly successful in recent years, and as a result can now be found in most places that high quality pet foods are sold. Most smaller, independent shops will carry the brand, as do the majority of the larger pet food retailers. For potential customers who are unsure of whether or not their local distributor stocks Halo on their shelves, the customer also has a helpful drop down menu that allows visitors to type in their zip code and see all the stores that carry the brand near them..

Halo also has a strong online presence, and can be found in all of the major online retailers, like Chewwy and Amazon. For those who prefer to buy directly from the manufacturer, the company website can also deliver food straight to your door, and allows customers to peruse the many varieties that might not be available through other outlets.