Dog Food- Bonnie Vs Science Diet

[dee136]

Someone at work told me about a brand of dry food called bonnie that she claimed has the same nutritional values as hills science diet (which I currently use), but is only a 3rd of the price.

Just wondering if anyone knows much about the nutrition and quality of "bonnie". Saving 2 thirds of what I currently spend would be amazing!

[Sandra777]

I would use Bonnie over Science Diet any day of the week. Yes Bonnie is much cheaper.

I raw feed but for a while last year had no freezer (and no fridge for 6 weeks) so fed dry food and had no complaints out of any of mine when fed Bonnie, Coprice, Nutro and Uncle Albers.

I've previously had boarding kennels and had a number of dogs which could "only eat SD" not for health reasons and frankly they all looked really bad on it.

Google it for info, or visit virtually any produce store

Edited June 23, 2010 by Sandra777

[dee136]

Thanks. I was using advance but changed on advice from the vet who I now think was just promoting what they sell there.

I always tend to associate cheap with nasty and if it's expensive I think it must be better. Obviously not always the case, but if it's not then why the huge difference in pricing between brands? Are some more expensive than other because of people who think like me?

[whiskedaway]

Are some more expensive than other because of people who think like me?

Not sure how it goes with dog food, but with most consumer goods, yes.

</marketing geek>

[SpikesPuppy]

Quite a few show people use Bonnie

When I had my Newfoundland & Dobe, (and 2 smaller breeds), we would buy the 15kg Eagle Pack plus the 20kg Bonnie and mix it up, if it was an especially bad month finance-wise, the dogs just had the Bonnie on it's own with no complaints.

I wouldn't feed Science diet unless I had no choice (although have used it as treats/mixed it with other kibble when we've won bags of it)

[myzchev]

Bonnie is made by the same makers as Pro Plan ie Purina. I personally feed Pro Plan as my personal choice and my dogs thrive on it , but have met people who have used Bonnie with no complaints.

Please don't get me started on vets - I have a bad experience with a vet [not my own] thankfully I saw red and picked up my dog and insisted on taking her to my own vet, much happier experience and my dog is still alive, which she may not have been if I had left her at the other vet :D

Use what you can afford that is best for your dogs and suites them

[dee136]

I have the money to spend on any dog food but would love to save cash provided it doesn't mean a sacrifice in quality. As far as cheaper food goes, is bonnie the best value for money?

I realise everyone will have their own preference. If it helps I have a 2.5yr old mal who is at his ideal weight, but puts weight on easily, and a 1.5yr old sibe who is a couple of kilos under (hard to put weight on, not a big eater). I feed raw lean beef with dry food.

[Dogsfevr]

we feed pro plan & use to use bonnie through the kennels as well.

A few years back they changed the product & we no longer use Bonnie,we werent getting the same results & the price increase to the type of product didnt match in our opinion.i still use the pro plan though.

Certainly of the 2 you have listed i would feed Bonnie over hills.

With the kennels we do need to have a non premium on hand for the dogs that arent feed premium or able to stomach it & have had great results with Coprice

[Amstaffs4me]

Have been using Bonnie here for the last 2 years and have had no problems , it agrees with all of our dogs.

My dogs are fed Bonnie in the morning and raw at night. I would recommend Bonnie

[dee136]

we feed pro plan & use to use bonnie through the kennels as well.

A few years back they changed the product & we no longer use Bonnie,we werent getting the same results & the price increase to the type of product didnt match in our opinion.i still use the pro plan though.

Certainly of the 2 you have listed i would feed Bonnie over hills.

With the kennels we do need to have a non premium on hand for the dogs that arent feed premium or able to stomach it & have had great results with Coprice

Why do you not use solely coprice? In your opinion what makes pro plan better than coprice? It was mentioned in an above post and I had never heard of it so going to look that up now.

Would coprice or bonnie be adequate as their only dry food or would it be better mixed with a better quality food? (I do feed raw beef, talking about the dry food only here)

I just have no idea how to tell the good from the bad. As I've already mentioned, I used to use price as a guide. All brands seem to brag about how wonderful they are so who do you believe?!

Edited June 23, 2010 by dee136

[persephone]

Our working dogs didn;t do at all well on coprice didn't like it, didn't hold weight, more poo... Bonnie working dog used to be fantastic- then it was bought out by that big company they changed it.. and while it's ok- it's nowhere near what it was . we will still use t sometimes tho.. prefer Uncle Albers/Great Barko now ....

[HollyE]

I used to feed Bonnie puppy, my dogs looked great on it but now i have changed to holistic select.

I wouldn't feed pro plan -

Purina Pro Plan

Here's some of the bad things in this food: brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, dried beet pulp, animal digest, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt. Brewers rice is the second listed on the bag. Corn gluten meal is the third, and whole grain wheat is the fourth. What is really bad about this food, is the overall calorie to digestible calorie ratio. It's more than 2:1. My guess is this food does nothing for a dog other than to make lots of poop. Dogfoodanalysis.com gives it a 1 star rating.

Holistic Select

The first thing that I noticed on this food, is the very first ingredient was anchovy, sardine, and salmon meals. The anchovy meal is not the best ingredient due to potential high salt content with the anchovies. However, it's possible they use a form that is salt free. Given the reputation of this company, I would venture to say they most likely are not using a salted version. Oatmeal and ground brown rice are both good grains. There's no corn which is good. Also no brewers rice; that is really good. There is a good selection of fruits and vegetables. However, there is also potassium chloride and salt. Those two are fairly far down the list of ingredients, so their actual amount is very minimal. This food has a 4 star rating, and is listed as a premium food. It also has some good digestive biotics. I would not be opposed to feeding this food.. I do feed this food!!

[noisymina]

Does anyonbe use this kibble?

Or have tried it?

http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/natural-balance

Any opinions on it would be appreciated, please.

[Dogsfevr]

Why do you not use solely coprice? In your opinion what makes pro plan better than coprice? It was mentioned in an above post and I had never heard of it so going to look that up now.

Would coprice or bonnie be adequate as their only dry food or would it be better mixed with a better quality food? (I do feed raw beef, talking about the dry food only here)

I just have no idea how to tell the good from the bad. As I've already mentioned, I used to use price as a guide. All brands seem to brag about how wonderful they are so who do you believe?!

My show dogs dont get Coprice because i dont fell it is suitable for there needs.

In my opinion the best food is personal & what works for your dog/breed.

I dont use all of the Pro plan range & wouldnt use some of there product as i dont like the result but the one i do feed i am very happy with.

I cant feed Hills as i have a breed predisposed to wheat intolerance,Hills has wheat

I have used Eagle pack Hollistic but found in my dogs the coats where dull,dry & wasnt growing & i couldnt deal with the constant runs this product is known for BUT for someone else it works well.

I dont just feed dry .

We over the years of having show dogs have tried many foods but the right one is what suits your dog ,there is no right or wrong answer & to be honest if the food is working well for your dog i dont play around with it unless i have a good reason too.

I run boarding kennels & i see dogs that live till 16 feed chum & in amazing condition.

I see dogs feed premiun that look awful.

I see dogs feed BARF that look good & look awful

[HollyE]

Does anyonbe use this kibble?

Or have tried it?

http://www.pricelesspets.com.au/natural-balance

Any opinions on it would be appreciated, please.

Ingredients

Australian rice, lamb meal, corn gluten meal, tallow, Omega Magic essential oil blend, oat bran, FOS, yucca extract, solium HMP, natural flavours, vitamins A D3 E K3 B1 B2 B3 B5 B6 B12, Folic Acid, Biotin, Copper (from Sulphate), Copper Chelate, Zinc (from Sulphate), Zinc Chelate, Manganese (from Oxide), Manganese Chelate, Iron (from Sulphate), Iron Chelate, Selenium, Iodine, and Calcium. Product protected by natural mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract.

Rating: 0

Pros: Second ingredient is a named meat product

Cons: Insufficient meat content, low quality grains, fat of unidentifiable origin

The first ingredient in this food is a grain. Rice is a decent quality grain, but still a grain. Whatever their quality, grains are an unnatural foodstuff for a canine. Foods intended for dogs should be based on meat, not on grain.

The next ingredient is a named meat ingredient, in meal form. It is the sole meat ingredient in the food. Corn is a difficult to digest grain that has limited value and is very commonly linked to allergy problems. Corn Gluten Meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. In plain English, that bit of the corn leftover after most of the nutritious bits have been removed.

Tallow is a fat of very low quality defined as animal fats with titer above 40 degrees Celsius. Animal fat is an ingredient of unidentified origin for which it is impossible to determine species, source or quality. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this asobtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative". We note that this is the fourth ingredient in the food. Research at Purdue University has identified fat in the top four ingredients of dry food as a factor increasing the risk of bloat in large breed dogs. Smaller breeds are untested.

We note that this product includes synthetic vitamin K, a substance linked to liver problems and that is progressively being removed from better quality dog food products.

[HollyE]

I have used Eagle pack Hollistic but found in my dogs the coats where dull,dry & wasnt growing & i couldnt deal with the constant runs this product is known for BUT for someone else it works well.

Each to their own, some foods work for dogs and some don't, my sibes look fantastic off this food!

I dont just feed dry .

I'm heading that way! At the moment they have mostly RAW and their dry food is out there if they want to pick and nibble!

[Parkeyre]

I feed Purina Pro Plan.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

These two american sites will help you work out what to look for on the ingredients list.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

I would love to know where HollyE got her rating info from. Australian RICE - anyone at the bottom end of the Murray like all South Australians would have to boycott on that alone.

Nestles make Purina One and Supercoat and a bunch of other brands of dog food and I avoid their products - even Milo for ethical reasons.

Hills Science diet - all you need to do to know it's wrong is read the ingredient list. I've shocked a few vet nurses by making them read it. Think I'll stick to boiled chicken and rice when my dog has an upset stomach not tinned science diet. My regular vet sells it but he doesn't recommend it. Hows that for twisted.

I feed Nutro Natural Choice - it gets a zero rating too and it's expensive but it doesn't give my dog the runs. I also feed home made casserole for the dog. And she is doing well on that. If I got really hungry I could eat it too, but it would need a lot of tomato sauce for flavour.

Artemis is a good dry dog food as far as ingredients go. But I haven't tried it yet.

Innovo would be ok if it wasn't sold exclusively by a chain that supports puppy mills.

[noisymina]

Thank you for the response, HollyE.

[HollyE]

my second post is from the food analysis site x