Switching foods: which formula?

[*blackrose]

I'm switching Cynder's food to 4Health and I was curious about which formula I should try.

Cynder, my boyfriend's dog, is a 30 pound mutt. She's currently eating two cups a day of TOTW Wetlands (32% P, 18% F, 375 kcal/cup) and is maintaining a very good weight. She loves the food and her poops are great. Her coat, however, has not improved like I had hoped and since I need to reduce the amount I'm spending on dog food due to my poor-student budget, I'm going to switch her to 4Health. She's been on Pedigree her entire life, so its still a major step up regardless.

I'm either going to switch her to the Chicken and Rice formula, or the Performance formula. Chicken and Rice has 26% P, 15% F, and 351 kcal/cup. The Performance has 30% P, 20% F, and 376 kcal/cup. Ingredients are roughly the same. Which would you recommend switching to, or does it really matter?

The nice thing about the Chicken and Rice is that it comes in 18 pound bags which will fit nicely under the kitchen sink - the Performance only comes in 35 pound bags. But, the Performance also has more Glucosamine and Chondroitin (600mg/kg vs. 300mg/kg and 200mg/kg vs 100mg/kg) and more Omega-6 fatty acids (3.3% vs. 2.5%). Is that enough of an increase that it would benefit feeding the Performance formula?

And, on another note: I'm trying to reduce Chloe's calorie intake as she's getting chubby. Part of this is due to not being exercised, the other part is because she's been getting into the cat food. She is a 45 pound dog (currently 53 pounds...grrr...) and I've already reduced her food to 1 cup a day (TOTW Wetlands). What can I do to help her feel full, but keep her calorie count low? Is there a different brand of food I should try (bearing in mind that I think she is grain intolerant and I really don't have lots of money to spend)? Would switching to Pacific Stream or Sierra Mountain formulas help any, since they are lower P/F/Cal content?

[MericoX]

For Chloe try adding some green beans in with her food. It'll make her feel fuller without the extra calories.

[Saeleofu]

When I fed 4Health to Logan for a short time, I used the performance formula and was pretty happy with it (I would buy either that or the Diamond Naturals extreme athlete, whichever was on sale at the time, since they're fairly close).

Joint supplements in food aren't really enough to do much. More of a selling point than anything else. Since money is an issue, if they're the same price I'd get the performance since it has more calories so you'd be feeding less.

[Southpaw]

You'd probably need to feed less of the Performance so that would (likely) make it more cost-effective. I'd probably go with that anyway just for the higher protein.

And I second the green beans idea, along with more exercise.

[*blackrose]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

You'd probably need to feed less of the Performance so that would (likely) make it more cost-effective. I'd probably go with that anyway just for the higher protein.

And I second the green beans idea, along with more exercise.

The Performance is a dollar a pound, I think with the Chicken and Rice being .85 a pound. I think I might try her out on the Chicken and Rice (since I can buy a smaller bag of it) and then if she does well switch her over to the Performance later.

More exercise will happen when I move out (as well as no longer her being able to get into kitty cat food! LOL), but currently it isn't an option. I can't bike with her due to her bum back leg and going on walks with her in this neighborhood is hell due to all of the loose dogs. Dogs dive bomb us, she stresses and turns reactive, I stress, which causes her to stress and react more, which causes the dogs dive bombing us to go from hanging back and barking to actually aggressing...vicious cycle and I don't enjoy it anymore than she does. So no more walks out here.

I can do green beans. How much should I add to the kibble? (And do I need to reduce the kibble amount as well, or no?) I can our own greenbeans from our garden - would these work? (Not sure about the sodium content is why I'm asking.)