Would love thoughts on food recommendations for 7 yo chi/terrier mix

[normaholt]

I have had Andrew since he was a tiny pup and hes always been super (human) food motivated and LOVES fruit of all kinds (except grapes of course) but hes always been super picky about dried dog food. i would love to feed fresh/raw but to be honest i dont even have a set eating schedule for myself so i feel better when i can just leave him a bowl of something and he eats when he wants. which he does, hes never been one to scarf a whole bowl down unless its ziwi or s&c nuggets.

weve had paw issues since i can remember, weve been on apoquel, but i decided to stop a few years ago because of some things i read, and so ive been doing baths with vet basics chloroconazole shampoo and their anti bac and anti fung spray on his paws and have been trying to be good about wiping them off when we come inside but hes still having some allergy/paw issues and i think it might be yeast related. weve been to the vet so much for this and its always just "do you want to put him back on apoquel" and nothing else really offered. even once said it comes with the territory for a white dog - not sure if that was a joke.

anyways. so before i buy his next bag of food i wanted to reach out and get some thoughts. were on red barn air dried dog food right now and he eats it but doesnt like it as much of course as the ziwi which is his #1 but i am also a student with no income so im like man, im spending more $ to feed my dog than myself (which, honestly im ok with, so please give all price range options)

weve tries s&c kibble the raw coated and the insinct raw blend, honest kitchen, and some others i cant think of off the top of my head. i dont think he needs to be grain free??? i mean i cant tell a difference either way unless you think this may help somehow?

really just not sure where to go/what to do from here

 

[sevilodorf]

@normaholt Food is not going to help with a very likely environmental allergy and your vet is absolutely right that your dog requires medication.

I don’t know what things you’ve read by whom but apoquel is a very very safe medication many dogs are on successfully for life. You could also ask about cytopoint or connect with a vet dermatologist about immunotherapy.

There is no evidence yeast in food causes yeast overgrowth on paws or skin — that’s an immune response that no food will address. There is also no evidence these raw/freeze dried foods support skin and can be very dangerous pathogenically for dogs with existing immune mediated issues like allergies.

I would pick a science backed sensitive skin diet like hills or Purina and take your vets medical recommendations on medication.

 

[normaholt]

@sevilodorf am i just brainwashed by the expensive "elite" dog food brands? i feel like i grew up hearing how bad purina etc are. was this wrong for avoiding these brands?

and thank you for the info on the environmental allergy stufff! i really appreciate it! ill ask our vet about the cytopoint i havent heard of that one. thanks again!

 

[sevilodorf]

@normaholt Probably! Most of us have fallen for these myths and marketing at some point - it’s very powerful.

I think the key question is who you were hearing these things from. Vet consensus is widely that these are trustworthy brands and that’s why vets nearly universally recommend them.