Food for my Shi Tzu

Question
Hi Catherine...
Percy has been the love of my life since I rescued him 8 years ago (I think he is about 9 years old). I have never in my life been more attached to anything.
We've of course tried several different brands of food, and for the last year or so, maybe more) I've been feeding him Royal Canine Shih Tzu 24. Before I go on, Percy has had "the itchy/lickies" it seems since the beginning - sometimes worse than others. I thought he was allergic to everything! Have changed shampoos, which has really helped, etc... But, I hate to say it, but I give him a Temaril, in fact, almost everyday - that stuff works wonders...as antihistamines didn't work. But it terrifies me that I'm giving my baby STEROIDS!! YIPES!
Anyway this am, I was reading online - and found a site that rated dog foods - and Royal Canine was rated very poorly (only a 2 on a level of 1-6...6 the best!) NOT a recommended dog food at ALL! Maybe THIS is the culprit of his itchy/lickies??? Maybe he's allergic to grain?? So, I want to try something else - I'm looking at Solid Gold (Barking at the Moon), Instinct, Innova, etc....
Any suggestions? Gosh, and I thought Royal C Shi Tzu was "tailored" for the breed! Also, how should I intro the new food?
Can you help - I'm going to check the new foods out today!
Thank you so much...
Jan & Percy

Answer
Hi Janice,

I would agree that Royal Canin is not a top quality food.

"Chicken meal, brown rice, rice, chicken fat, oatmeal, chicken, wheat gluten, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), rice hulls, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), dried egg product, potassium chloride, soya oil, calcium carbonate, DL-methionine, fructo-oligosaccharides, sodium tripolyphosphate, L-tyrosine, salt, choline chloride, taurine, Vitamins [DL alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], borage oil, Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate], marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), glucosamine hydrochloride, L-lysine, L-carnitine, tea (green tea extract), chondroitin sulfate, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of Vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract. "

On the plus side:
Chicken MEAL as the first ingredient; some brown rice as well as white; specified type of fish oil (anchovy)

On the downside:
Wheat gluten and rice hulls, soya oil, cheap mineral sources (oxide)

Not as horrendous a food as say, the IAMs or ProPlan, but definitely not as good as the brands I use and recommend.
So yes, the short answer here is please do switch to a premium food. Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, Orijen - Fromm FourStar - all of these foods are of a much better quality than the RC. So I'd look at a grainfree formula with a novel protein source such as duck, venison or rabbit.

Now that said; if your dog has  severe allergies, the absolute best approach is home made diet. If the diet is correctly formulated of course, and appropriate for your individual. I realize this is a lot fo work and many people cannot invest the time and energy into home preparing a diet. I just have to say in all the cases of allergy I've worked with, home made is most often the plan that gives the best results.

Failing that, I strongly recommend you switch to a grainfree premium food - as for which one, that will really be a matter of trial and error.

Let me know if I can help anymore,
Catherine