best food

Question
I have recently purchased a puppy, a Bichon, having just euthanizing a 7-year-old Bichon with leukemia - deceased: Scamper; puppy: Yoshi.  Scamper had horrible skin problems and after trying literally dozens of dry kibble, I settled on a loaf food, Country Pet, that I purchased at Whole Foods.  I hope to avoid any food-related allergy problems with Yoshi, and am finding it difficult.  He is now on Timber Wolf-chicken formula.  I have a holistic vet for this little guy, and she suggested this switch as the protein content is higher than my first choice, Natures Variety.  I should have stopped comparing, because I have now found many testimonials that are very critical of Timber Wolf brand.  Some say that rosemary should never be given to dogs, yet it a common ingredient in some of the higher quality foods, including Timber Wolf.  I would like to be able to rotate foods within a brand for variety.  However, some say that rotation is ideal, others indicate the opposite.  Some highly recommend "exotic" protein sources (bison, salmon, duck, etc.), while other recommend holding back on them in the event that your dog becomes allergic to his current food and you need to switch to something else.  I would like to find a brand I can stick with and not be constantly unsatisfied and switching.  Please advise what you consider a solid natural choice that will serve as the foundation food in Yoshi's diet.  I will not be giving him any human snack foods.  He likes yogurt, and I give him a teaspoon daily with a complex carbohydrate food (Ambrotose) that helps to keep his eyes clear.  The red-streaking is gradually getting better.  Other particular information regarding Yoshi:
DOB: 4/5/09.  His vet (Priscilla Dressen) is a naturopath, a Colorado State University veterinary program graduate.  She has taught at CSU since graduating, and has an excellent reputation among practitioners who serve people.  He is a nearly 4-month-old Bichon Frise.  He will be neutered at the recommended age (6 months).  He shows no signs of aggressive behavior, and Priscilla advocates 6 months, allowing hormones to mature somewhat.  You can see his actual photo by going to nextdaypets.com, select Bichon from breed choices.  Scroll down a bit, and you will see him sitting in a basket looking quite innocent (he is not!).  His litter name was Baden, the breeder is Carol Adams, of Colorado Springs, CO.  He is full of energy, and I do so want to keep him healthy.  It was about this age that Scamper began to develop his skin problems.  I am not worried about the cost of food, as vet bills are far more expensive than food.

Answer
You have to remember much of what you hear about dog food and nutrition comes from those selling something, and those that have bought into the story for a certain food.  Much of it simply isn't true.  Since he is now on the Timber Wolf chicken, I would stick to it as long as he seems to be doing OK.  You would do better to ignore most of what you hear about dog food.  Dig into it, and you will find very little controlled testing of anything.  I trust very little of what any dog food company says, including the boutique producers of the smaller brands, or those selling dog food.  The only ones I really trust are the service dog schools.  They have done a lot of testing, but don't give out the results.  i can only go by what they tell those caring for their dogs.  

I am against rotation.  None of the service dog schools do it.  Most of the schools have settled on a certain food and feed the same thing the dog's entire life.  They seldom see allergy problems or even food sensitivities.  Of course, they are very careful in their breeding program.  The fewer proteins a dog is exposed to when young, the easier it will be to work around it, if it ever does develop allergies.  Dogs develop allergies to what they are exposed to.  The only reason fewer dogs become allergic to bison, salmon, duck, etc. is that fewer dogs eat them.  If one of them was as common as corn, then allergies to it would be as common as allergies to corn.  

I back the no human snack foods and neutering at 6 months.  Recently there has been a lot of talk about the best time for spay/neuter.  If anything, I fall into earlier being OK, but nobody is putting up a strong enough argument for me to suggest going against your vet's recommendations.