IMO, weekly bathing of a dog is excessive. Labs have a natural oil in their coats which protects them when they are in the water retriving ducks.

Over the last few years, I have developed extremely dry skin as well. Mostly on my feet. And not like most people, who get callouses mainly on their heels. I actually get very dry skin along the outside edge of my sole. It just cracks open and bleeds. No lotion helped, and believe me, I tried MANY lotions. The only thing that gave me some relief was to wear Band-Aids over the cracked portion and to always wear socks. Of course, many times when I removed the bandage I would also remove some skin, causing more bleeding. And then I turned to the article in the Reader's Digest that changed my life. No kidding. You know they always have those articles - 13 Things Your Waiter Won't Tell You, 13 Things Your Mechanic Won't Tell You, etc. A few months ago the article was 13 Things Your Podiatrist Won't Tell You. I read it with interest and the recommendation for dry and cracked feet was to use AMLACTIN. The doctor who recommended it said it was "pretty much magic in a tube". There is a body lotion and one specifically for feet (a little thicker). The only caution is that if you use it you should limit your exposure to sunlight. I felt that if my feet never saw the light of day again but stopped cracking and bleeding, I would be happy. It promised to also exfoliate. And guess what? After using it just twice a day for less than a week, my feet were 100% better. No cracks or bleeding. I continued to use it for about a month and the skin on the bottom of my feet became soft and supple. I know I sound just like a commercial, but I truly felt that I had found my miracle. I now use it just a couple of times a week and I can't recommend it highly enough. It is expensive IMO (about $12 for the foot cream), but SO worth the cost.

Funky: I can commiserate. I have very dry skin and really have an issue once the temperature drops in the winter. I have used the more expensive brands, but go back to OTC Neutrogena moisturizers. I like the one called "Healthy Skin Face Lotion" and also the "Oil-Free Moisture". The Healthy Skin claims to reveal new skin 4 times faster than other moisturizers. They are also rated SPF15. Sometimes I wear under foundation or dry makeup and sometimes alone. My dermatologist recommended ROC (brand) sensitive night cream which has Retinol and is also OTC. I really like it and use it most nights. We do have a humidifier on our furnace, but I still have to cover my hands and feet in vaseline once or twice a week and sleep in socks. I don't have as much of an issue with my hair, but when I do I have used some homemade deep conditioners that have worked well.

I'm having a terrible time this year too. I use petroleum jelly at night with some success, but the real issue for me is that while working around the house during the day, I wash my hands a lot and it's not appropriate to reapply lotion many times, so they just end up dried out. The best solution I have at the moment is moisturizing soap wherever I regularly wash hands. For a while I was using Aveeno body wash (transferred into a decorative pump), but then developed a sensitivity to it. I usually use good old Palmolive since it's less drying and no reactions, but lately I've resorted to glycerine bar soap- that the best solution I've found over the years as it's like putting a little moisturizer on your hands each time you wash them.