My Shih Tzu is the same way, does it cause giant scabs where she is itching herself? I hate that, I have done all sorts of things and so far nothing has worked. My mothers Shih Tzu did the same thing, to the extent that she had bleeding open sores. they got her a shot for allergies and it does work, but, she has to be kept on it now one of the downsides to that:(

My chihuahua mix gets dry skin in the winter. my vet said to put a tiny bit of corn oil in her dry dogfood. You might want to ask your vet first tho as she is a differant breed.
vickie

You may want to contact your vet, have them run tests to see what your dog is allergic to...If you use carpet cleaner you might want to stop, or if there is a grassy area you take your dog to find out if it gets sprayed. My friends Yorkie had skin problems all of its likfe and my friend spent lots of money on tests only to find out that it was genetic. They had to help their dog by giving it benadryl on a regular basis and bathing it in special shampoos. Before you try these on your own, contact your vet, it could be as simple as changing your dogs dog food.

Food allergies come to mind. Assuming she does not have flees or an allergic response to the shamppos etc. Many dogs can be allergic to corn and other grains. There are a couple grain free products on the market...Urban Wolf, Innova Evo are two that I am aware of.

Old Mother Hubbards Wellness Simple has alternative grains and proteins that might help.

I would try the Innova Evo for a month and see if it helps...avoid any other treats or food.

Benadryl can help - contact your vet for appropriate dosing.

My dog scratches herself whenever she wakes up from a nap. Its like her little morning/naptime routine. She'll scratch just about every part on her body a few times, make squealing noises and yawns and funny faces. She does have dry skin, but I have a feeling its just because she insists on being so bundled in her blankets, that they make her itchy. Since it only happens when she comes out of her crate and not during the day.

I have a 14 year old Shih Tzu who has allergies that get worse every year. We finally had to give in and get her allergy shots. It took a while to find the right dosage, but its the only way to bring her relief. At first cortisone cream worked pretty well, and benadryl spray. The Vet sold us some Tresaderm which worked about as well. But at this point we are doing injections.

Thank-you everyone for your help, will try some of these to see if she gets relief. Sure hope so, glad to know she isnt the only one. Tricia

Are you willing and able to get a diagnosis and the correct treatment for your dogs problem? It will save you time and money and your dog a discomfort if you do.

A couple of reasons dogs itch:
Fleas, bacterial infection, yeast infection, dust mites, inhaled allergies, food allergies, scabies mites, ringworm, dry skin.

Start with fleas. They're everywhere and the timing of your dog's problem coincides with fleas wanting to come inside for the winter. All you need is a good flea control program such as Frontline Topspot, Advantage, or Revolution once every 1-3 months. Do it once a month for the next 3 months, not 3 days before or 3 days after a bath, and see if she improves.

Dust mite allergies are very common, and again the timing is correct with the onset of your dog's problems. Dogs tend to stay inside more often during the winter and are therefore exposed more often to dust mites. Not much you can do about removing dust mites, short of removing all the fabric from your home (although I did remove the carpet in my bedroom for one of my allergic dogs- it helped). But antihistamines may help control the itching. You may have to try a bunch of different ones to find which one works best. If antihistamines don't cut it and she is uncomfortable, see a vet who is good at dermatology and get allergy testing and immunotherapy. It's worth the time and money.

You can do a food trial. But food allergies are not seasonal, so I don't see much point, unless her symptoms coincided with a diet change. If that's the case, simply change her food back to the old one, and her symptoms should disappear in 6-8 weeks.

A vet can diagnose bacterial, yeast, ringworm, and scabies infections relatively cheaply and easily. A tape prep of the affected area would show bacteria and yeast. A skin scrape could show scabies. And a hair pluck and fungal culture would diagnose ringworm. All of these are easily treatable too.

You already got good suggestions on treating dry skin.

I had a very allergic dog, Aleksander (the one I removed the bedroom carpeting for). He was allergic to foods (lamb, beef), bugs of every type (fleas, dust mites, ants, cockroachs, etc), pollens (pretty much every tree, grass, and shrub that grows in NC), and molds. I put him on a special diet, but not that special since he wasn't allergic to poultry (Natural Balance duck and potato). He had allergy testing and immunotherapy shots once weekly. I didn't bathe him as often as I should have because he was a Husky and took forever to dry; it was suggested to bathe him every 2 weeks and follow with Humilac bath oil or conditioner so his coat wouldn't dry out. He still needed antihistamines during his worse season (fall here in NC). It was worth it though because he was so much more comfortable and didn't get ear infections any more. Some dogs need immunomodulating drugs such as prednisolone or cyclosporin to control their allergies as well.

But if she has a different underlying problem that doesn't get addressed such as flea allergies or scabies, their isn't a thing that you can do at home to help her. By all means, do what you can at home, but if she does not respond or gets worse, please see a vet interested in dermatology to help you out. Good luck.