Dry Skin on Yorkies and Dogs

It seems that as the years go by, a dogs skin gets more and more sensitive to allergies, dry skin and other uncomfortable conditions. I have always been sensitive to grasses and pollens...we're not sure exactly which ones, but the rashes and dark blotchy spots seem to come out in the warmer weather. At first we thought it was because of the flea treatment, but it's not.

At first we thought that washing me was the best thing to do to get the allergens off and to clean my skin. We are learning that this is not such a good idea, depending upon what shampoo you use. We thought baby shampoo would be a good idea, but over-washing with certain shampoos removes the natural oils from the skin, making me even more itchy and my skin even more scaly in spite of the fact that I smell so good.

We have read that using aloe based shampoo will help, so we are considering this...not shampoo that contains aloe, but is actually aloe based. Another idea my owner has is a rinse with aloe vera juice. Oatmeal and Aloe Shampoo is supposed to help, and we are going to try a Hydrocortisone Spray with Aloe Vera for the extra itchy spots.

What have you done for dry skin for your dog? We are open to suggestions and will let you know how we do in treating my dry skin.

Updated 3/18/13 - We have been using the shampoo and the spray mentioned since we originally posted this, and it has been helping quite a bit.  We rarely have to use the spray. Diet also seems to affect my skin.  If we try something new, and I have a flare up, I don't eat that food again.