Itchy!

I have had my dog for a year and a half. She has peeling itchy skin no matter what I use. Does anyone know why, or waht I can do about it. She scratches and causes mats daily. I brush daily as I am showing this dog. I don't know what else to do. -Joanne Charlesworth

• Itchy skin can be caused by many things such as: allergies (food or enviroment), dryness (just like humans), use if the wrong shampoo, etc. My maltese did suffer from this also. It started when he was about 1yr old. He's now 10. His problem was allergies to both foods and enviroment. Over the years I have tried MANY things. Perdisone (steroids), Bendryl and Atarax, allergy shots to just name a few. What has worked best for him was a combination of the Benadryl & Atarax, special food from his vet, a nd Selsin Blue shampoo! I would recomend to try to stay away from the steroids. They will cause demage later on in life. Shi, developed Adult onset Diabeties a few months ago and we feel it is from the steroids. Question- would I treat him the same knowing the results? I would say yes. His quality of life was terrible when he was biting & scratching all the time. His sores became infected, it was a terrible catch 22. Today, Shi is doing very well. Check with your vet.! Let me know what happens. Good luck.
  Debbie & Shi