My dogs skin

There are many of us on this forum that have dogs with skin problems.  If the vet gave her a cortizone shot and it didn't clear it up, you might want to ask him what the next step is.
You can not do NOTHING and expect it to go away...and I think it might be good to start with her food.  What does she eat?  If she is eating cheap grocery store food, you might want to get her some good premium food. If it helps that would be the cheap way to go with getting her better. But either way, I think that would be the start.

I agree with Dyan. I, too, am new to the boards, but thanks to some "seasoned" posters, I have switched foods due to my Brittany's terrible and constant itching and scratching and chewing on her toes.  We were feeding her Beneful which after I read the ingredients I realized that chicken is a very common cause for allergies in dogs and it's listed first in the Beneful ingredients. I bought Nutro Natural at PetSmart. But what I've heard from MANY people is to buy Lamb & Rice for allergies.  Good luck ! ! !
 
-Jenny

Welcome to idog;   If you do change your dog's food, pick one with different protein sources than what you're feeding now to determine if your dog has a food allergy. The protein sources of the food are the meat and grain; so if your dog's food has chicken and corn, lamb and rice would be a good choice. It is very hard to find a grocery or pet store food without chicken; many lamb dog foods have chicken or poultry meal down the list so check ingredients carefully. I took my dog to a veterinary dermatologist for her itching and the first thing she did was put Jessie on a food with different meat and grain than what she had been eating to see if her itching was related to her food and I learned that Jessie is allergic to chicken.
  Have you tried antihistamines? You need to give each type a few weeks to see if it is helping your dog. Here's a link for types of antihistamines and dosages by weight for dogs;    [linkhttp://www.utskinvet.org/pdf/antihists.pdf]http://www.utskinvet.org/pdf/antihists.pdf[/link]

You should try Bendryl first and if that doesn't help I would suggest Tavist. Bathing your dog with a shampoo made to soothe her skin helps too; dogs absorb allergens through their skin. Try Nova Pearls, which you can get at PetsMart or NuSal T which you may have to order online, also a conditioner that really helps is called OxyMed; it is made by Tropiclean and has a blue cross on the bottle; you should find it at PetsMart or Petco. If possible, avoid walking your dog during the early morning when the pollen count is highest. Vacuum carpeting and upholstered furniture thoroughly twice a week if possible to reduce exposure to dust mites, a common indoor allergen.
  If all your vet is doing for your dog is giving cortisone shots I would find a different vet; I learned the hard way that some vets are much better at treating allergies than others.You do not want to give your dog steroids long term; they damage the kidneys and liver.

Hi! 

I feel your pain about the allergies- going thru the same thing too.  Though my happen to be pollen/grass. 

The only thing that  I noticed in your post is you claimed the dog has an odor.  How do her ears look?  Sometimes an ear infection will cause the odor.  Also a Yeast infection can cause a body odor as well as itching and chewing on paws.   Thought I would mention it so your vet can rule that out.

What kind of dog is it? 

Hi!

I feel your pain about the allergies- going thru the same thing too. Though my happen to be pollen/grass

 
 Thanks for reminding me; [] the reason I suggested bathing the dog was because it helps soothe the skin from allergies to pollen. This is a very bad time of the year for pollen allergies; because it's so humid the pollen hangs in the air longer and dogs and people are both exposed to it more. You are right about yeast infections causing a dog to smell, but they can lick their feet from bacterial infections as well as yeast; Jessie licked her feet untill they bled and when the vet swabbed them and checked it was bacteria. A good way to treat yeast infections on a dog's feet is to wash them with Selsun Blue; make a lather and let it stay on the feet for about 15 minutes; then rinse thoroughly.

My dog is a miniature schnauzer.  I never had her ears docked, when she was a pup so her ears are natural.  So, maybe this has something to do with the smell, but I feel truly that it is coming from her pores. 
I've changed her food to now Purina One, which has real salmon which has omega-rich protein for sensitive skin,  easily digestible ingredients, like rice and oat meal, for sensitive stomach, high levels of skin-essential nutrients like Vitamin E and omega fatty acids to help avoid dry skin, and contains natural sources of glucosamine for healthy joints.  I was feeding her Dads since she stopped eating puppy food. This food now also is formulated with yogurt.  Grace has been eating the food now for five days.  She like it! 
From my research I have switched dog foods, and had put a scrambled egg with a tspoon. of oil into her food.  I'm just not sure whether I should do it every day, or a few times a week.
I also live out towards Harpursville, NY (country area), so grace runs around in the field out here and the likes to roll around in the grass. I wonder if it the grass and nats that get at here skin.
Recently (past couple days) she has been licking her foot(top part) only one though.  Could I pour peroxide on her paws and would it do any justice.
Thanks for the advice.
 

  The peroxide wouldn't help; but black tea will. Make it a little strong; about 2 bags to a cup, can make it stronger if you'd like, and apply it to her feet a couple times a day. You may want to use a spray bottle or squeeze bottle for this or dip her feet in a bowl; but the itching should stop fairly quickly; after it's been on her feet for a few minutes you can dry her feet with a towel.
   Purina One Sensitive Systems has animal digest, which has chicken in it, and the Dad's Small Bites has chicken by product meal, so if her itching is caused by a food allergy the Purina One may not help; you should know in a few weeks if the new food will help or not.

Schnauzergrace, I mentioned this in another thread that you had posted on, but now that I see what you are feeding your girl, I just wanted to reiterate...with Mini Schnauzers, you need to be very aware of the fat % in kibble due to their propensity for hyperlipidemia and risk of pancreatitis.  The Purina formula that you are feeding has 16% fat which imo is way too high for an ms.  And you are adding egg to her diet, not that there's anything wrong with adding eggs in general, but everything must be taken into account (including treats) when determining how much fat your mini is eating.  Most of the ms owners (kibble feeders) that I correspond with try to keep the fat % at 12% or less.  That is difficult to due and still provide adequate protein, etc.  It usually requires feeding one of the super premium brands.  I'm feeding Eagle Pack holistic fish formula right now which has 12% fat and I'm really careful about what types of treats I give.   [font="times new roman"][color=#000000][size=3]None of this has anything to do with the skin problems you are seeking input about, but I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the potential for pancreatitis that mini schnauzers face.[/size][/color][/font]