TRIED AND TRUE way to turn a dry skin and coat into a beautiful soft healthy coat. First, put the dog on real food. Use Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap
http://www.drbronner.com/drb_sai_liquids.html They are gentle enough for new born puppies, kittens and human babies. Gentle on your own hair and skin and for dogs they come in eucalyptus, tea tree and lavandin & lavender scents to repell fleas. After a shampoo make sure you rinse and rinse and take 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar to 1 pint of water for a final rinse. Then towel dry and do a hot oil treatment and wrap in a warm towel for at least 5 minutes. (not need to use a conditioner after the hot oil treatment. It leaves long hair soft and doesn't matt). (You can use VO-5 or equivilant). Rinse and towel dry. Do NOT use hair dryers. They are terrible at causing dry hair.
Add one gel cap of cod liver oil to the food once a day. The foods you can also give them are sardines, salmon, mackriel and tuna packed in oil. Follow these simple steps and you will be totally amazed at how they look and feel in just two weeks.