Here are my suggestions. When changing food and adding supplements, give ample time before you get frustrated. Chattie's coat got really dry and brittle iIt took almost a WHOLE YEAR for Chatties coat to get healthy again.

First of all Fergie is due for a good thorough checkup with a vet who will LISTEN to you about your concerns. Rule out any medicall problems.

Find a good quality food and stick with it. Canidae All Life Stages worked wonders with my dry coated little Chattie. I also use Missing Link and for a while I was giving cold pressed fish oil.

Use a premium shampooand conditioner and rinse well. I actually set the timer for the final rinse -- 5 minutes under running water. Do not use a blow dryer, but air dry.

see when i lectured fergie i did all those things id lay her on her back and say no!...or i have grabbed her around her face and stared her in the eye and said no.....she wouldnt respond to those at all..she would just run around ...trying to get me to play after i would do it.....lately ive just gotten so stressed by her i would start like yelling at her....she would just look at me ...tilt her head to the side...then run around again wanting to play...lol she is not scared of me at all...i could scream like a crazy woman ..and its like she laughs at me...ahahha....lol......i dont know how to control her...

thanx for all the responses again! ..im glad i got all this info to help figure this out!! ..I will have to try the oatmeal bath i think...so any kind of instant oatmeal...lol i have the instant maple and brown sugar!! ...lol i think that would get pretty messy....and I will look into that apple cider vinegar as well.

It takes time to show her you are top dog. do not stop doing it and do nothing. :eek: She will NEVER learn that way. Pick one thing, do it EVERY SINGLE TIME she bites/chews on you. In time she WILL get it.

Its up to you to take control of her. You have to do whatever you can and keep doing it until she stops doing what she is doing.

A bunch of ideas I have heard are:
1. replace your bodypart with a toy
2. squirt her with water from a hidden spray bottle
3. hold her snout shut and firmly say no
4. roll her on her back, hold her there and firmly say no

Whatever method you decide to use, just stick with it and be patient. She is just a puppy, its going to take time for her to get it. :D

If all else fails, try Pert Shampoo (people shampoo). We had a pup that was actually pulling her fur out. Her skin looked horrible. We tried everything, till someone told us about Pert. One day she was chewing and pulling fur out, the next she wasn't. Of course, it took a little while for the fur to grow back out, but it did and it was beautiful. We just bathed her once a week. It's worth a try.

For the biting... you're getting good suggestions. They just take time. I usually hold Sammie on her side and put my face in her neck and growl really loud. Scares her and she straightens up and starts kissing instead of biting. In the beginning I had to do it more often, but don't have to do it so much any more. Giving her something to chew on is a great idea and it really works. Good luck.

thanx for all the advice guys!! appreciate it!!

Jaden gets really dry skin! He was having such problems I took him to a vet to run some test and found out he was allergic to corn! :eek: So, I switched his food to an even higher quality food that had no corn in it. He's currently on Canidae All Life Stages and it has done wonders for his skin and for his tearing/eye boogers! I mix in missing link with his meal in the morning and grizzly salmon oil with he evening meal. I also pre-oil his coat before washing using jojoba or olive oil. I will let it sit on his coat for about 6-7 hours and then he gets his bath. I use Petsilk Moisturizing Formula the most and Furbutter conditioner as his skin seems to respond to these the bests.

He also always has a sweater or coat on when it's cold. I've found the cold weather does horrible things to his skin and if I keep him covered up and away from the harsher elements he does MUCH better!

Hope this helps!

I got Coco when she was just over a year old. She has a terrible biting problem. What is helping a lot is what someone mentioned earlier -- the spray bottle. At first I was using a fine spray, which didn't bother her at all. Now I use the steady stream and it's working really well. My dog trainer told me it's important to always follow up. Before, if she stopped biting when she saw the bottle, I wouldn't spray her. Now, whenever she bites, I spray and tell her "no" at the same time.

I've also had a terrible time with Coco's tearing. Distilled water didn't work for me either, although I still give it to her. I've also been told to eliminate any type of red dye from her food and treats. That hasn't worked either, but I also continue to do it. The thing that's worked the best for me is eye envy. It's taken awhile, but I've been persistent, and it's helping a bit.

Have you tried giving her some beef liver everyday? Just a tiny amount is all it takes:) The dried liver treats that I get at Petsmart work well, and they're not expensive at all. PLUS my girls go crazy for them:) I just break them up into tiny pieces and use them for training. The distilled water does help, though, so I'm glad that you're still giving it to her. They don't need all the extra minerals in regular water, there's plenty in commercial dog foods. Now, if you are feeding a homemade diet, then the regular water would be better healthwise;)

This has worked for me
 

One of my Yorkies has dry skin, and the Vet recommended an oatmeal base shampoo. And then use a cap of Keri Oil, which can be purchased in the people section of any drug store, and then after rinsing the dog use the Keri Oil. (This is the same oil I use for myself) I put a capful into about 4 cups of warm water and rinse my dog and towel dry. This works for me but maybe for not all doggies. Also, frequent brushing helps stimulate the oil in their skin. And Don't bathe too frequently.

Also, your Yorkie could be allergic to corn or any ground corn in their dog food. My previous Yorkie had this allergy and after taking her off of any dog food that had corn in the ingredients she became much better. Again, you would need to ask the Vet if this is a possibility. Also, I heard, but have not tried this, that a little bit of canned dog food helps in this matter. I don't like the canned dog food, but if the vet said my dog needed it I would give it a try.

Check out the shampoo Jennie offers at http://sassypup.net It has shea butter as well as other anti-flake, anti-itch properties. Leaves the coats very silky as well. I just placed my order as Jennie sent me a sample. I loved it do much, I ordered right away. Shea Pet also offers a shea balm for hot spots, irritations, injuries.

Hopefully, if you get her skin cleared up the other things might go away. I can't imagine always being itchy and miserable..... Good luck with your little one.

When I got Hannah the breeder had been feeding her Iams puppy food and bathing her in Palmolive dish liquid-she told me that was the best thing to bathe them in- maybe it is but I can't bring myself to do it. Her coat was in terrible shape, I don't know if it was just made that way or it the diet and dish liquid did it. But I started bathing her in earth bath shampoo and conditoner, and started using cowboy magic detangle and shine. I switched her food to wellness and then just last week to canidae because she didn't like wellness very good-but she loves the canidae. I have been using missing link for about a month and I just started using grizzly salmon oil. Her coat looks so much better and the coat growing in is sooo silky. She has never had any skin issues but lately I have noticed her scratching and a small amount of dandruff. I have read on here that the missing link made some yorkies itch alot, so I don't know if that is the cause. Also I know that alot of people give their yorkies cottage cheese and yogurt and so I started giving Hannah some too so I wonder if she might be allergic to dairy. I will hold the dairy for awhile and see if that makes a difference. Anyway I can see that a good diet with premium food and supplements have made a huge difference in her coat. I know that earth bath is not considered quality shampoo and conditioner but I love it, it is all natural ingredients. I use the puppy shampoo cherry scent and I use the oatmeal conditoner. I also use ice on ice by Chris Christenson to spray on her before I comb her. I know how frustrated I was about her coat. I saw all the beautiful coats on here and I didn't know why Hannah was like that. I have gotten alot of good advise on here and I know it is making a big difference in her coat and her health. I have been using distilled water for the eye tearing and I think it has helped a little but it is still bad. Sorry I wrote a book but I wanted you to know what has worked for me. I hope this helps. Here are some pics. The first one is her coat in terrible shape about 2 months ago, the second is about a month ago, and the third was 2 days ago.

hey
 

Hey have you tried The (Tomyln) Nova Pearls tar and coal shampoo for flakes? seems to help. :)

You know, I do give her the freeze dried liver everyday as a training treat. When I had her in a dog training class, the school we went to used those. They are great b/c of how easy it is to give them very small pieces. It's funny though, I bought Angel Eyes and used it for a while, but never knew that it was beef liver. You're right, it's too expensive. Even though I give her the freeze dried liver everyday, she still has the tearing. I think I'm always going to just have to use Eye Envy on her everyday. It's expensive, too, but it seems to be the only thing that helps.

Thankyou again!!!
 

wow thanks again guys for all the great advise!! ......Its great to know I can come here and get such great help!!!!