Canine Haven

[Sakriya]

Alright, so my little Shih Tzu mix has some skin issues.
When I lived in Calgary Alberta, the weather was really dry and he had pretty bad flaking/dandruff.

He used to get these scabs. They were dry and hard (the type of scab you get when you scrape your knee or something). It almost seemed they were from his skin cracking. He would get them on the lowers parts of his neck (on the sides) and sometimes his chest. But those were the only spots.
So I did the whole vitamin E everyday, and bought him this medicated shampoo and rinse (which actually helped).
I switched him onto Orijen Adult Formula (from like, Iams).
His skin was pretty good after that, no sores or anything.

Until we moved. Now we're in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. So its fairly humid.
But then Chewy gets another sore, but it's not like the ones he used to get. It was wet and really painful and itchy. I looked online and figured that it was a Hot Spot. Now I know that I should have taken him to the vet for that but I have no way of getting around (until I move into my own place this fall). By the time my mom comes home from works its too late for the vet. But anyways, I did manage to clear it up and all was well.

But that wouldn't last. Two days later he gets another sore on his other side. But this one was different still, it was infected. I was spending the week at my Aunt's house and luckily she's in walking distance of the Vet. So I go in, the vet says it is an abscess. So she shaves the area and puts Chewy on Steroids and Antibiotics for two weeks. The things is, she wasn't really able to say what caused it. She said it could be stress, or that maybe he just started scratching the spot until it got to this point. Maybe a mosquito bite. It's still a mystery. So he's all better now (finishing the last of his meds).

But I was hoping that you guys could throw some ideas at me of what is causing this, how treat them and prevent them.

This poor guy has had many health problems already ( but that's what I get for buying from a BYB). I love my little dog, and I'm happy to fork over the money (when I can O.o) to help fix him.

Thanks!