Standard poodle with sensitive skin

Question
I have two white Standard Poodles, brother and sister.  The bitch has no problems at all and her skin is dark, it goes quite black in the summer.  The dog, on the other hand, has a very pink skin and the lightest touch will make his skin crawl.  I use a very effective flea and tick repellant on them on a regular basis and it works well so his problem does not come from an infestation.  The autumn is always a bad time for him when the grass is tall, dry and dusty.  He has to have his feet and legs washed when he gets home to prevent him from tearing himself to pieces.  The rest of the year is much better for him but he always has a degree of irritation that makes him bite his feet and legs.  I have taken him to the vet and checked that he has no skin disease as such.  Do you think his problems could be dietary?  I feed them both IAMS or Eukanuba (I think you have them in the USA). A dog behaviourist told me recently that I should put them on a raw food diet, for instance chicken carcasses.  I'm not very enthusiastic about the idea but would welcome your views.

I hope this is an appropriate question to ask you. Thank you for your time.

Maggie Hart

Answer
I believe you are describing atopic dermatitis or contact allergies.  If the dog reacts in the grass, there may be a hypersensitivity to something outside.  Ask your vet if that is a possibility.  One way to quickly tell is to give the dog a shot of a cortisone type drug.  If he is better for 5-7 days and then starts up again, that is most likely an allergic reaction.