1 1/2 yr. old large dog

Question
My dog "Bark" was a stray dog so I am not really sure what breed he is, but he is a large dog.He often gets raw, or scabby skin irritations that are painful to him. I have taken him to the vet. before to be checked for mange and that came out neg.  I don't know if he needs a special shampoo, we have used stuff for sensitive skin and it didn't help any.I have had this dog for over a year and he seems to be otherwise healthy but the poor animal always seems to have a sore. Could you please help us?

Answer
You did not give me much informsation as to the location of these lesions. Whenever I get an itchy dog, even if the skin scrapings are negative for mites, I treat the dog for sarcoptic mites anyway.  About half of these dogs will itch and get skin lesions, but they defy diagnosis. So ask your vet to treat for it even if the tests are negative.  If that doesn't help, then ask the vet to try some steroids to calm the skin down to help stop the reaction.