shedding/ very dry skin & nose

Question
Hi, I have a 3 year old male bulldog. He was given to me by my husband's cousin, He did not take care of him at all. He kept him outside all the time so he was pretty tore up when we got him. I'm very new at taking care of these breed of animals. He had ear mites and I got read of those. He is recently getting over an ear infection now. He is always scratching and losing his hair. I have to vaccuum so much because of his shedding. The last owner was feeding him diamond dog food (crap). I have him on Iams Natural Healthy. He doesn't seem to care for it very much. I researched on these animals and read where you couls give them cottage cheese with their food. I tried that and he pretty much just eats the cottage cheese and thats all. I also tried wetting the food but he just slurps the excess water out of the bottom so hes not eating very well. Hes got weight but I'm concerned about his eating habits and the shedding. Oh and I have also been giving him No Shed Pills They worked a little And hes been getting Gluco tabs for his joints. If you could give me some advice on this matter I would greatly appreciate it. Like I said i'm new with this breed if animal. Thank you

Answer
If I were you I'd do a couple of things. I would have a fecal done to identify any parasites he may or may not have. I would worm him for tapeworms regardless of what shows up in the fecal exam. Then I would put him on a natural diet, something like Innova or Wellness.  If this dog was severely run down, it may take months for him to get back into condition. Forget trying to add goodies to his food in and effort to get him to eat. I would get rid of the "no shed" pills. I have no idea what those might even contain.