allergy

Question
I have a dog that I rescued.  She is 2 years old and part yellow lab and not sure what else.  She stratches continually.  Her skin is broken out everwhere. I normally give 2  benedryls a day. I also wash her in a medicated shampoo.  I even started giving her a claritan a day.  She is also on advantage for flea control.  She is the sweetest dog and i hate to see her so miserable.  She also had a series of predisone last year.  I am thinking that the culprit is my pool in the back yard.  Her problem seems to be worse in the summer months.  She loves the pool and will swim 6 or 8 times a day.  We have a salt water generator that makes chlorine for the pool.  It is impossible to keep her out of the pool.  She absolutely loves it.  I dont know what to do to help her.  Her name is Lulu she is a 2 yr old female.    She has been spayed.  Any help that you can give is greatly appreciated.

Answer
Have you discussed this with your vet?  It is possible the problem is parasites or an allergy.  You may be able to identify and treat it or avoid the allergen once identified.  

Chlorinated pool water can be bad.  Are you carefully controlling it to maintain the recommended amount? You could give her body a little help by adding more oil to her diet, perhaps a teaspoon a day of a liquid cooking oil.  Most of them are loaded with the linoleic acid dogs need for their skin.  You could try a daily rinsing with water with nothing in it but the conditioner used for dogs bathed frequently.