Irritated poodle skin - white spots only

Question
Hello - I am a new parti poodle owner and came across your website trying to find some answers to my puppy's skin problem.  I read where you do not diagnosis problems but thought you may have some clues.  Our poodle has scratched since we got him at 15 weeks.  The vet assessed at the time that he just may have dry skin.  We had left his hair long.  He is now about 9 months old and we got his hair shaved off about a month and a half ago.  We discovered the skin under his white hair is very red and irritated.  The vet does not think it is seasonal alergies since he was scratching in February when we got him and the seasons have changed.  The vet has us doing a food trial - changing his food to lamb and rice for the next 12 weeks.  She wants to determine if it is a food alergy.  She said it will take about 12 weeks to get a result if in fact it is a food alergy.  I am puzzled, as is she, is that his skin is only red and irritated under the white hair, not the black - under the black hair it is normal.  She has suggested the next step is to take him to a dog dermotologist.  She also wants to do a skin scraping at the next visit.  She does not think it is mange or mites as she said his coat would be a mess if it was....he chews a lot but no holes or bald spots.  He does a few dry scabs on one area on his high back but that is under the black hair and the only sign of anything unusual under the black hair.  He is on an anitiodic for the scabs and pretezone for his itching.   His white front legs do not appear to be effected mostly his back/rear area.  His underside is sometimes red but not always ??  I notice when he plays hard he also turns very red in the white areas.  Does anyone have any clues or suggestions.  I would really appreciate any advice, experiences, or thoughts.  Thanks!

Answer
Hello Donna,
One thing that you didn't mention is how much your dog is outside.  It could be that if he spends alot of time outside, that his white skin could be sensitive to the sun.  The black skin would be resistant to sunburn, but not the white parts.  You may need to put some sunscreen on the white parts to see if that helps the redness.  

You may also want to try this diet that I have put together for dogs that have skin issues, ie: Dry skin, flaky skin, irritated or red patches, etc.
You might try this diet with him.  Feel free to change it up to suit him and your needs. If there are fruits or veggies that your dog enjoys, feel free to add them to the diet.  I would use the Lamb meat for your dog if you are doing a food trial involving Lamb and Rice.  

1 lb Beef, Chicken, Lamb or Turkey meat (cooked and drain 1/2 of the fat off)
1 can Sardines in Olive Oil
1 cup Spinach blended with the oil of the sardines
1 egg scrambled
1 1/2 cup Special K or Total Cereal
1 Apple Blended (or you can use 1/2 cup of Applesauce)
1/8 tsp Garlic powder
1 grated carrot
1/2 cup brown rice, cooked using chicken or beef broth for better flavor
This recipe is for a large dog, but if you think this is more than you would use in a week, it freezes nicely.  It has vitamins and minerals that are good for a dogs coat and skin and that are good for a growing puppy.  I would give him about 1/2 this diet and 1/2 of the dry diet he is eating now.

Give this a try and if you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask me.

Hope this helps you some.
Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim