Frontline & Dry Skin

Question
I have a schnauzer almost two years old. He has dry skin and I have read that Frontline, which I have already purchased, spreads through oil glands. I have read a lot about putting fish oil and such in his food to help his skin but I don't know how long that will take and, of course, I want to treat him now for his sake. I also have found very few references to applying oil or lotion topically but none in reference to Frontline. I want to know if I could use some form of oil on his skin to help the Frontline spread but, of course, do not want to have the Frontline to spread through the oil and, in some manner, him be able to get sick from licking or whatever. I do the three days before / after the bath when applying. Also, I read that some shampoos will wash the Frontline off any time during the month (which I had never heard before) but there was no reference to what those shampoos were. I appreciate your help. By the way, although I am not totally opposed to holistic / natural approaches, I find there are very few people who will advise outside of those methods at all which can be really frustrating.

I appreciate your help in advance.  Thank you so much!

Answer
What are you feeding him?  If most of his calories are coming from a commercial dog chow, he should be getting all the oil he needs.  Feed a decent chow and as little else as possible, seldom if ever bathe the dog, and brush it daily with a soft bristled brush. You might add 1/4 a teaspoon a day of liquid cooking oil to its food.  Fish oil doesn't have any of the linoleic acid dogs need for their skin and coat.  Coconut oil has very little and flax and olive oil are low.  What is best for human hearts may not be the best for dogs' skin.   

If his skin is still dry, usually it is something else besides diet.  Have you had a vet examine him?  He might need to do blood work to find the real cause.  Once identified, there should be a safe, effective remedy.

I have never used it, but Frontline is widely used, and I never heard concerns about helping it spread or being washed off.  Again, the vet may be able to help with those concerns.  If your dog is one of the few Frontline doesn't work well for, that only leaves about a dozen other good products products.  I used Revolution for 5 years, but ran into a whip worm problem and will be working with my vet to choose a different product in the spring.  

As I suggested in my profile, your vet is a much better resource for medical concerns than me.   

I have no faith in holistic methods although many report success.  I do think those using them and alternative diets are over represented on the net.  I like to use things that I know were proven in controlled testing.