Q: Make sure your dog has a high-quality balanced diet and constant access to fresh water. You should choose a commercial dog food that lists a named meat, like chicken, beef or lamb, at the top of the ingredients list, followed by a named vegetable, like sweet potato or carrot. These quality ingredients are more nutritious than "meat-by-products" or "soya" and the food is more likely to contain good levels of vitamins and minerals. It's also a good idea to look for a food that has added vitamin E or omega-6 fatty acids, since these can nourish your dog's skin.You should put  olive oil on the dogs food to help get rid of the dry skin. It works quite well and it serves as a great treat for the dog.  Cheaper or economy foods usually begin with lower quality ingredients and are more heavily processed. This can cause your dog's skin to suffer, especially if you change from a good quality food to a poor quality food. While you won't notice the changes immediately, you will see a difference after about a month. Regardless of whether you choose a high or low quality commercial food, some nutrients will be destroyed during processing. If your dog has dry skin, you may need to give additional nutrients in the form of dietary supplements. These can nourish skin cells deep within your dog's tissues, which will lead to healthy skin after about a month of supplementing. Consider adding the following nutrients:  Vitamin E: Give your dog 1.6 to 8 mg / kg per day. Ask your vet for a dosage specific to your dog. Vitamin E is an antioxidant which can improve your dog's skin and promote healing. It does this by combating the damage done to skin cells as a result of environmental factors such as pollution.  Omega fatty acids or oils: These are also known as PUFA (poly unsaturated fatty acids). Omega 3 is found in flax, corn, and soy oils, while Omega 6  is found in fish oils. These fatty acids are anti-inflammatory (helpful if your dog has allergies), which can nourish the skin cells, and improve the skin's defensive barrier. The recommended dose is 30mg/kg, but if you accidentally give your dog too much, he can get diarrhea. You should brush your dog every day. This will distribute natural oils throughout the coat, keep it shiny and protected, and prevent oil buildup that could cause irritation. Brushing is a simple way to condition your dog's skin and it acts like a massage, increasing the blood supply to the skin. This lets more oxygen reach the skin and remove waste products, which can alleviate dry skin. Remove matting in the fur as soon as you notice it. Mats tighten up against the skin and air from reaching your dog's skin, which can cause dry and flaking skin. Not only will bathing your dog prevent dirt and oil buildup, but it will also give you the chance to closely examine your dog's skin and coat for skin problems like parasites. Generally, you should shampoo your dog monthly or up to every two weeks at most if he has normal skin. If your dog with dry skin rolls in mud and needs a bath, use an oatmeal shampoo and avoid over-drying him. Choose a dog shampoo that is specifically pH balanced for dog skin. Don't use a perfumed shampoo, since it could dry out the skin. A good choice is an oatmeal shampoo which is gently moisturizing but not greasy. Low humidity associated with cold weather can cause or aggravate already dry skin. Control your home's humidity levels using humidifiers which will add moisture to the air. Indoor heating can dry out a coat, so be careful about overheating the house. Keep your dog from lying against heaters. You should also keep your dog indoors during dry, cold weather. Moisturizing your dog's skin will take time because the skin is made up of layers of skin cells. The mature skin cells at the top are older and dryer, with a tendency to be flaky. The skin cells at the bottom are called the "germ" or baby skin cells. It takes over 28 days for baby skin cells to migrate upwards and become mature skin cells at the top. Keep conditioning your dog's skin for at least a month, so you can begin looking for improvement. After a month or two of conditioning treatment, you can reevaluate what's effective in treating your dog's dry skin.
A: Feed your dog a nutritious diet. Give your dog dietary supplements. Groom your dog on a regular basis. Bathe your dog. Monitor your home's humidity. Be patient.

Q: Those first ten or so minutes after it starts to rain can be the most dangerous. This is because when rain first begins to fall, it stirs up oil and other substances that have dried on the road. The mixture or oil and water forms a film on the road that makes it extra slippery.  During those first few minutes, drive more slowly and be on high alert for other drivers skidding. Heavy downpour over an extended period of time will eventually wash the roads clean, so conditions might be a little less dangerous at that point. The faster you’re going, the harder it is for your car to maintain traction in wet conditions. If your tires connect with a puddle of standing water, instead of maintaining contact with the road, they'll be more likely to skid. That's why it's important to slow down in wet conditions, even if visibility is fine.  It’s fine to go under the speed limit if the roads are wet. Don't go slower than the flow of traffic, but don't feel you have to go 70 mph (110 km/h) on the highway during a downpour. It’s especially important to go slowly if you see standing water. These are the spots where you’ll be most likely to hydroplane, since your tires will have difficulty maintaining traction. They aren't always easy to see, so be extra cautious (and drive a little slower) when enough rain has fallen to start collecting in puddles.  Puddles are most likely to form along the sides of the road, so try to stay in the center of the lane.  Try to drive in the tire tracks left by the cars in front of you. This decreases the chance that water will build up in front of your tires and cause you to lose control of your car. Make sure your windshield wipers are working properly. Poor visibility during rainfall leads to more accidents in part because it's difficult to see puddles through a wet windshield. If you're driving on the highway and using cruise control, turn it off when it starts to rain. You’ll be more in tune with the conditions around you when it’s off. You may need to reduce your speed quickly, and that's easier to do when your foot is already on the brake and you're paying careful attention to the road conditions and your speed. This enables you to maintain traction more easily and will prevent you from going too fast. While it's not necessarily possible to do if you're on a highway, if you're on a road with a lower speed limit driving in a lower gear can help you safely take treacherous turns or drive down hills without hydroplaning. If you have to brake, do so in gentle pumps; if your car has anti-lock brakes, then you can brake normally. Make sure that you don't lock the wheels, which will throw your car into a skid.  Avoid sudden acceleration and braking. Don't make sudden turns, as these could throw your car off-course. Be extra cautious on curvy roads, taking care to steer smoothly and to drive slowly.
A:
Be careful during the first few minutes of rainfall. Slow down in wet conditions. Avoid driving through puddles and standing water. Turn off cruise control. Consider driving in a lower gear. Drive slowly and carefully to avoid skids, and maintain a mild pressure on your brake and gas.