I will come out of lurking for this one.
i have suggested that to the vet but she is "sure" its contact dermatitis.
Why is she so sure of that? Have you had any allergy testing done?
The reason I ask, is because I had a vet long ago who steered me away from testing my dog. Said it was expensive (it is) and then it would require expensive shot therapy (not necessarily). She would rather do food trials to try to find out what was causing my dog's problems. (I now believe she just wanted the cash cow of a constantly sick dog with a gullible owner.) I spent way WAY more in vet bills than the allergy testing would have cost. Until I switched vets, tested the dog, eliminated all the foods she was allergic to, and then it was like a miracle! I couldn't eliminate the outdoor allergens or the dust mites in the house she was allergic to, but just removing the food culprits gave her immune system enough of a break, that she was able to deal with the others just fine on her own.
Anyway, my point is, if you don't get the allergy test(s) done, you just don't know what specific ingredients your dog is allergic to. So all the special "whatever"-free diets in the world won't help if they happen to contain any one item on your dog's "allergy" list. You are just shooting in the dark until you know what she specifically needs to avoid.
Right now I have a 3 year old dachshund who is allergic to most everything under the sun. I've searched through many many ingredients lists. Each one gets ruled out within the first few items. I finally found a formula from "Sport Dog Food" that only has one small allergen way at the end of the list that I'm hoping will be small enough not to matter. That company has a lot of special formulas. Google them, maybe you will find something you can use. But you would really need to know first what it is you have to avoid.
The raw diet route may well be your answer, but I suspect you will still need to make sure you don't use something she is allergic to. (What if it's rabbits?!) My current dog's allergy test cost me $470. But well worth it if it saves me the thousands I spent on my previous dog, prior to having her tested. And healthier for the dog than the trial-and-error route. Especially if your vet starts pushing prednisone shots.
I hope you are able to find just the right diet for her, and that it alleviates her issues.
