Kimmy,
Your post has me wondering why the vet is taking such a mild approach to something so contagious. By this I mean, why are you getting only corizone shots to stop the itch instead of doing something to actually stop the spread of the Scabies mite? If this is indeed Scabies then it can be spread to humans as well as other dogs although it is more common from pet to pet than from pet to human. Since you or anyone else who has contact with Kia doesn't seem to be having a problem, it may be possible this is not what Kia's problem is.

Check her closely with a magnifying glass to see if you can see any infestation of the Scabies mite on her. I would think a dip of some sort would be in order if she is infested as well as the cortizone to relieve the itching. The dip would need to be readministered in bi-weekly does for about 3 rounds to kill larvae and adults. The whole life cycle is about 25 days in total. The condition needs treated at the base level though which is to kill the mites and I have not heard of any other way to do it except for dips.

First let me say.... I am not a vet. This is only my guestimate having been around dogs for many years. But you said she gets it in fall and it gets worse in winter. So it is a seasonal thing. Scabies (other wise known as sarcoptic mange in dogs) is not a seasonal thing and usually is not prominant in winter. However, there is another thing that closely relates to scabies that is very seasonal and that is CHIGGERS. They are more commonly seen in the ear, armpit and abdomen. Sounds more like Kia's symptoms than the mange mite.

Chiggers are also treated with dips but do not infect humans like they do animals. My suggestion is to request the vet get a scraping to identify what type of parasite you are dealing with or just treat poor Kia with steps to kill the parasite instead of just relieving the itch.

All that being said, I hope there is some useful information you can use out of it. My last bit of info might be to eliminate the entire possibility of a food allergy. The dry food you are feeding is an ok food but consists of many different ingredients. Try California Natural made by the Natura company. It is made with only a couple ingredients and has been know to eliminate many food related allergies in many dogs. Because of it simple formula there is less to deal with in determining what is going on and if allergies are responsible for some of the things we see commonly in dogs such as excessive scratching. My opinion is... it can't hurt!

One last thing.... moist food isn't necessary and many kinds are made with preservatives that only complicate the matter more. Uuntil you determine if the itching is food allergy related stick with the dry California Natural only. You can check out Natura's site at www.naturapet.com.