Malteses Itching like Crazy

[magictouch]

My parents have 2 malteses that I'm taking care of at the moment. They've been itching themselves for about a week now. They'd constantly turn and scratch with their hind legs and lick their paws. It's clear that somethings bothering them. On their skin are rashes. They look like splotches of red dots in random places. I'm wondering what this could be. Or if it could be contagious to humans. My parents are going to take them to the vet as soon as they return from their vacation- it shouldn't be fatal so I can wait?

[magictouch]

Are fleas visible to the naked eye? They have been groomed and their fur is pretty short. I'm not seeing any bugs.

[ineedhelp52]

I had 3 Malteses and they got fleas once and since they have solid white straight , single layer hair, all I had to do was separate their hair and it was very easy to see the fleas moving about.  Until you get the flea guard you can use skin so soft.  It is not harmful to the digs either.  You can buy it at Walmart or the mall.  You can also saturate rubbing alcohol on a towel then wring the excess iout.  Wrap the towel around the dogs.  Continue doing this until you get all of the fleas.  IF THEY HAVE OPEN SORES, DO NOT USE THE ALCOHOL.  FIND SKIN SO SOFT INSTEAD UNTIL YOU GET THE FLEA GUARD.  

[Misfits4Me]

Hello....The red splotches sound like flea bites to me, too.   Are they on a monthly flea preventative (From the Vet)? They need to be......Fleas can make dogs so miserable from scratching, then open wounds, then infections...It can end up a vicious cycle....
Fleas can also lead to some worm infestations. (In your dogs) .....

NO, fleas are NOT lice (Don't worry about your head!).....Other than they both make you itch!  A flea can jump on you and bite, but you cannot get infested like lice will do...

Sometimes you'll never see the flea on the dog....However, the red spots lead me to be believe they've been there.......

This also could be an allergy to something else....Hard to tell....Yes, dogs can become allergic to their food....Particularly, if they HAVE eaten the same food for a long, long, time......

I'm glad to hear your parents are going to take them to the Vet when they get home.....They need to get their itches under control before it gets worse.....

No, this is not fatal......So, yes you can wait........This has been a terrible season for fleas......Worse than usual!!!!   Take care & please let us know if you need anything else........Karla

[magictouch]

Hmm... I'm not that itchy... My head was itchy a couple of days ago but after I shampoo'd that was fixed. Are fleas different from lice? So how do I confirm that they're fleas? They have patches of red dots of them. As for food, I don't think that's the case. They've been eating the same food for awhile now. Thanks for your reply.

[seeana]

Looks like they have got lots fleas very easily fixed ! are you getting itchy yet? that is the only way it is catching if some of the fleas  jumps on you.If you read this you will start to scratch just thinking about it.
Or if not it could be something you are feeding them that they have an allergy to but unlikely as both of them are affected.