A weekend in Belgium and a fortnight in Puglia are not the same trip for a dog. Southern Europe, and parts of the south of France, carry vector-borne diseases that are uncommon in this region, and the same applies to dogs adopted from those countries and brought north.
This is an area where general advice is not enough, because the right prevention depends on exactly where you are going and when. The purpose here is to tell you what to ask about.
The main ones to discuss with your vet
Leishmaniasis, transmitted by sandflies which are active from dusk to dawn in the warmer months around the Mediterranean. It is the one that matters most, because it can be serious, it is not always curable, and signs, skin lesions, weight loss, lameness, kidney problems, may appear months or years after the trip.
Heartworm, transmitted by mosquitoes in parts of southern Europe, with prevention given on a defined schedule around travel rather than as a one-off.
Ehrlichiosis and babesiosis, transmitted by ticks, with tick species and seasons that differ from ours.
Tapeworms and other parasites picked up from local scavenging.
Book the conversation six to eight weeks before you travel. Some preventive measures have to start before departure, and a collar or product applied the night before is not the same protection.
Questions to ask
- Which risks apply to this specific region, at this time of year?
- Which product or combination covers them, and when does it need to start?
- Is a leishmaniasis vaccination appropriate for my dog, and what does the schedule involve?
- Which product repels sandflies, as opposed to killing ticks after they bite?
- What do I need on my return, and when should the dog be tested if at all?
- Which signs, over the next two years, should make me mention this trip again?
What you can do on the ground
Keep the dog indoors from dusk until dawn during sandfly season, use screens where they exist, and avoid sleeping arrangements on a terrace or in a garden. Avoid walks around dusk and dawn, when sandflies are most active, which is the opposite of the routine you would follow at home in the heat, so plan the day around it: keep walks short, in the shade, once the sun is up, and rest through the afternoon indoors.
Check the dog for ticks by hand every evening, remove them promptly with a hook, and note the date. Do not let the dog drink from standing water or scavenge, and keep it away from local dogs of unknown status.
Prevention is not one product
The confusion that costs dogs their health is assuming that the monthly tick product used at home covers a Mediterranean trip. It usually does not. Repelling sandflies is a different job from killing ticks after they bite, heartworm prevention runs on its own schedule tied to the travel dates, and some products cannot be combined.
Take the exact dates and the exact region to the appointment, and ask for the plan in writing: what to give, on which dates, before, during and after. Put those dates in a calendar with reminders, because a missed dose in the middle of a holiday is the commonest failure.
Leaving the dog at home instead
For an older dog, a medicated dog or one that travels badly, three weeks in the heat of southern Europe is not a holiday. The alternative worth pricing is care at your own address: the routine unchanged, the same walks, and none of the parasite exposure.
That is a genuine comparison rather than a sales line: for many households the dog has a better fortnight at home, and the owner has a better one too.
Dogs adopted from the south
Rescues from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Romania arrive in Luxembourg regularly and many are entirely healthy. A responsible organisation tests for the relevant diseases before travel and gives you the results; ask for them, and ask which tests were done, because a clear test very early after infection can still be negative.
Tell your vet the country of origin at the first appointment and keep it in the dog's history permanently. Years later, an unexplained skin problem, weight loss, nosebleeds or kidney findings are interpreted very differently in a dog that spent its first two years in Andalusia.
Coming home
Keep the travel dates, the region and the products used in a note with the vaccination record. If your dog becomes unwell in the following months, with skin lesions, lameness, lethargy, weight loss or eye problems, mention the trip explicitly rather than waiting to be asked.
The same applies to whoever else looks after your dog. A walker who knows the dog has just come back from four weeks in the south, and who finds a tick or notices weight loss, will report it as relevant rather than as routine.
General information for dog owners in Luxembourg, not veterinary or legal advice. For your own dog, ask your vet, a qualified behaviourist or your commune. How this journal is written and checked.
Away from your dog all day?
PAWLY provides individual dog walks, home visits and overnight care in your own home, across Luxembourg City. Same walker every time, written report after every visit.
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