Every summer, thousands of German families load the car and head south, to the beaches of Italy, the hills of Provence, or the islands of Greece, with their dogs. It is a wonderful trip. But there is a catch that many owners only discover too late: the warm Mediterranean climate is home to parasites and the diseases they carry that are rare or absent in most of Germany. Your dog's normal German parasite routine, a bit of tick protection in spring and regular deworming, is not enough for a summer in the south. These illnesses, known in German simply as Reisekrankheiten or Mittelmeerkrankheiten, can be severe, sometimes lifelong, and occasionally fatal. The good news is that the right preparation, started in good time before you leave, turns a serious risk into a manageable one. Here is what you need to know, and what to ask your vet for.
Why the south is different
Most of the dangerous southern dog diseases are what vets call vector-borne diseases, meaning they are transmitted by a biting "vector": a sandfly, a mosquito, or a tick [1]. The Mediterranean has vector species, and warm conditions that let them thrive, that German dogs rarely meet at home. Two features make these diseases especially treacherous. First, a single bite can be enough. Second, many of them incubate silently, so a dog infected on a July holiday may show no signs until autumn or even the following year [1]. That delay is exactly why prevention during the trip, and vigilance after it, both matter.
Below are the main threats, grouped by the creature that spreads them.
Sandflies: leishmaniasis, the one to take most seriously
Leishmaniasis is caused by a tiny single-celled parasite, Leishmania infantum, transmitted by the bite of sandflies (Phlebotomus species) that are widespread around the Mediterranean and active from at least April to November [1][2]. It is one of the most serious parasitic diseases a dog can bring back from abroad. Signs include weight loss, skin and coat changes, hair loss, enlarged lymph nodes, abnormal claw growth, and kidney damage. Crucially, treatment rarely cures the disease; dogs usually need medication and monitoring for months or years, and in severe cases without treatment up to 90 percent of affected dogs can die within a year [1]. Because the risk is so significant, ESCCAP, the European parasitology expert body, advises owners to think carefully before every trip about whether to bring the dog into high-risk areas at all [2].
Mosquitoes: heartworm and skin worm
Certain mosquitoes in southern and eastern Europe transmit Dirofilaria immitis, the heartworm, and Dirofilaria repens, the skin worm [1]. Skin worm usually causes only mild skin problems, but an untreated heartworm infection is often severe and can be life-threatening, and the treatment itself is difficult and carries real risks, so prevention is far better than cure [1].
Ticks: babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis and hepatozoonosis
Southern tick species carry a cluster of nasty infections. Babesiosis (Babesia canis, spread by the ornate dog tick and common in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and beyond) attacks red blood cells and can be rapidly fatal without treatment, with signs such as high fever, weakness, pale or yellowish gums and dark urine [1]. Ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis) and one form of anaplasmosis (Anaplasma platys) are spread by the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), which is at home in the Mediterranean but not established in Germany, and both can cause serious blood and clotting problems [1]. Hepatozoonosis (Hepatozoon canis) is unusual in that dogs are infected not by the bite but by swallowing an infected tick, for example while grooming [1]. What ties these together is that good tick control prevents most of them.
It is not only the deep south anymore
There is a common assumption that these are "Sicily and southern Spain" diseases, and that a holiday in the cooler north of Italy is automatically safe. That assumption is increasingly out of date. Rising temperatures, together with the movement of infected dogs, have allowed the sandfly vectors and leishmaniasis to spread steadily northward and to higher altitudes across Europe, and the pattern in Italy is striking. Historically, canine leishmaniasis was confined to the south, centre and islands, while heartworm was the northern, Po Valley problem; over the past two decades leishmaniasis has moved firmly into the north, and heartworm has spread across essentially the whole country [10].
A monitoring study across five northern regions in 2018 and 2019 classified 57 municipalities as newly endemic for canine leishmaniasis, including in Lombardy and Veneto, and collected competent sandflies (mainly Phlebotomus perniciosus) for the first time in 23 of them [11].
This matters directly for German holidaymakers, because some of the most popular destinations sit right in this expanding zone. Lake Garda (Gardasee), a classic summer favourite, straddles exactly the regions, Lombardy on its western shore, Veneto to the east, and Trentino to the north, where sandfly vectors and new leishmaniasis foci have been recorded [11]. Rising temperatures are widely expected to push this risk further north still [12]. The practical message is simple: do not treat a northern Italian lake as risk-free. Plan protection for a Garda holiday just as carefully as you would for the far south.
Armouring up before you go: four steps that count
This is the part that goes beyond routine German care. Ideally, book a vet appointment six to eight weeks before departure, because some measures need a head start [2][4]. A sensible plan has four parts.
1. Stop the bite: repellent and anti-tick products. The single most important measure is a product that repels and rapidly kills biting insects and ticks before they can transmit anything. For sandflies and mosquitoes, the evidence supports pyrethroid products with an "anti-feeding" effect: deltamethrin or flumethrin collars, and permethrin spot-ons [3][4]. Timing matters. A collar should be fitted at least one to two weeks before travel, while a permethrin spot-on should be applied at least two days before departure, and protection must be kept up for the whole trip and reapplied at the stated intervals (a deltamethrin collar protects against sandflies for roughly five to six months; a permethrin spot-on for only three to four weeks) [4]. Alongside this, use a reliable tick product, such as an isoxazoline chewable or an acaricidal collar, since ticks can transmit disease within hours to days of attaching [1][2].
2. Prevent heartworm from the inside. Repellents reduce mosquito bites but do not eliminate them, so for endemic destinations ESCCAP recommends adding a preventive heartworm treatment, a macrocyclic lactone such as milbemycin or moxidectin, on a schedule your vet sets around the trip [2][3]. Combining a repellent with a macrocyclic lactone, sometimes called a "double defense" approach, protects better than either alone [5], which matters now that the first case of heartworm resistant to these drugs has been reported in Europe [9].
3. Consider the leishmaniasis vaccine. Vaccines against canine leishmaniasis exist and can be part of a multimodal strategy, but their role is often misunderstood. They reduce the chance that an infected dog develops clinical disease; they do not prevent infection, and they do not replace repellents [2][4]. Expert groups such as LeishVet treat repellents as the first-line defense and vaccination as a second-line addition, decided case by case based on risk [4]. The vaccine also needs lead time and, usually, a prior blood test, which is another reason to see your vet early.
4. Manage behaviour and the environment. Sandflies are most active from dusk to dawn, so keep your dog indoors during those hours where possible, avoid areas of standing water where mosquitoes breed, and check your dog thoroughly for ticks every day, removing any you find promptly and completely [1][2].
A serious warning if you also have a cat
The pyrethroids that protect dogs so well, permethrin and deltamethrin, are extremely toxic to cats and can be fatal [6]. A cat does not have to wear the product to be poisoned; grooming or simply cuddling up against a recently treated dog can transfer enough to cause tremors, seizures and death [6]. If you have a cat at home or at your destination, tell your vet, and either avoid these products on your dog or keep the two animals strictly separated for at least 72 hours after application [6]. Never put a dog product on a cat.
Do not forget the baseline paperwork and vaccines
None of the above replaces the standard requirements for taking a dog across an EU border. Your dog needs a microchip and a valid EU pet passport (EU-Heimtierausweis), which any authorised vet in Germany can issue, plus a valid rabies vaccination, with the microchip implanted before the vaccination and a wait of at least 21 days after a first rabies shot before travelling [7]. Beyond rabies, Germany's standing veterinary vaccination commission (StIKo Vet at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut) considers distemper, parvovirus and leptospirosis to be core vaccinations, and leptospirosis in particular is worth discussing before a warm-climate trip near water [8]. Sort all of this well ahead, not in the last week.
After you get home: stay watchful for months
Because several of these diseases hide for a long time, the trip is not truly over when you unpack the car. Watch your dog over the following months for any of the signs above, and mention the travel history at any vet visit. For leishmaniasis specifically, expert guidance recommends testing dogs by a blood test around six months after returning from an endemic area, even if they seem perfectly healthy, so an infection can be caught early [4]. If your dog shows fever, lethargy, weight loss, skin changes, pale gums or dark urine at any point after a southern holiday, see your vet promptly and say where you have been.
The pre-travel checklist
Six to eight weeks before you leave
- Book a vet appointment specifically to plan travel protection, not just for a quick collar [2]
- Confirm the microchip, a valid rabies vaccination, and the EU pet passport are all in order [7]
- Ask about core vaccinations, including leptospirosis, for a warm and often wet destination [8]
- Discuss and start a repellent plan (deltamethrin or flumethrin collar fitted one to two weeks ahead, or permethrin spot-on two days ahead) [4]
- Discuss heartworm prophylaxis (a macrocyclic lactone) on the right schedule [2][3]
- Decide with your vet whether a leishmaniasis vaccine makes sense for your dog and destination, allowing for the lead time and any pre-test [4]
- If you also own a cat, raise the permethrin and deltamethrin toxicity issue now [6]
During the trip
- Keep every product topped up at the correct intervals; do not let protection lapse mid-holiday [2][4]
- Keep your dog indoors from dusk to dawn where you can, and away from standing water [1][2]
- Check for and remove ticks every single day [1]
After you return
- Watch for delayed signs of illness for months, and always mention the travel history to your vet [1]
- Arrange leishmaniasis testing around six months after returning from an endemic area [4]
The honest verdict
Italy, France and Greece are perfectly good places to take a dog, and millions of dogs travel there happily every year. But the Mediterranean is biologically a riskier environment for a dog than a German summer, and the diseases involved are the kind you want to prevent rather than treat. The formula is simple: see your vet several weeks ahead, protect against biting insects and ticks consistently, add heartworm prevention and, where appropriate, a leishmaniasis vaccine, and stay alert for months afterwards. For most dogs that plan is entirely doable. For a few, and for the highest-risk destinations, the most honest conversation to have with your vet is whether the dog should make the trip at all [2].
This article is for general information and is not a substitute for veterinary advice. Parasite risks, product choices and dosing depend on your individual dog and your exact destination, so plan your travel protection with your own veterinarian, and check current official EU and German sources for entry requirements.
References
- ESCCAP Deutschland. Welche Krankheiten können Hunde aus dem Ausland mitbringen? (leishmaniasis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, heart and skin worms, hepatozoonosis; vectors and distribution). https://www.esccap.de/hunde-aus-dem-ausland-und-parasiten/welche-krankheiten-koennen-hunde-aus-dem-ausland-mitbringen/
- ESCCAP Deutschland. Reisen mit Hund - der richtige Parasitenschutz für jedes Land (Reisetest): tick, mosquito and sandfly protection, heartworm prophylaxis, leishmaniasis vaccine, sandfly season April to November. https://www.esccap.de/reisetest/
- ESCCAP. GL5: Control of Vector-Borne Diseases in Dogs and Cats (guideline). https://www.esccap.org/guidelines/gl5/
- LeishVet. Prevention (fact sheet): repellents as first-line prevention, deltamethrin collar 5 to 6 months, permethrin spot-on 3 to 4 weeks applied at least 2 days before travel, collars fitted 1 to 2 weeks before travel, vaccination as multimodal second-line, testing 6 months post-travel. https://www.leishvet.org/fact-sheet/prevention/
- McCall JW, et al. Shifting the paradigm in Dirofilaria immitis prevention: blocking transmission from mosquitoes to dogs using repellents/insecticides and macrocyclic lactone prevention as part of a multimodal approach. Parasites & Vectors, 2017;10(Suppl 2):525. doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2438-4. https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-017-2438-4
- PDSA (People's Dispensary for Sick Animals). Permethrin toxicity in cats. https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/pet-health-hub/conditions/permethrin-toxicity-in-cats
- European Commission / Your Europe. EU rules on travelling with pets and other animals in the EU (EU pet passport, microchip, rabies vaccination, 21-day wait). https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/pets-and-other-animals/index_en.htm
- Ständige Impfkommission Veterinärmedizin (StIKo Vet), Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut. Impfempfehlungen für Kleintiere (core vaccinations for dogs: rabies, distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis). https://www.fli.de/de/aktuelles/kurznachrichten/neues-einzelansicht/aktuelle-impfempfehlungen-der-stiko-vet-fuer-kleintiere-und-wiederkaeuer/
- Traversa D, Diakou A, Colombo M, et al. First case of macrocyclic lactone-resistant Dirofilaria immitis in Europe - Cause for concern. International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, 2024;25:100549. doi:10.1016/j.ijpddr.2024.100549. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11153229/
- Mendoza-Roldan J, Benelli G, Panarese R, Iatta R, Furlanello T, Beugnet F, Zatelli A, Otranto D. Leishmania infantum and Dirofilaria immitis infections in Italy, 2009-2019: changing distribution patterns. Parasites & Vectors, 2020;13:193. doi:10.1186/s13071-020-04063-9. https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-020-04063-9
- Monitoring and detection of new endemic foci of canine leishmaniosis in northern continental Italy: An update from a study involving five regions (2018-2019). Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports, 2021;26:100612. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35012715/
- European Environment Agency, European Climate and Health Observatory (Climate-ADAPT). Vector-borne diseases (climate-driven northward and altitudinal expansion of sandflies, ticks and mosquitoes in Europe). https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/observatory/topics/health-impacts/vector-borne-diseases
