Rabies is not the only disease you are able to vaccinate your dog from before travelling abroad. There are also a number of preventative treatments you can give your dog to help protect them as much as possible. Read on to find out more.
Discussing your planned route with your Vet is definitely worth doing so they can advise you on the most appropriate vaccinations or preventative treatments available.
Keep in mind though that if you live in the middle of the country like we used to, then you may well end up knowing more than your Vet about travelling abroad! So basically, do your own research and don’t rely on your Vet to tell you everything you need to know!
It’s worth noting that they have much worse diseases that can potentially be untreatable and fatal in dogs in Europe. However, preventative treatment will certainly help reduce the risk of this happening. This is a very useful website for travelling with a dog in Europe.
Ticks, tapeworms, heartworms and mosquitos are a big concern abroad.
After talking with our Vet, we bought a years supply of Milbemax (to combat heartworm, hookworm, roundworm and tapeworm infections) and Bravecto (for flea and tick prevention) before we left.
We were advised to give Scrappy one Milbemax dose per month while we were abroad and one Bravecto dose every three months.
This is easily done for us as they can be added to his normal food when needed, (although you do need to make sure they actually eat the tablets and not spit them out like our little monkey!!)
Your Vet will need to check the weight of your dog to ensure the correct dose is prescribed for them.
Our Vet prescribed us some Metacam in case Scrappy needs pain relief for any reason.
As I was worried he would get seasick, we also bought some Cerenia which is for travel sickness in case it was needed. Luckily Scrappy has adapted to life on water well and hasn’t required these at all.
One of the diseases we were told about was Leishmaniosis.
After researching this more, we were very concerned about Scrappy catching this when abroad as some of the areas we were planning to travel to are affected by this, so we decided to get the vaccination that was available (CaniLeish).
It was a course of three injections that had to be given with three weeks between each one.
Scrappy was fine after the first and second jabs but suffered a bad reaction almost immediately after the third was given.
We lived a 15/20 minute drive from the Vets. I noticed him pawing at his face in the car on the way home but didn’t think much of it.
After I arrived home, I went to see Dave and let Scrappy run around the house as normal.
Five minutes later, he appeared in the doorway and his face had badly swelled up.
He was almost unrecognisable.
We immediately rang the vets and told them we were coming straight back with him and to expect us.
He was taken in almost straight away and given treatment for the reaction. He had his leg shaved and was given an anti-histamine via injection to reduce the swelling.
Luckily the swelling reduced before long and we hung around for a while to make sure he was OK before taking him home and keeping a very close eye on him.
It’s weird how he was fine after the first couple of jabs but the reaction happened after the third one!
You are supposed to get a booster jab a year after the initial course but after the reaction he suffered – we decided that it’s not worth the risk of him suffering an even worse reaction which could potentially be fatal the next time.
Scrappy may have just been unlucky in having a reaction but it’s worth knowing that it is a possibility if you decide to have your dog vaccinated against the disease.
It is a horrible thing for them to catch so make sure you think long and hard about protecting your dog if you will be travelling to affected areas and weigh up the pros and cons.
These are the other vaccinations and preventative treatments we came across while preparing to leave.
Have you found any others for your dog?