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When is the best time to travel with a dog in Spain?

Tips for Stress-free traveling with a dog you have already received from me. So today we’re talking about the best time to travel to Spain. Especially in the south of the country, temperatures can easily climb above 40 degrees. And yes, that’s completely normal. However, it’s not always a pleasure for two- and four-legged friends. I can tell you ….. smoking, menopause, hot flushes ….. Well, I can speak well. I hardly have any fur, but to be honest: when it’s really high summer, I don’t like to know much either. Hence my HolaWuff advice: The best times to vacation with your dog in Spain are: Fall, winter and spring.

The north of Spain: a delight in summer

But as always, exceptions prove the rule. As Spain is huge, there are generally quite big differences in temperature. So if you really want to visit the Iberian Peninsula in summer, then you should opt for the north of Spain. The Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria, Navarre, La Rioja, Aragón, ….das are just some of the provinces that I can really recommend to you. Not only in summer, but also in autumn, when the forests are ablaze with color and there are endless trails to sniff out.

Cool equipment for hot days

But if you still want to head south, I have a few really cool tips for you. Logically, only going for an early morning walk is one. In the evening, it can happen that I don’t feel like going out even at 10 pm because it’s still too warm and steamy. But what really helps me through the dog days are my cooling mat, my cooling collar and my cooling vest. However, I sometimes argue with my mistress about who is allowed to lie on my cooling mat for dogs. I simply advised her to get a cooling towel set, then maybe she’ll be able to cope a little better with the summer temperatures. And when I’m out and about, my boss and mistress make sure I always have enough drinks with me with the portable dog bottle.

Summertime is critical, and not just because of the temperatures

It’s not just the heat that can affect dogs…. And yes, there is also a really unpleasant topic for us four-legged friends during the warm months in Spain: the so-called Mediterranean diseases. But there is no need to worry, because fear is never a good advisor and there are plenty of solutions. Just as our two-legged friends are plagued by mosquitoes, there are also some buzzing contemporaries that can be dangerous for us dogs. Babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, leishmaniasis and the heartworm disease dirofilariasis are the names of the Mediterranean diseases that can really get to us dogs. The following therefore applies: mosquito and tick protection for us four-legged friends too, for example Scaliboror, in summer, never lie on the ground in the hours between sunrise and day and sunset and night.

Topic Leishmaniasis

As difficult as this disease is to pronounce, it can also be dramatic. I say “can” because it is not for everyone. Some of my colleagues are infected, but the disease never breaks out. Some dogs live their whole lives without symptoms. But if it makes itself felt, then we are in a REALLY bad way. Really, really bad. The incubation period for leishmaniasis can be very long, which often makes diagnosis difficult: current symptoms are rarely associated with a trip to the south that took place years ago. To make matters worse, there are many different strains of the pathogen worldwide and the symptoms are influenced by the respective organ infestation. Leishmaniasis therefore manifests itself differently in each dog.

Symptoms of leishmaniasis

However, there are some typical signs that indicate leishmaniasis in our case and can also occur in episodes. These include:

• we itch and flake
• We are ready to go
• sometimes even apathetic
• now and then we even go lame
• we have diarrhea
• do not want to eat,
• we lose weight
• we have a fever from time to time
• our lymph nodes are swollen
• Our abdominal region is sensitive to pain
• our claws grow vigorously
• our eyes are always inflamed

What to do against leishmaniasis?

There is also a vaccination against leishmaniasis, but as this does not provide 100% protection, I have not had it. I don’t tolerate vaccinations well anyway. I prefer to rely on prevention…. a few simple rules in the period from June to September:

• Close-meshed fly screens on windows and doors (mosquitoes are only 4 millimeters in size)
• Please keep doors and windows without mosquito nets closed at dusk and in the dark
• Bring us into the house from dusk until dawn and move the last round of walks before dawn.
• If this is not possible, avoid windless places such as narrow alleyways, forests or moorland, as sand flies do not like wind

We got caught

If this has not helped and we have caught leishmaniasis after all, this is NO reason to despair. The disease cannot be cured, but there is still medical help and there is also a lot that the boss and mistress can do about nutrition. How do I know that? Well, a few years ago my mistress was looking after a nice Rottweiler on vacation. He was in the middle of a bout of leishmaniasis. It’s very unpleasant when a dog has the runs and can’t make it outside. That’s why the owners had covered everything with foil. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The colleague had lost a lot of weight and felt dog ….pardon ….menschsmiserabel.

Change of diet for leishmaniasis

My mistress didn’t look at it for long. There is a great leishmaniasis forum on the Internet(Spanish forum) from which she got a lot of information. Especially when it came to the food. Because the owners had given ZERO thought to it and filled the fridge with greasy pork lyoner and cheap canned food. It was not malicious intent on the part of the owners. It was ignorance. Usually the reason for fatal errors. On the same day that her mistress took over the care, she bought everything she needed to feed Rottweiler Louis a low-purine diet. No offal, no bones, only lean muscle meat/poultry, cottage cheese, potatoes, fruit and vegetables. A low purine diet is one of the keys to bringing dogs with leishmaniasis back to life, as purines are an important food component for leishmania. Although it’s best to cook for yourself, I understand that you can’t always do that. In such a case, the owner can also fall back on ready-made wet food that has been specially developed for dogs with leishmaniasis.

Pleasure and convalescence

What can I say: Louis loved the home-cooked food. And although he and I weren’t really the best of buddies, I was delighted that he was feeling better after just one week and, most importantly, that the thinness was gone and his zest for life was back. And then the guy finally put on weight again. He was initially 12 kilos underweight. At the end of the care period, the optimum weight was only 4. Anyone who has struggled with leishmaniasis knows what that means (good).

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a few things to bear in mind when traveling to southern countries, especially Spain. But with a little planning, even that doesn’t dampen the quality of life.

FAQ

When is the best time to travel to Spain with a dog?

The best time to travel to Spain with a dog is in spring, fall and winter. In summer, it is more pleasant in the north than in the south. With the right preparation, however, you can also travel south with your dog, but you have to be careful not to go for a walk in the midday heat.

What helps dogs in the heat?

Cooling mats, cooling collars and cooling vests provide the dog with pleasant cooling. He should also always have enough to drink and not be outside in the midday heat. Homemade ice cream made from yogurt or cottage cheese is a particularly cool treat.

How do I prevent my dog from contracting Mediterranean diseases?

Fit fly screens to windows and doors, keep those without protection closed at dusk and in the dark. Your dog should be indoors between dusk and dawn and go for its last walk before dawn. Avoid windless places such as narrow alleyways, forests or moorland, as sand flies do not like wind.

What can I do if my dog has leishmaniasis?

Although the disease cannot be cured, there are medications that can curb it. You can also help your dog with its diet: Make sure your dog is fed a low-purine diet without offal and bones.

What to feed with leishmaniasis?

Lean muscle meat, fresh fruit, cooked vegetables, poultry (without fat), boneless leg of lamb, boiled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, potatoes. Under no circumstances offal, skin, bones, soy, yeast or insects.