A veterinarian’s guide to tropical pet care, food safety, rabies, parasites, daily routines, and adapted love.
By six in the morning in Jakarta, the tiles are still cool enough for paws. The leash is ready. The water bowl is full. While preparing breakfast, your dog looks at you with the same excitement they do in Barcelona, Amsterdam, Sydney, London, or Singapore.
But Indonesia changes the rules. Not because dogs cannot live well here. They can. Many thrive. But in a tropical country, caring for a dog is not only about love. It is about adaptation. The heat changes the walk. The humidity changes the skin. Mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, rainy season, street animals, food hygiene, and hot pavement all become part of daily pet care. In Indonesia, the bowl, leash, vaccine card, and grooming towel are not mere details; they are preventive measures.
As a veterinarian and pet parent living in Indonesia, I believe one of the biggest mistakes expat dog owners make is assuming that the same routine from Europe, Australia, or the United States can simply be copied and pasted here. It cannot.
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The Tropics are Not Neutral
Indonesia’s climate is beautiful, but biologically intense.
Heat and humidity affect appetite, hydration, exercise tolerance, skin, ears, paws, digestion, parasites, and behaviour. A dog that would be very active in a cooler country may become slower here. A healthy long walk back home may become risky if done at the wrong hour in Jakarta or Bali.
Walk early, walk late, and avoid the hottest parts of the day. Pavement can burn paw pads. Flat-faced breeds such as pugs, bulldogs, and French bulldogs need extra caution because they do not cool themselves efficiently. When outdoors and walking, always bring with you a Hydro Flask with mineral cold water and a folded water bowl.
Fresh water must always be available. But in Indonesia, ‘available’ water is not enough. Water should also be clean, fresh, and preferably cool. (For our dog, we give mineral cold water, and sometimes we even add an ice cube.) In hot and humid homes, change it every three to four hours when possible, especially if the bowl is outdoors or exposed to dust, insects, or saliva.
Furthermore, wash the bowl with dishwashing soap, as simply rinsing the bowl with running tap water is not enough. A bowl can collect saliva, food residue, dust, biofilm, bacteria, and fungi. Food bowls should be washed daily and after every meal. If your dog leaves food after a mealtime, throw it away. Dogs must finish the portions at once, and leaving food for hours has a high risk of contamination. When it comes to bowl materials, stainless steel or good ceramic bowls are usually better than old, scratched plastic.
A healthy diet served in a dirty bowl is no longer a healthy routine.
Parasites also deserve serious attention. In Jakarta, Bali, and other tropical areas, ticks and fleas do not take a winter break. There is no cold season to interrupt their life cycle, so environmental pressure can remain high all year. Ticks can transmit diseases such as ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis, while fleas can trigger allergic dermatitis, skin infections, and household infestations. Leishmaniosis has a very low prevalence in Indonesia.
Discuss year-round parasite prevention with your veterinarian and check your dog after parks, gardens, beaches, or contact with free-roaming dogs.
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Food Is Not Only Nutrition; It Is Also Risk Management
Few topics create more debate than dog food. Kibble or home-cooked? Fresh, frozen, or raw? Imported or local?
There is no single perfect diet for every dog. The best diet is not the trendiest one; it is the one that is complete, safe, digestible, appropriate, consistent, and realistic for your household.
Kibble is often criticised because it is processed, but a good, complete kibble can be more nutritionally reliable than an improvised ‘natural’ meal. Home cooking can be excellent when properly formulated, but chicken, rice, pumpkin, and carrots every day are not a complete diet. Love is not a formulation.
Fresh-frozen cooked food can be a good option, but here in Indonesia, it depends on cold chain, freezer reliability, delivery conditions, thawing habits, and hygiene. Fresh does not automatically mean safe.
Raw feeding, meanwhile, is the most controversial. Some owners love it because it feels natural. However, in a tropical country like Indonesia, raw food also brings microbiological risk. This is not only a nutrition decision; it is also a household hygiene decision, especially in homes with children, elderly people, pregnant women, immunocompromised people, or household staff handling food.
Before asking, “What is the best food?” ask better questions: “Is it complete?” “Is it safe to store?” “Can I feed it consistently?” “Is my dog maintaining an ideal body condition?” “Are treats coued?”
Many urban pets face two opposite problems: too many calories or poor nutritional balance. Some are overweight because they live indoors, exercise less, are neutered, and receive too many treats. Others eat homemade or mixed diets that look healthy but may lack key nutrients. This is why daily needs matter. Pet parents should weigh the pet, understand daily calories, measure food in grams, count treats, and recheck body condition every two weeks. For most adult dogs, divide daily food into two meals. Fresh, cool water should be available all day.
A healthy bowl is not guessed; it is measured with love.
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Rabies, Street Animals, and Rainy-Season Risks
Rabies is one topic where I prefer to be direct.
Indonesia remains a rabies-risk country, and Bali has had a serious history with dog-mediated rabies. This, however, does not mean expat families should panic; it means prevention is non-negotiable. And recently, Bali has completely banned the entry of any dogs from other domestic islands.
For expatriates already living in Java cities, moving a dog to Bali requires navigating a complex domestic pipeline managed by specialised pet relocation agencies. Because direct entry via air or sea is strictly prohibited, these agencies coordinate specialised land transport, utilising air-conditioned vans and trucks to transport dogs down the length of Java before crossing the strait into Bali via domestic ferries. To pass regional checkpoints, the dog must be fully compliant with national biosecurity rules, including carrying an ISO-compliant microchip, updated vaccinations, a passing rabies antibody titer test (FAVN or RNATT test), and pre-approved government domestic transport permits.
Remember, rabies vaccines for dogs are formulated to last either one year or three years.
Keep your dog’s rabies vaccination up to date. Avoid contact with unknown dogs, especially street dogs. Teach children not to touch unfamiliar animals. If your dog is bitten or scratched, contact a veterinarian. If a person is bitten or scratched, wash the wound immediately with soap and running water, and seek medical care urgently.
Furthermore, families should also ask a doctor or travel-medicine clinic whether pre-exposure rabies vaccination for humans is recommended, especially for children, elderly people, people living in Bali or rural areas, rescue volunteers, or anyone frequently exposed to street dogs, cats, monkeys, or bats.
Another hidden risk in tropical cities is not always the animal you see; it is what animals leave behind. Rats, stray animals, and wildlife can contaminate the environment with urine and faeces. During the rainy season, puddles, wet pavement, drains, and floodwater can increase the risk of infections such as leptospirosis. Dogs may be exposed by licking contaminated water, walking with small cuts on their paws, sniffing dead rats, or drinking from puddles.
Avoid stagnant water, street waste, dead animals, and open drains. Wash paws after dirty walks. Ask your veterinarian whether leptospirosis vaccination is recommended.
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Exercise, Training, Grooming, and Teeth
Because of the heat, some dog owners reduce walks too much. This creates another problem: the dog’s weight gain, boredom, anxiety, poor muscle tone, and weaker bonding.
Dogs still need movement. They need sniffing, structure, sunlight, and mental stimulation. A walk is not only an exercise; it is an emotional ritual between dog and human. Therefore, when possible, walk your dog yourself. One leash, one walk, one shared rhythm.
Training is also part of health. Most dogs are trainable, so many behaviour problems can be improved, redirected, or managed with patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement. Avoid violence, intimidation, shouting, or fear-based methods. This is especially important for large dogs, guard dogs, and protection breeds. Strength is not control.
Crates can be useful for puppies, toilet training, travel, or safe rest, but a crate is not a place to leave a dog all day.
In Indonesia, grooming is not cosmetic; it is health care. Bathing the dog every one to two weeks can be reasonable, depending on coat, skin, lifestyle, and veterinary advice. However, drying is essential. A damp coat in a humid climate can become a perfect environment for yeast, bacteria, and fungal problems.
Dental care also matters. Daily brushing, even a little, can help prevent painful dental diseases. Start slowly. Use pet-safe toothpaste. Reward calm behaviour. A tiny treat after brushing can turn dental care into a positive routine.
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Adapted Love
Living with dogs in Indonesia is not about fear; it is about adapted love. The dogs that thrive here are not always the ones with the most expensive food or the trendiest routine. Instead, they are the dogs whose humans understand the climate, respect the risks, listen to science, and build small habits that survive real life.
Longevity is built quietly. One clean bowl. One measured meal. One fresh water refill. One safe walk. One vaccine. One checkup. One ordinary day at a time.
Drh Nacho Navarro-Regnè, DVM
- Veterinarian and Expert in Pet Nutrition & Canine Longevity
- Founder of Go-To Bites ® (Premium Functional Superfoods)
- Advisor to PT Inovasi Petcare Indonesia
- E: nachointernational@gmail.com
- M: +62 8118888634