On the day itself, keep the EU pet passport or health certificate, any Bundesland-specific Listenhunde permit or insurance paperwork, and your transport booking confirmations all within easy reach rather than packed away.

If you're flying on Lufthansa, arrive with enough time to handle the pet check-in process separately from your own. If you're taking the train, have your dog's half-fare ticket and muzzle ready if your dog doesn't fit in a carrier. If you're driving in over an open Schengen border, know that a Bundespolizei spot check is possible even without a staffed checkpoint, so keep the paperwork accessible in the car, not in the boot.

Once you've arrived, save a local Tierärztlicher Notdienst (emergency vet) number immediately, covered in the Health section, even if you don't expect to need it. And from the first walk, default to leash-on until you've actually confirmed the specific Bundesland's rule for wherever you are — it's the one habit that works everywhere in Germany, even without memorising all sixteen states' individual dates.