FSME (Frühsommer-Meningoenzephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis) is a real, officially tracked risk in Germany, and unlike a general seasonal tick warning, it's mapped down to the individual district (Kreis). The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's national public-health institute, designated 178 Kreise as FSME risk areas as of its 2023 published update, concentrated overwhelmingly in the south: 94 in Bavaria and 43 in Baden-Württemberg, with smaller numbers in Thuringia, Hesse and Saxony.

In practice, this means almost the entirety of two of Germany's largest states is mapped risk territory. RKI's own data shows only two districts in all of Bavaria (Augsburg and Schweinfurt) and only one in all of Baden-Württemberg (Heilbronn) fall outside the designated risk zone — a visiting dog owner planning a hiking trip anywhere else in those two states should assume they're in a mapped FSME area by default, not the exception.

FSME is a viral disease carried by ticks, transmitted early in a bite — unlike Lyme disease, prompt tick removal does little to reduce FSME risk specifically, since the virus can transfer within the first hours of attachment. RKI's STIKO vaccination committee recommends FSME vaccination for people who are tick-exposed in a risk area; a vaccine for dogs isn't part of standard veterinary practice in the way it is for people, so prevention for a dog comes down to tick-repellent products, checking after any walk through long grass or undergrowth, and prompt veterinary attention if a dog shows unusual fever, lethargy or neurological symptoms after a known tick exposure in a risk area.