Canine leishmaniasis is a genuine, specifically Spanish risk worth taking seriously, spread by the bite of the sandfly (flebotomo) rather than an ordinary mosquito. Sandflies are tiny, don't buzz, and are most active at dusk and in warm, humid conditions — meaning the risk isn't confined to rural areas; gardens and city parks carry it too. The disease has traditionally concentrated along the Mediterranean coast, in Andalusia, Extremadura and Madrid, though reporting suggests climate change is pushing the risk further north, with cases now reported in nearly every Spanish province.
Symptoms can take months or even years to appear and are easily mistaken for something else: a dull or flaking coat especially around the eyes and ears, unusually fast-growing nails, non-healing skin sores or hair loss, lethargy and weight loss despite normal appetite, and in advanced cases signs of kidney involvement like excessive drinking and urination. A vet can test for it directly, and while the disease is chronic, modern treatment can generally keep it controlled, with early detection the key factor in protecting long-term kidney health.
Prevention works best as a combination rather than any single product: a collar alone isn't considered sufficient, so a monthly spot-on repellent alongside a collar is the commonly recommended chemical barrier, and a leishmaniasis vaccine can reduce the risk of severe disease, though it doesn't prevent bites on its own. Keeping dogs indoors at dusk and overnight in warm weather, keeping grass short, clearing damp leaf litter, and fitting fine-mesh window screens all reduce exposure — building a specific prevention plan with a vet before or shortly after arrival is worth doing rather than relying on one measure alone.