The government’s dangerous dog laws remain in a bureaucratic shambles as only 300 owners have managed to attend the compulsory 'owner's training course.'
There are 18,600 dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs registered in Portugal with many more unregistered animals fitting the two categories.
Each owner of a dangerous and potentially dangerous dog must complete the special training course before taking on one of the named breeds but only 300 people have been on the course – primarily because there are only eight certified trainers in the country.
According to the changes made to the dog law in 2013, only those with the specific training may own dangerous dogs - dogs of a breed with a history of violence - or dogs that due to their physical characteristics are considered ‘potentially dangerous.’
The law states that the GNR and the Public Security Police are the two competent authorities that can certify the trainers of dangerous dogs, the cost of the training was announced only in 2017, which delayed the entire process by a wholly unnecessary four years.
As of today, the GNR has certified five trainers and the PSP has certified three, a total of eight trainers for the whole country with a waiting list of over 18,000 registered dogs to get through.
So far in 2018, the GNR has reported 193 people for misconduct and the PSP has booked 670 people for various failures to comply with the laws on dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs.
