Following changes to the law in 2013, dangerous dogs (with a history of violence) and potentially dangerous dogs (because of their breed) can only be owned by people with specific training.

Although the law states that the two main Portuguese police forces, the GNR and PSP are the entities that can certify the trainers, the official price list was only published last year, which delayed the entire training schedules.

Figures show that the GNR only certified three trainers in the two courses it gave in 2017 and the PSP trained 40 dangerous or potentially dangerous dog owners.