Should I buy a puppy or adopt a dog?

Neither route is automatically right for every household. Choose according to the dog’s needs, your experience, time, home and budget—and the support available from a responsible breeder or established rescue.

What should I check before buying a puppy?

Meet the puppy where it was bred, see it with its mother, verify any required licence or registration independently, ask about relevant health tests, and review the microchip, veterinary records, contract and receipt before paying.

Who updates the microchip after a change of keeper?

The process varies by country and database. In the UK, the new keeper must make sure the registered details are transferred and kept current; ask for proof of the chip before taking the dog home.

Buying, adopting and breeding in Spain

For companion pet dogs; specialist working or hunting categories may have a different legal framework. National rules are a starting point. Check the autonomous community or city, municipality and actual destination; language selection does not change the country of guidance.

Breeding, sale and adoption

Articles 53–58: dog sales must be directly from registered breeders, with identification and a written contract; direct online sales and dog sales in pet shops are prohibited. Verify breeder status with the authority, not an advert alone. Adoption is through public protection centres or registered protection organisations with an adoption contract. Check identification, health records and transfer registration. Occasional breeding is not a blanket exemption: ask the regional authority about breeder and breeding-animal registration and applicable transitional procedures before mating.

Microchip and registration

Article 51 requires dogs to be microchipped and entered in the autonomous community’s companion-animal register. Ask an authorised vet to confirm that chip and keeper details are recorded and current; having a chip or passport alone does not prove a registration update. Regional deadlines and municipal census procedures must be checked locally.

Course and insurance: regulation-dependent details

Article 30 provides for a free ownership course with content set by regulation and lifetime third-party liability cover with its amount set by regulation. This review verified the law and an official June 2025 draft, but did not establish a final implementing rule in force. Do not treat a draft, a paid course advertisement or one region’s rules as proof of a uniform national operational requirement. Confirm current implementation with the competent authority. Separate regional and potentially dangerous dog duties remain relevant.

Individual municipal ordinances, every rabies schedule and live clinic availability have not been verified here. Check the relevant community, island authority or autonomous city and municipality before relying on a local requirement.

Sources and review

Sources checked 22 October 2026. The official law prevails; draft regulations are labelled as drafts. Links to weather and alerts provide current information when opened, not a live feed on this page.