Hi Kirsten…
Really cant speak for Barcelona because they do tend to be a law unto themselves, but generally speaking, from my experience, big dogs in Spain are looked upon with a degree of suspicion; ie., big=unfriendly. Spanish pet dogs generally tend to be on the small size probably because of apartment living in the cities. We have a couple of adoptees of this type, both ‘abandonados’
We also have two big dogs, a male Saluki and an English Greyhound. We live in a very rural farming community not far from Granada and we have to be extremely careful when letting them off leash for free running exercise. They are both extremely quick and act as a two dog pack and any other wildlife such as sheep and goats are definitely at risk. Fortunately they do fall just short of the size definition of potentially dangerous.
There are a couple of websites I’d like to direct you to;
One contains details of what are considered to be Dangerous or Potentially Dangerous Dogs;
http://madrid.angloinfo.com/countries/spain/animals.asp Note the section on Large dogs.
The other contains details of the Actual Importation of Dogs into Spain;
http://www.mapausa.org/indexeng.htm
Assuming your dogs meet the demands I’m sure that they will have a great time over here.
Be the exception to the rule however, clean up after them; dog muck in the cities is a real problem. Any poop-scoop laws which may exist are not generally followed.
I would also recommend that you also have a hefty 3rd party or Public Liability Insurance Policy (Min cover 120,000 Euros) (where we live in Andalucia the min amount is actually 175,000 Euros.)
Pet Health Insurance is available over here and recommended; whilst Vet’s bills are generally much lower here than in the USA and the UK, almost certainly you will need to see a Vet sooner or later.
Hope this helps a little.
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