leave the dog on the terrace

The Animal Welfare Law (LBA) was approved in March 2023 and came into force ago almost three yearsbut even so there are still details of the rule that remain unclear among dog and cat owners. Specifically there is a doubt that has circulated in recent weeks, coinciding with the arrival of good weather: Can I leave my dog ​​on the terrace or balcony? If I have a yard, does the law allow the dog to spend there every day and night?

The LAB is clear about this.

One fact: 6.9 million. If you go to a park in your city (it doesn’t matter which one) and sit on a bench to observe, you are more likely to encounter more dogs than children. I’m not saying it. They say it the statistics. In 2025, the INE had around 1.7 million of people under five years of age. The data does not attract attention only because of how it has been reducing over the years (in 2015 there were 1.9 million), it also does so because it confirms that in Spanish homes there are many more pets than babies.

According to the estimates According to ANFAAC, the industry dedicated to producing pet food, in Spain there are almost seven million dogs and 5.9 million cats registered. The ‘photography’ offered by the Spanish Network for the Identification of Pet Animals (REIAC) is somewhat different, but just as forceful: in our country there are between 9.2 and 10.1 million dogs, between 968,000 and 1.2 million cats and thousands of ferrets, just over 50,000.

How should we treat them? Taking these figures into account, it is better understood that the guidelines on how to treat and care for them have become a priority. Not only for the safety of the animal. Contravene the rules contained in the Animal Welfare Law (LBA), the rule that has regulated the care of pets since 2023, can also lead to significant sanctions.

As a reference, the text contemplates three types of infractions, according to their relevance: minor ones can lead to a simple warning or fines of between 500 and 10,000 euros, serious ones extend that range up to 50,000 and the most serious ones carry sanctions of between 51,000 and 200,000 euros.

Pets and terraces. With the arrival of good weather there is a question about pet care that has begun to circulate on the Internet: Can a dog live on a terrace or balcony? Can we put a shed there and make it your permanent ‘home’? And in a patio, in case we have one? Can our pet stay there all the time? The truth is that the LBA is clear on this issue.

In your article 27 (section ‘e’), in which it lists the “specific prohibitions” on pets, cites as a prohibited practice “habitually keeping dogs and cats on terraces, balconies, rooftops, storage rooms, basements, patios and similar or vehicles.” And in case it is not clear, later, in article 74, it states that installing an animal “permanently” in any of these spaces will be considered a serious infraction, just like stealing.

Does it say anything else? Yes. That is not the only indication that the LBA gives about how and where our pets should live. The LBA expressly prohibits and categorically “intentionally abandon them in closed or open spaces” and remember that the owners must “keep them integrated into the family nucleus, whenever possible due to their species.”

When this is not possible due to the type of pet or its size, the animal must have “adequate accommodation, with rooms in accordance with its dimensions and that protect it from inclement weather.” Again, and in case there were any doubts, the LBA insist in which pets that live outdoors must have a prepared place to hide.

The other warning. With the summer holidays (almost) knocking at the door there is another guideline of the LBA that should be kept in mind: if you have dogs or cats, the law does not allow you to go on vacation for days and days and ignore the animals. It is not enough to leave the water bowls full and the feeders overflowing.

In article 25, the same one in which it talks about terraces, the law prohibits “leaving any pet animal unsupervised for more than three consecutive days.” What’s more, if we talk about dogs, that period cannot exceed 24 hours.

Much more than a law. That the LBA goes into such detail and regulates such basic issues may seem exaggerated, but the reality is that today they can still be found. without much effort news about dogs that their owners confine on terraces, sometimes no food or wateror even in window sills. Veterinarians also warn often of the serious risks involved in leaving animals exposed to the hot sun. Above all if we talk about closed and small spaces, like cars.

Images | Jakub Flis (Unsplash) and Beth Macdonald (Unsplash)

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