Taking a pet into Canada

[Greggo]

It's a little early but we're getting a jump on planning for our trip north in 2014. I'd appreciate any comments from others who have taken a pet into Canada (or tried to!). We have a trailer cat who wants to try her luck at moose hunting.

[Jim Bennett]

Not sure for cats, maybe others know. For dogs you have to have proof of a rabies shot within the last 3 years to go across either way, but that is all.

[cpaharley2008]

You will need a letter, dated within 90 days from your vet that your pet has been vaccinated and it's shots are all current, with a list of the last shots given and the expiration dates of the medicine. That said, when we went to Canada last year with 2 dogs, no one ever asked to see that piece of paper going or returning.

[bryan]

About 3 years ago we travelled to America with our dog and all the required info and talked about it with the officer at the time. He laughed and said they would never ask for that stuff. I now travel all the time with the dog(he went across today for a day trip) and it now totals about 15-20 times he's been across with no questions at all. Actually the wife and I find the officers to be more friendly when Samson is sitting in the back sit smiling back at them. Only question I've been asked is "does he bite" in which I replied "heck no, he thinks people who stand behind open windows give out cookies". I guess I owe a big thanks to all the Starbucks drive through's who hand out cookies.

[Jim Bennett]

I had a US border guard walk to my window, and in a very stern voice said "This is not for you, sir", as he handed me a milk bone for our dog. I guess this was his form of humour. We still laugh about it, so it must have worked good.

And yeah, even though only a rabies certificate is req'd, we have never been asked either.

[Sally P]

I travel a lot with multiple dogs and find its best to have current rabies certificates for all of them, ready to hand. I am rarely asked at the border, but it has happened. Health certificates, no. I just keep copies of the rabies in the glove compartments of both my vehicles.

[bvansnell]

We have travelled back and forth across the border dozens of times with a dog without being required to show a rabies certificate although we know it could be asked for and we usually have it with us.

Another issue for bringing a dog across the border is dog food. We have never had a problem bringing dog food into Canada, but there is a restriction about bringing dog food into the United States. When we once made the mistake of bringing an open container of dog food into the US the food was confiscated and our whole vehicle was searched.

Here is the restriction:

The pet food must be sealed in commercial packaging (un-opened) indicating either Canadian or US country of origin.
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...od-from-canada

You might think that you could bring a supply of dog food from the US into Canada then bring it back into the US. This is only true if you don't open the package! Your dog may get hungry!

Our solution: we don't bring dog food into the US, we buy it in the US.