Penny is an international traveler! “How?” you ask. Well, she took her first trip to Canada right before she turned three months old. Taking your dog to Canada is really not that difficult if you know what to take and which documents are required.
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How to Plan a Trip to Canada with Your Dog
1. Check to make sure your dog’s breed is allowed.
Four breeds are banned in Ontario. These breeds are the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Pit Bull Terrier, the American Pit Bull Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and their crosses. They are also, with the exception of the American Staffordshire Terrier, banned in Winnipeg. No matter how sweet your pit bull is, she will be banned from entering or traveling through Ontario.
2. Make sure your accommodations are pet-friendly.
If you are staying in a hotel, check and see what their policies are. Do they accept pets? Is there an additional fee? The same goes for staying at AirBnBs, bed and breakfasts, cottages, campgrounds, and other tourist accommodations. We were staying with family, so I just asked if Penny could come. She was young, and I didn’t really want to leave her at the kennel while we were potty training. If you’re looking for a place to stay, check out the Bring Fido website.
3. Visit your veterinarian for your dog’s records.
Owners of dogs over the age of three months, coming from the United States, must have proof that their dog has been vaccinated against rabies. Once again, a shot record from your veterinarian usually works. The rabies vaccine can be either the one year shot or the three year one, but if the end date is not listed, the authorities will assume that your dog only has a one year vaccine.
The rabies certificate needs to be in either English or French and must be issued and signed by a licensed veterinarian. It must identify the animal by breed, sex, color, and weight and state that the animal is vaccinated against rabies. The date of the vaccine must also be listed along with the trade name and serial number of the vaccine.
Dogs under three months of age are exempt from vaccination requirements. However, you do need proof of age and ownership. A certificate from your vet that gives the owner’s name, the dog’s name, breed, color, weight, and age is usually sufficient. We actually used a receipt that listed the vaccines that Penny had recently received.
4. Make sure that your pet food and treats also meets requirements.
Travelers may bring 20 kg or 44 lbs of commercially produced pet food and treats into Canada. The dog food must be commercially packaged and have been purchased in the United States. It also is supposed to be unopened; however, we have traveled with opened bags with no problems. The dog food and treats must be in the same vehicle that the animal is in and can only be fed to that specific animal while in Canada.
We purchased a small bag of puppy food to bring with Penny, but due to a flat tire and a few other snags, ended up opening it before crossing the border. We also brought her Kong and filled it with Kong paste. That, along with her favorite ball, Ziggy treats, and a few of her toys, kept her busy in the backseat. We did take her crate, but she didn’t ride in it. I thought about buying a seatbelt tether, but didn’t. After our nine hour trip turned into twelve hours (the ride there) and thirteen hours (the way home), I wished I’d bought one. It would have been helpful when we were sitting in traffic at the border for 3 hours and 40 minutes barely moving (worst ever!).
5. Have the proper documents for the human travelers, as well.
Adults and children over the age of 16 need passports or passport cards when traveling by car to Canada (there are a few exceptions). Children, ages 15 and under, do not need passports. However, they will need certified copies of their birth certificates if they do not have passports or passport cards. For more information, check out the border requirements for U.S. citizens.
Final Thoughts on Taking Your Dog to Canada
I’ve been taking my dogs to Canada for the past nineteen years. Border crossings are easy when you know which documents you need and produce them before you’re asked. Taking your dog to Canada can be a lot of fun–after all, your dog is part of your family. She deserves to go on vacation with you too!
Good to learn the process. I knew that one had to be really caring about their dog to take them too for trips. Now I know one needs to know the procedures too to have a smooth sailing.
I love traveling with my fur babies and I enjoy even longer trips too. Your piece of advise is well well recieved
I’ve learned a ton from reading this post! I had no clue there were so many requirements for traveling to Canada with a pet. Especially the food requirements and restrictions. That is new information for me. I had never really thought of traveling with pets into another country before reading this either.
This was great! It must be so nice to travel leisurely with your dog! I always hate going away because I never want to leave my dogs and usually we cannot bring them. So we rarely go away! Also I never thought of the food issue so I’m glad you included it in your post!
Oh I must share this with my uncle! They are moving to Canada and they have two dogs. They were thinking of putting their dogs up for adoption. I hope the dog breed fits in and they can take the babies with them! 😀
Travelling with dogs is so rewarding and these are great tips to make crossing borders simpler.
Love this! I am a new dog mom and have never traveled with my pup, but would love to in the future! Thanks for sharing this info!
I remember being a little girl and going to Canada for a vacation. My aunt and uncle brought their dog named “Jolly,” she was a Golden Retriever. I hadn’t really thought about needing documentation to bring a dog into Canada before, so I found this really interesting and informative.
This is a great in depth look at what is required for bringing your furry friend to Canada! I love that you’ve included the requirements but also what will make your doggo comfortable and happy along the way. Great post, thanks for sharing!
First of all, I need to start traveling. Secondly, I need to get a dog. Lastly, I need to make a trip to Canada with my new dog. lol! I’ve always wondered how people so traveled across the border so stress-free with their pet. I never thought they would even need to have papers with them!!
Thank you for this information! I keep postponing getting a pet because I travel frequently. This gives me hope it’s possible to travel with a furry friend without too many problems.
Great informative post. I didn’t think there were rules against travelling with pets. Mind you, I’ve never had a pet in the UK. I was thinking of getting a puppy for my daughter, but know i cant travel anywhere with a certain breed, and all the hassle that comes with travelling with your pet. I’m having a funny feeling. But other than that, I have enjoyed this.
Very interesting read. I always known that dogs need documents before they enter a foreign country but I didn’t know about the food requirements. This was eye opening.
Penny is such a cute pup! It’s good there are regulations about travelling across the border with pets, I wonder how difficult it is for us to go to the USA from Canada with a pet. Too bad some breeds have gotten such a bad reputation when people are the ones who train them and breed for certain traits.
The regulations are very similar, except that I think the US just dropped the rabies vaccination requirement for pets coming from Canada.
Wow, this post is so informative. I never even thought about needing to get records from the vet or checking food and treat requirements before entering Canada. I would have been totally lost!
Hi, This post was very helpful to pet owners who hate leaving their fur babies at home! You brought up considerations that most of us would never think of, like the pet food! Unfortunately, I have cats, so I can’t take them along. But, I’m sure dog owners are very appreciative of your suggestions. Thanks! Melissa Damiani | Gratitude Grace Glamour
You can take cats to Canada too! I’m not sure about the requirements, but they are probably similar.
I never really considered all the details of traveling to another country with your dog. I don’t see us traveling with our dog to much of anywhere in the near future considering she gets very car sick and unfortunately does not like the car. 🙁
Our Indy used to get car sick, and we got out of the habit of taking the dogs. It’s kind of fun now to have two that enjoy road trips!
Great article! I didn’t realize about the dog food requirements – I guess I truly never really thought much about it as we make our dog’s food. But yes, that would be a real bummer if it was the reason you were stopped from entering Canada. This is a timely post as we’ll be traveling to Vancouver in a couple of weeks!
This was eye opening for me as I never really gave thought to traveling to another country with my dog and all the requirements. I would have assumed the vet records woudl be important for shots but woudl have never considered the food they eat being under scrutiny. I get the ban on Pit Bulls as they get a bad rap but I have met some fo the nicest Pit Bulls in my life.