Taking Your Dog From the US to Canada, and Back Again

The border between the United States and Canada is the easiest international crossing in the world for a dog, and a great many people drive across it with one in the back seat without a second thought. But easy is not the same as nothing. Canada wants to see one particular piece of paper, one Canadian province bans a whole type of dog, and since 2024 the trip home has needed a form that catches out a surprising number of returning Americans. This guide covers the journey in both directions, by road and by air, using the rules as the American and Canadian authorities stated them in the autumn of 2026.

The Trip in Brief

Going north, an adult dog travelling with its owner needs a valid rabies vaccination certificate and nothing else. Coming south, your dog needs a CDC Dog Import Form, completed online before you reach the border, and it must be at least six months old and microchipped. If you have a pit bull type dog, you must not take it into Ontario. For most people that is the whole of it, and an afternoon is enough to get ready. The detail below is for the cases where it is not quite so simple.

Going Into Canada

The requirement is short. According to the USDA's guidance for travel to Canada, a dog over eight months old travelling with its owner needs only a valid rabies vaccination certificate. There is no health certificate, no government endorsement and no waiting period, which makes Canada far simpler than Europe or anywhere else you might take a dog. You do not need to see a specially accredited vet, and there is nothing to send off for a stamp.

The certificate has to be the real thing, though. It should be issued and signed by a vet, identify your dog clearly by breed, colour and age, name the vaccine, and give the date it was given and the date it expires. A rabies tag on the collar is not a certificate, and neither is an invoice from the clinic. Look at the expiry date before you leave, because a certificate that runs out during your trip, or ran out last month, is the usual reason people are turned back. If the vaccination is due within the next few weeks, have it done early and travel on the new certificate.

Puppies are a different matter. A dog under three months old needs proof of its age in place of a rabies certificate, and young dogs travelling without their owner need a health certificate from a vet. The rules change at three months and again at eight, so if you are taking a puppy, read the requirements for its exact age before you go. At the border itself, tell the officer that you have a dog and have the certificate in your hand. Most crossings take a minute, and the officer will often do no more than glance at the paper and the dog.

The Ontario Problem

Canada has no national ban on any breed, but Ontario does, and Ontario is where most Americans cross. The province's Dog Owners' Liability Act bans pit bulls, a term it defines to include the Pit Bull Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier, and any dog whose appearance is substantially similar to theirs. There is no exemption for visitors or for dogs passing through, and a dog can be seized.

The crossings at Niagara Falls, Detroit and the Thousand Islands are all in Ontario, and so are Toronto and Ottawa. If your dog is a pit bull type, or a mixed breed that could be taken for one, do not drive through the province. Cross further west or east and stay out of it, and check the place you are heading for as well, because some cities in other provinces have rules of their own. Our guide to banned and restricted breeds by country explains how laws that judge a dog by its appearance work, and why papers do not always help.

Coming Home

This is the part that has changed, and it is where the surprises are. Since 1 August 2024, every dog entering the United States, including an American dog coming home after a weekend in Canada, must have a CDC Dog Import Form. You fill it in online and a receipt is emailed to you, which you can print or show on your phone to the customs officer. It takes a few minutes, and it is far easier to do at your kitchen table than in a queue of cars with one bar of signal.

Three conditions come with the form. The dog must be at least six months old when it enters the United States. It must have a microchip that can be read by a universal scanner. And it must appear healthy on arrival. Notice that two of these go beyond anything Canada asks. Canada does not require a microchip and will admit a young puppy, so a four month old puppy can go north with you but cannot come back until it is six months old. Families have been caught by exactly that, usually with a new puppy on its first holiday.

The good news is that Canada counts as a low risk country for rabies, so the form is all you need. The CDC says the receipt is valid for six months and can be used for more than one entry, as long as the dog has not been in a high risk country in that time. People who live near the border and cross often therefore need a new form only twice a year. Dogs coming from low risk countries can enter at any airport, seaport or land crossing, so you are free to come home by whichever route you like.

Driving, Flying and the Train

Driving is how most people do it, and it is the simplest. Keep the dog properly restrained in the car, carry water, and have the papers where you can reach them without getting out. Never leave the dog in the car at a border plaza or a rest stop on a warm day. Our guide to driving with your dog covers restraint, travel sickness and how often to stop on a long run north.

Flying works too for a dog small enough for the cabin. Air Canada takes small dogs in the cabin between the two countries for $50 to $60 each way, and carries larger dogs in the hold. The American airlines charge about $150 each way, and United asks for a health certificate and vaccination certificate on flights to Canada, so check your airline's own requirements before you book. Our guide to flying with a dog compares the airlines. The train, unfortunately, does not work, because Amtrak's services into Canada do not accept pets.

While You Are There

Canada is an easy country to travel in with a dog. Its national parks are generally more welcoming to dogs on a leash than the American ones, though each park sets its own rules and in bear country a dog must be leashed and close to you at all times. In cities, most restaurants can admit dogs only on their patios, and that is decided province by province, as we explain in our guide to eating out with your dog. Ticks that carry Lyme disease are established in the southern parts of several provinces, so keep your dog's tick protection up to date and check it over after walks in long grass or woodland.

In winter, remember that it gets properly cold. A short coated dog from a southern state will need a coat, and may need boots against the salt and grit on city pavements, which stings and cracks the pads. Wipe your dog's feet when you come indoors, and keep walks short when the temperature is far below freezing. In summer the opposite applies, and the same rules about heat and parked cars hold in Ontario as in Ohio.

A Checklist Before You Leave

Check that the rabies certificate is valid for the whole trip and has all the details on it. Check that your dog has a microchip and ask your vet to scan it to make sure it reads. Check your dog's age if it is young. Complete the CDC Dog Import Form and save the receipt to your phone. Check the breed rules for the province and city you are visiting. Then put the papers in the glovebox, where you can reach them at the booth.

A Closing Thought

Going north is the easy half, with one certificate and a friendly question at the booth. It is the return that needs a few minutes of preparation, because the American rules are now stricter than the Canadian ones. Do the form before you go, make sure the chip reads and the dog is old enough, and the border in both directions will take about as long as it takes to wind down the window.