What do we need?

We take our dog everywhere we go. I carry all of her paper work from the vets.
We have never been asked for anything in all the years we have been traveling.

We keep a copy of each pet's latest vet visit record in our truck, which lists all vaccines given and the next due date.

One of the campgrounds we stayed in recently stated we would also need proof of bordetella for our dogs. One of our greys had recently had a neurological problem and the vet was hesitant to vaccinate, so she wrote a note stating why she was not vaccinated. After all that, we were never asked for any paperwork.

Hello,

When we travel with our three cocker spaniels I just have our vet print out their vaccination records. We have never been asked for and documentation but we always travel with the complete record from the vet.

I noticed that your dog is part chow. The other thing that you might want to do is review the campsites pet policy. Some campgrounds do not allow certain breeds and chow is sometimes listed.

Good luck and happy camping

Dave

Keep in mind that "proof" of rabies vaccination is a copy of the rabies certificate issued and signed by a vet, containing a detailed description of the pet, the manufacturer and batch number of the rabies vaccine given, etc. A tag is NOT proof. If you don't have a copy of the current certificate I'm sure the vet who gave the vaccination would provide you with one.

I also always bring along a copy of my latest receipt from my vet's office for each pet. On the bottom it shows when the pet is due for his next vaccinations (thus also proving what he's had and that he's up to date on them). In the event of a medical issue I figure a vet might want to see that, and in case we needed to use a boarding facility they'd likely want to see it.

Over the years, we have camped with our dogs (between 2 and 4) in most states (45 of the 50.) On rare occasions, campgrounds have been asked for proof of rabies vaccination. Never anything else. Interestingly, we have been asked for proof of rabies vaccination at a campground in Maine - Wassamki Springs Campground. They do not post that requirement on their website

Willow13,

We have never been asked to see vaccination records entering Canada. (We have been asked if our dogs have been vaccinated, but not to see the papers.) All but once, we have been asked for rabies vaccination records when returning to the US.

Tom

The only time we have run into very specific requirements was entering into Canada. We do keep a copy of all current vaccinations (rabies, Bordetella, etc. on our phones when traveling in the US. The only time we have used the information was boarding on site during the day (Yosemite, Grand Canyon Railway, etc). They wear their rabies tags and tags with our contact information. We've never been questioned, but we have noticed law enforcement doing visual checks for the presence of tags when we've been out and about with the dogs.

SidecarFlip wrote:
Taking our 100 pound Lab / Chow mix along to Maine (from Michigan) in August. What do we need as far as proper paperwork for him? Has a current rabies vaccination and tag. Is there any other requirement for Interstate transportation?

He's very well behaved, leash trained but quite large.

All I ever see is the campsites ask for is paperwork showing that the dog has had rabies vaccinations. Sorry cant help with transportation question. Enjoy your stay.