I appreciate no one has gone abroad since Brexit yet but...

Am I right that if we are getting an Animal Health Certificate, and you get your rabies jab done for it, there isn't really anything you take away as a permanent and official record of this? I mean, there is not something like the Pet Passport which is associated with your dog in an ongoing way and can keep all their vaccination records in it? (or at least, the rabies ones?). It just seems a little weird to get your rabies jabs and then leave the vet, having no official proof of this. Of course the vet records it on their system and you get the little stickers on the vet's own vaccine card, but it's not official... like a Pet Passport.

Second, what happens if you have had rabies done and then change vets? I asked our vet this and she said the records would be sent on from the old vet to the new vet - so they would be able to see your dogs had their rabies jabs on the vet records, for preparing their next/future Animal Health Certificate

And lastly, what happens if you move abroad to Europe? You get your Animal Health Certificate and rabies jabs to leave the UK and enter Europe. But then you are in the European system and will be getting Pet Passports, not Animal Health Certificates. Are European vets going to accept UK vet records saying that dogs have had rabies jabs, to prepare a Pet Passport? I kinda feel not... there are some real paper-pusher vets abroad!! So you will probably end up having to give another rabies jab in your new country abroad to get a Pet Passport - even if you're within 3 years of the previous rabies jab and it's still valid. You might have had it quite recently to be able to move, in fact. (That, or don't leave your new country for 3 years till the rabies runs out and you actually need another. But that's not very practical... )

Anyone have any thoughts or info about any of this??

The AHC will have details of the Rabies vaccination

"Your pet’s vaccination record in their animal health certificate must show:

your pet’s date of birth
microchip number, date it was put in or read, and where it is on your pet’s body
vaccination date
vaccine manufacturer and product name
vaccine batch number
date the vaccination is valid until
the vet’s signature and contact details"


When we took our hounds to Canada, they had a Health Certificate from our then vet + the KC Export pedigree so they could be registered with the CKC (the Canadian KC, not the other one).   We opted not to give them rabies but waited until we were in Canada and registered with the vet we wanted to use.   Coming from the UK (no rabies) they went straight into Canada with no problem.   That was a long time ago however, and certainly before the advent of Pet Passport.

When I sold a puppy to Switzerland some time ago now, and went with him (him in the hold), at 4 months, again he just went with a Health Certificate and the KC Export Pedigree.  No rabies.

The sticker from the rabies vial can go in your pet's usual vaccine record card, which is a legal document because it must identify the pet and has the vet's signature.

>So you will probably end up having to give another rabies jab in your new country abroad to get a Pet Passport - even if you're within 3 years of the previous rabies jab and it's still valid.

Some European countries require resident pets to have annual rabies injections, regardless of the duration of immunity stated by the manufacturer. If you changed to a European pet passport the injection protocol would be that of the country of residence.

>The AHC will have details of the Rabies vaccination

But the AHC needs to be a new one, given for every trip. It's not a document like the Pet Passport with a permanent record and stamp of the rabies jab and how long it lasts. When you get back to the UK from you trip abroad, your AHC is no longer valid. You have to go back and get another (with the vet looking up the details of the rabies jab on their computer) each time you want to travel. The AHC is for the individual trip. The Pet Passport used to stay with the animal for life as a record of vaccinations.

>The sticker from the rabies vial can go in your pet's usual vaccine record card, which is a legal document because it must identify the pet and has the vet's signature.

The vaccine record cards I've had from vets have often looked very 'unofficial'. The vet sometimes forgets to sign, leaves out the microchip, crosses stuff out.... the record cards my dogs have look very 'unofficial'. But for sure, they can stick the rabies info from the sticker on there - I'm just not sure it will count for anything much 'officially'.

>Some European countries require resident pets to have annual rabies injections, regardless of the duration of immunity stated by the manufacturer. If you changed to a European pet passport the injection protocol would be that of the country of residence.

That's true, but many now accept 3 years. France has just switched and now accepts 3 years for eg.

Before buying a puppy from a GSD  breeder what tests shall I ask for?

DM /EP /HP/Genetics

Are British breeders providing all of these?

You need hip and elbow scoring too on both parents.

No reason why not . U need hips elbows ,dm , pituitary dwarfism ,haemophilia for the male,not sure if I've missed anything . The breeder should also be able tell u the coi as well.
Unfortunately atm epilepsy can't be tested for .
If u look through the information here there is a link to a lady who can also give u information on breeders as well no doubt more about health tests.
U