Anyone here titre test?

[Rivsky]

I'm wondering if anyone here titre tests instead of doing annual vaccinations.

I'm looking for some sort of reassurance on how effective the titre results are given that we spend a lot of time around other dogs at beaches, parks, training and trials. My main concern is parvo as we seem to have at least one major outbreak around here every year so I'm not really 100% decided what to do as yet.

River is 2 and has had three puppy shots plus a booster at around 14 months old. I'm in Australia so we don't have to worry about rabies vaccs. The vaccs he's had cover parvo, distemper, hepatitis & all the strains of kennel cough.

I've made an appointment to have him titre tested but am wondering what others experiences are given that the tests themselves are really not that common here at all.

[dogs4life]

I have not used titers for Hank because I selectively vaccinate. I only do the 3 yr routine rabies because we live in town and it's required. It kills me that my little Hank get the same dose as a Great Dane and we legally cannot give weight dependent dose like any other normal animal. With that said, I have worked on vaccine trials for different animals, mainly fish but I did run a lot of pathogen challenge samples for bacterial and viral challenges for vaccine research. It's been my experience that titer data is reliable but yet subjective and really depends on the lab's procedures, sample collection and integrity, and your vet's ability to read the data correctly. There are levels of risk, but if you explain your activities and the # of dogs you come into contact with, your vet should be able to guide you and help determine when to vaccinate.

When you say kennel cough, which pathogens are you actually talking about Bordetella bronchiseptica, parainfluenza, mycoplasma, Canine adenovirus, reovirus or canine herpes virus? Each pathogen is different, some are hardy while others are very difficult to transmit, maybe you can research each one a bit so you can quiz your vet during your appointment. You might want protection from 1 disease but not the rest of the combo vaccine. It is possible, but vets sometimes need to special order.

About Parvo, in Australia, is it life threatening? Is it a serious illness for adult dogs in your area? If he does get Parvo, is it really a big deal? Will you have to take time off work? Just being a science geek and a selective vaccination believer, those are some questions I'd ponder to weigh the risks vs benefits.

HTH, sorry I cannot help more.

[britishbandit]

I haven't yet, but I didn't get Tysa her shots that were "due" just recently. Her rabies isn't scheduled for another year, but I skipped the others. I will be doing the titer though.

I do know quite a few people who do it, and they prefer it. Not vaccinating their dogs when it isn't needed. Obviously if something shows up on the test, they would need to be treated, but it doesn't happen often (provided the dog had it's series of boosters as a pup, and the vaccinations given one year following the last set of puppy shots....those ones are all recommended).

If your area is known for or has an outbreak of a specific disease, then you should vaccinate against that one specifically to be safe. My dogs from now on will only be getting the rabies shot because it is required by law, unless there's an outbreak of some disease in my area and I vaccinate them for that specifically.

[Rivsky]

Originally Posted by dogs4life

When you say kennel cough, which pathogens are you actually talking about Bordetella bronchiseptica, parainfluenza, mycoplasma, Canine adenovirus, reovirus or canine herpes virus?

I'm almost certain it includes Bordetella but not too sure about the others. The only info I could find just said "all strains".

Originally Posted by dogs4life

About Parvo, in Australia, is it life threatening? Is it a serious illness for adult dogs in your area? If he does get Parvo, is it really a big deal? Will you have to take time off work? Just being a science geek and a selective vaccination believer, those are some questions I'd ponder to weigh the risks vs benefits.

Unfortunatley quite a number of adult dogs died from the last outbreak over Christmas - all were reportedly unvaccinated so I'd be pretty concerned if he were to contract it and this is what is causing me to hesitate to rely on the titre results 100% - the outbreaks occur in one of the licensed kennel zones - which probably includes many people attending dog shows and trials.

ETA: I'm not 100% sure what was meant by "unvaccinated" - whether the dogs had never had a vaccination in their life or whether they were not getting the booster shots.

Originally Posted by britishbandit

(provided the dog had it's series of boosters as a pup, and the vaccinations given one year following the last set of puppy shots....those ones are all recommended).

I agree 100% - there's no way I'd ever consider not getting those shots done.

Originally Posted by britishbandit

If your area is known for or has an outbreak of a specific disease, then you should vaccinate against that one specifically to be safe.

Don't know why I didn't think of that but thank you sounds like the perfect solution.

[dogs4life]

Oh, gosh, I hope I didn't poo poo the titer testing. I just hate telling everyone it's 100% safe, cause nothing is 100% safe when it comes to disease and immunity, it just boils down to risk assessment.

Just because you vaccinate does not mean he will be immune either, there are other factors to be addressed. That's why I suggest finding a vet very knowledgeable about prevention and immunity, especially if there is an outbreak and River is at risk.

[rottielover]

We will be doing the titer test in march, that is when he was due for his 3 yr boosters. Rabies will be done next year, as it is required by law.

[GSD]

Here's my take on the whole situation. I don't titer test because if my dogs haven't been exposed to it recently, they'll test low, and even if they showed Zero immunity I wouldn't re-vaccinate anyway.

I believe a strong dog, with a good immune system will be able to fight any of those things off. A dog with a weakend immune system might not be able to, but then if their immune system is that weak, will it even mount an effective immune response to the vaccine to do any good?

I am going to titer my older dog when she's 9 or 10, maybe older, just to see for fun.