Vaccination questions - Page 2

Titers?  I have not heard of this test.  Is this something like the heartworm test that you can have annually?   I have lots of questions about this test.  I will see what I can find and then come back and ask away.

Thank you all for your responses

A titer test checks for antibodies in the blood, which signals immunity. 

Melissa

Fawndallas,

I just went through all this as well with my 4 year old dog.  He had his puppy shots plus the boosters at 1 year old.  My vet and the boarding kennel I use all assumed I was just going to get him re vaccinated on the 3 year schedule.  Instead I asked about titers for distemper and parvo.  Titers came back with good results showing immunity.  I had to do the rabies (3year) to license him with the county.  And the boarding kennel is accepting my vet's recommendation that my dog not receive the kennel cough vaccine, and kennel cough doesn't scare me.  Titers cost more to do...around $130 in Southern California.

I also came across this site.  If you have some time, please read over it and post what you think (as I always ask, please provide supporting info and do not "bash" the site or anyone's views. )  http://vitalanimal.com/

Ugh my last post shows up as blank.  Lol

Here are some notes I found on this test.  What do you think?

"That’s because a titer only measures antibodies, not cell-mediated immunity, which is the real-world measure of protection. In fact, as I learned, pets can sometimes come up negative (unprotected) on the titers and still have plenty of perfectly protective, cell-mediated immunity."

"It only measures one fraction of the entire immune response, the antibodies produced against a particular organism. While their presence indicates protection, there is no reason for the immune system to keep producing antibodies against an invader forever, so, over time, these levels of antibody will wane. The fight is finished, there's no more invader showing up, so there's no need to keep a titer high. What is not measured by the titer test is any part of the cell-mediated immunity, especially the memory cells."

"If you equate a low titer in a vaccinated adult with a lack of immunity, you could make a very costly mistake in your animal's health care, by vaccinating again."

God forbid someone get their feelings hurt by blunt information. Touchy-feely "everyone loves everyone" stuff is for pre-school and Sunday school, not for intelligent debate on important topics. Nothing wrong with trying to protect animals by telling it straight. 

Yearly vaccines are, almost without exception, BS, as Blitzen says. Frankly, I cannot believe in 2014 we're still having this discussion. Any vet who believes they're needed needs to hang up their license, and the ones who know better but are preying on ignorant pet owners anyway need to be shut down. ALL THE CURRENT INFO IS OUT THERE FOR ANYONE TO READ WHO IS SO INCLINED, VETS INCLUDED. Dr. Dodd's protocols are right there for anyone to see who cares enough about their animals to inform themselves. 

Blitzen is dead on. 

People need to WAKE UP and really think about the logic of things. You're either immune or you're not. Once you've developed immunity to something, like rabies, do you need another one to be "more immune"??? I think not...on the contrary, this is precisely how we end up with a plethora of auto-immune issues that were unheard of in olden days! Ugh...I really cannot get started on "intentional ignorance" today...too much to do, LOL! 

Agree with Jenni.  There's NO reason to vaccinate every year.  Infact, the vaccine is the SAME.  There's no such thing as a 1 yr vaccine vs a 3 year, the ONLY difference is the expiration date the vet writes on the certificate.  My dogs get rabies once every 3 years (as required by law).  You don't need to vaccinate against rabies yearly because you live in an area with rabies.  I do as well and our county accepts a 3 year certificate so that's what my vets do.

IMO Jean Dodds' word is golden, I would never doubt one thing she says about anything. This woman has been working for dogs since the 70's. I first met her in 1972 when she was working with the Malamute people to try to develop a blood test to identify carriers of the gene for chondrodysplasia, a breed specific form of dwarfism. She is now serving on the GSDCA's health committee. She cares about all dogs and I follow her protocols without hesitation or question. If you have any questions about anything, all you need to do is to log on her website - Hemopet - email her and I promise you she will respond in a timely manner. Read, learn, and follow her vac protocol - you can't go wrong.

As I've aready said, I don't get annual vacs, why should dogs? In fact I don't get any vacs period anymore. The doctors hate me LOL.

Titers?  I have not heard of this test.

Fawndallas, the value of titers in lieu of actual vacs has been discussed for years both here and on most other dog related boards. To sum it up,  you dogs don't need annual rabies no matter where you live or how often they are exposed to animals that are prone to the disease.