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Titering

lrushe

Anyone thought about titering their dog instead of giving yearly booster shots?
I got my youngest dog's booster yesterday but it's been on my mind as there is growing opinion that yearly boosters are not needed, indeed they can even be detrimental.
Titering would mean pups were vacc'd as normal but instead of automatically getting a booster yearly their immunity would be tested to see if a booster would be needed. Most dogs tested showed strong immunity for up to 3 - 7 years after being vacc'd.
I'm in 2 minds about this, if I didn't get the booster I'd be constantly wondering "what if', however is getting a synthetic vaccine injected into a dog once a year without risk especially if it is not required??
What do people think?

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lorebringer

Generally, what happens with titering is you get the primary vaxes (the first two when they are pups) and the first booster shot a year after the last primary vax, after this titering is done instead of getting the regular booster (if you choose to do it). The vaccinations in this country are usually 7in1 or 8in1 (that is, 7/8 diseases covered in one vaccination) and not all of these last for up to 3 years - Leptospirosis is the main one that I would be concerned about, this is yearly vax. If you choose to titer instead of getting yearly boosters that's totally up to you but be aware that you will probably need to get a yearly Lepto vaccination anyway. Quite a few of the vaccinations covered in the one injection that is "the booster" can be titered for and often only vaccinating every 3 years against many of these illnesses in necessary, but please do the research and be very aware if the titure comes back with a result that your dog in not covered, you will need to vaccinate.

There is A LOT of debate as to whether is it harmful to vaccinate every year, whether dogs only need to be done every 3 years, whether they don't need to be done in older age etc. but all you can do is educate yourself as to what you think is right for your own animals.

lrushe

Has it been shown that Leptospirosis needs to be done yearly? I don't know myself, just from what I've read about the disease:

"Despite the availability of vaccines for several decades,

the duration of vaccine induced immunity is not known since data from long-term challenge studies are not available."
There is a titer for Leptospirosis though called a Leptospira Microscopic Agglutination Test or L-MAT.
I'm definately not about to do it myself any time soon as it is still v.much a grey area and I don't know enough about it but I am curious about the topic and people's opinion on it.
Is there also any danger that the diseases dogs are vacc'd against will eventually become resistant to the vaccines if dogs are vacc'd more than is necessary?

antomagoo

What would be the situation if you wanted to use boarding kennels which require dogs to have all their vaccines up to date?

lrushe

As far as I know a titering cert would be as valid as a vaccine cert though I suppose it would be at the discretion of the individual kennels themselves.

ISDW

I have to say, this is something that I have been thinking about. I've had a lot of dogs come into the rescue that are young, or obviously well looked after and I really believe that they have been vaccinated. But, I have to start them from scratch again and I do worry about over vaccinating.

I stopped getting my old dogs vaccinated when they got to about 8 years of age, I believe that they had built up an immunity by then.

It would be interesting to see what a good boarding kennel's view on the titering certificate would be.

BTW, never knew this actually had a name, thanks:D

lorebringer

ISDW wrote: »

I stopped getting my old dogs vaccinated when they got to about 8 years of age, I believe that they had built up an immunity by then.

It would be interesting to see what a good boarding kennel's view on the titering certificate would be.

Do you fully vaccinate older dogs that come into rescue?

I also would really like to know what a boarding kennels stance(s) are on titering - curious as to whether they would need all illnesses titered or just some and would they still require a KC vax or would titering do. Because so many people don't know about the practice, or trust it like the yearly injection is, it may be a no no.

ISDW

lorebringer wrote: »

Do you fully vaccinate older dogs that come into rescue?

Yeah I do, I just think that its my decision about my own dogs, but its up to the new owners to make decisions about their dogs. Also, I don't know the dog's history, so I don't know if they've ever been vaccinated, whereas I know that mine will have been up until a certain point.

When I said young dogs in my earliest post, I mean dogs that are under a year old, and so would still be covered by their primary puppy vaccinations, which most dogs do get, even if then the owners stop.

lrushe

lorebringer wrote: »

would they still require a KC vax or would titering do.

The KC vaccine is an interesting one because there are so many strains of Kennel Cough (similiar to the flu virus in humans) that even if your dog is vacc'd against it they can still pick up a different strain of the virus.
For example my Rottie was given the KC vaccine in March but picked up Kennel Cough in September. My other two hadn't had any vaccinations for KC as they weren't going into kennels but despite living with a KC positive dog they never picked up the virus. This was another reason why titering was on my mind and why I decided to look into it in more detail

ISDW

lrushe wrote: »

The KC vaccine is an interesting one because there are so many strains of Kennel Cough (similiar to the flu virus in humans) that even if your dog is vacc'd against it they can still pick up a different strain of the virus.
For example my Rottie was given the KC vaccine in March but picked up Kennel Cough in September. My other two hadn't had any vaccinations for KC as they weren't going into kennels but despite living with a KC positive dog they never picked up the virus. This was another reason why titering was on my mind and why I decided to look into it in more detail

Have to say I think the KC vaccine is a waste of time and money, as you say there are so many different strains around, theres no guarantee its going to cover your dog anyway. However, its the same thing, if you need to put them into kennels, they need it. I've had a good few dogs with KC, even after being vaccinated. Manuka honey in the water and they are usually fine.

lrushe

ISDW wrote: »

Have to say I think the KC vaccine is a waste of time and money, as you say there are so many different strains around, theres no guarantee its going to cover your dog anyway. However, its the same thing, if you need to put them into kennels, they need it. I've had a good few dogs with KC, even after being vaccinated. Manuka honey in the water and they are usually fine.

In hindsight I would agree, also if your dog does get KC there is no medical treatment for it, dogs are usually given antibiotics to prevent a secondary more serious infection but the antibiotics themselves don't have any effect on the KC as it is a virus rather than a bacteria so in essence it is your dogs immune system which is fighting off the KC therefore in theory buildind up a natural immunity to it.

lorebringer

On the KC issue - one of mine has been vaccinated for this every year since we get her as a pup and she has had it 3 times. I did a lot of fostering for dogs just taken out of the pound and they were all riddled with it (and gastroenteritis!). It really depends on what strain they get because sometimes they get very sick with it while others they are not too bad. Antibiotics are always the first port of call (to make sure they don't get something else!) and a bit a Benylin, and time.

Since my own lady got Bordatella (the main strain that is vaccinated against!) I have stopped vaccinating all of my dogs (except for an OAP with a heart and lung issue) against it. Swabs were taken to confirm that it was Bordatella. She was so sick with it, lasted for weeks and weeks but the rest of them didn't catch it (they were all vaccinated!). I am of two minds with it. I think with pups and older dogs, dogs with a dodgy immune system etc. I would prefer to have them done but in healthy dogs I really question the need. Obviously, if a dog is going into kennels, at shows or in a groomers a lot (i.e. lots of contact with strange dogs) it is generally better to be safe than sorry, but if there is a strain that is not covered by the vax quite a lot of the dogs are going to pick it up anyway.

Wisco

Some vets will also alternate vaccines each year- for example after the pup is a couple years old and has had a couple 7/1 vac, they may give just the Lepto vaccine (or lepto + parvo) and alternate with 7/1 the following year. Of the 7/1 vaccines, Lepto is only good for one year (according to manufacturers).
I would also imagine that testing for blood titre is rather pricey. (for example, I know getting a titre for rabies vaccine is around €50, not including vet fees for blood sampling).
I do think that once the dog has gotten a couple full vaccines it's reasonable to not give the full 7/1 each year.
Would definitely be an interesting study to find out what typical titre results would be.

lrushe

Wisco wrote: »

I would also imagine that testing for blood titre is rather pricey. (for example, I know getting a titre for rabies vaccine is around €50, not including vet fees for blood sampling).

Titering would definately not be the cheaper option that's why I think it is not as common as just automatically vaccinating, however is it the healthier option? that's where opinions seem to contrast.