Charlie has just had a full set of blood tests to check that there are no adverse indications that the cartrophen injections he now has on a regular basis are causing him any problem (there aren't, he got a completely clean bill of health on everything, very good). At the same time, because he is due his 3 year core vaccinations, I asked for a titer test to be done. Turns out he is not protected from canine distemper, and maybe never has been. Obviously I'll be putting this right pronto, but I am now going to ask my vet when it might be appropriate for Betsy to have a titer test to check her vaccination status.... I haven't yet discussed all the the results with my vet, but will do soon - am very interested to learn more about what titier tests tell us to inform us about the right vaccination schedule for our dogs.
How much to Titers cost? Are you doing them to possibly avoid vaccinations, or to see if they were effective? Our first Lab became diabetic at 12 years, and a number of diabetic pet owners suggested titers to avoid necessary vaccination. Since Ginger was healthy, we just did the vaccinations. She lived to 16 and did not have cataracts so we did not worry about doing titers at time.
I've just had a (quite long) voice mail from my vet right now, so I haven't asked him about the details but yes, potentially either Charlie didn't produce the...er...antibodies (?) in response to the vaccine or the maternal antibodies (right, I think it's antibodies!) interfered. Or something.... I'm not sure how much it cost because all the consultation, blood taking etc was being done anyway. Looking at the bill, I think the extra cost was about £150 - but I know my vet said that he was using an expensive Laboratory for the tests because he wanted the extra accuracy (for the other tests, but the titer test was done at the same Lab). He did offer me a cheaper alternative, but I didn't take it. I did it more out of interest than anything else. The testing didn't impact on my dog because the blood was being taken anyway, and his core vaccines are due in a month. I suppose I wanted to find out whether it would show vaccines weren't necessary, or they were. As it turns out, I've learnt something interesting that prompts me to test the status of my puppy to find out her level of protection without waiting for 3 years....
One of my colleagues had a full course of Hepatitis B vaccine and had zero result on his titres. He thought maybe it was a cold chain issue.....perhaps he let the temperature get too high storing it at home. The cold chain for human vaccines is pretty strict. So.....he repeated his course. 3 jags. Very strict cold chain. Response was zilch. Some people just don't seroconvert for some reason. Just don't make the antibodies. I guess dogs may be the same.
That is very interesting. Did Charlie have three lots of vaccinations as a puppy or two? I remember our vet saying something about Ella needing three lots to ensure that the maternal antibodies didn't interfere (as they may have caused the second lot to be ineffective?). Something like that...?? Also, out of interest, why are the vaccinations every three years and not yearly?
Yes, Charlie had 2 shots, and when he was quite young - 8 weeks and 10 weeks. Although he also had booster vaccines (I am now not sure what 'booster' means I thought it was to ensure he was covered) after 20 weeks.
That's just what my vet recommends. Charlie has kennel cough and Lepto every year, but the core vaccines every 3 years.
These days the recommendation is every 3 years for parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis (the 'core' vaccines....well, they are the 3 core ones here anyway). Then kennel cough (eg viral and bacterial forms) annually.
The latest guidelines available here: http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines 2015 Full Version.pdf Say: Dogs that have responded to vaccination with MLV core vaccines maintain a solid immunity (immunological memory) for many years in the absence of any repeat vaccination (Bohm et al. 2004, Mouzin et al. 2004, Schultz 2006, Mitchell et al. 2012) [EB1]. Following the 26 or 52 week booster, subsequent revaccinations are given at intervals of 3 years or longer. It should be emphasized that triennial adult revaccination does not generally apply to killed core vaccines (except for rabies) nor to the non-core vaccines, and particularly not to vaccines containing bacterial antigens. Thus Leptospira, Bordetella and Borrelia (Lyme disease) products, but also parainfluenza virus components, require more frequent boosters for reliable protection (Ellis & Krakowka 2012, Klaasen et al. 2014, Ellis 2015, Schuller et al. 2015) [EB1]. Therefore an adult dog may, according to these guidelines, still be revaccinated annually, but the components of these vaccinations may differ each year. Typically, core vaccines are currently administered triennially, with chosen non-core products being given annually. T
My GSP was not protected from Parvovirus so was vaccinated again. It is necessary to vaccinate against Leptospirosis every year.
Oh goodness, please excuse me but I have no idea what I'm talking about! Ella just had her C5 vaccination this week, 12months after the third and final dose she had as a puppy (she had doses at 6, 10 and 14 weeks). I assume the C3 is the 'core' vaccination (parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis) that she won't need for three years now? The other two (para influenza and bordetella bronchiseptica) will still be needed annually though? I think I might confirm with the vet as she just put 'July 2017' as a due date on the vaccination card so I just assumed that meant the C5 again.
Come to think of it... I thought the dog club said we had to have proof of yearly C5 vaccinations when we renew our membership. Too much to think about on a Friday night. Time for wine I think
Sat here at 11am, it does strike me that it's a touch too early for wine You might be enjoying Friday night, but I still have a whole day of work ahead of me. Bah. We have to have all our vaccinations every year (by law). I'm going to take the WSAVA report to my vet next time I see him and see if he can petition for a change to reflect these guidelines.
This might be helpful information from the University of Wisconsin-Madison about titer testing: http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/lab/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2016/02/Canine-Antibody-FAQ.pdf
