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Originally Posted by Ellie May  The purpose of titers is to check a few weeks after vaccinating to see if an immune response was stimulated. They fall over time. That is normal. A titer does not have to be high/stable for a dog to be protected.
It won't hurt a darn thing to test, but a low titer means next to nothing. If I remember correctly, Schultz says a titer as low as 1:2 is considered protective, but individual labs have different ideas. So just because a lab says the result is borderline does not mean revaccination is needed. You can give it "just to be safe", and that's fine, but doing so is putting more and more unnecessary toxic chemicals into your pup which can cause very serious diseases.
I stopped titering when Ellie's distemper came back low, then a year after revaccination came back borderline. She could just have a quick falling titer for this disease and be completely protected or it could be lab error and she could be completely protected or she could be a nonresponder and vaccinating would do no good for it to be low twice. For which of these reasons would it make sense to test and then likely have to vaccinate yearly? When vaccines only have to he about 88-90% effective anyway? Pointless for me.
It is my opinion that after the one year booster they either are protected or they aren't. Low titer or not revaccinating every year accomplishes nothing. I think I'd sooner revaccine every 5-7 years (because DHP is effective by challenge for at least that long) instead of spending $90/year for a headache of confusion.
FWIW, Ellie is 12. Her last distemper was given when she was 6. She is alive.  I can't think of a good enough reason to revaccinate an old goat like her. Vaccinating for no reason isn't going to make the liver happy either.
I respect Dr. schultz, but when it comes down to it if I'm being honest I would not trust Dodds with my dogs. Just look at everything she believes in....
BTW, I would never want to talk anybody out of titering. Just don't feel like every vet that understands immunology believes in doing it yearly. Look at the AAHA task force. I see nothing in their every 3 year guidelines about titering in between. |
This is not what Dr. Dodds says, she says to titer before you do the immunizations. Also, she says, that a low titer gives you valuable information, "When the tests reveal that the animal has borderline or low titer values, the owner and veterinarian should consider revaccinating and then testing the titers again. It may turn out that the animal simply needed a booster to stimulate a stronger immune response. Or, maybe the people involved learn that the animal lacks the ability to respond normally to vaccines, that is, by mounting a proper immune response. In this case,
the owner and veterinarian have gained very valuable information about the dog’s compromised immune status – information they never would have gained by simply vaccinating and assuming the dog was “protected” as is usually the case with healthy dogs. As you can see, in reality, simply administering vaccines to dogs every year is more of a guessing game than using titer tests to learn about the dog’s immune competence."
I mean, I can understand why you've made the decision for Ellie May, but what do you mean you wouldn't trust Dr. Dodds and please tell us more about why. I have no idea what else she believe in.