yeah i trust the titers myself as i think dogs are way over vaccinated and why so many dogs have health issues and poor immune systems and having one of those dogs and it all started after her puppy shots were done I feel it has contributed to her allergies and poor immune system further. I have titered her for 5 years now. Also i do not agree with vaccinating a 7lb dog with the same as a 90lb dog i am not buying into that at all

another good book is SCARED POOPLESS

I think each owner has to do their homework and decide what they are comfortable with

there is an article in the whole dog journal in regards to this by dr schulz and it is very informative. I subscribe to animal wellness, tuft university newsletter, cornell university newsletter, and whole dog journal since having dogs with health issues and while i know this is controversial you as the owner have to make that decision with your vet based on the health of your dog and if your dog has a reaction or immune suppressed issues i would be very careful with vaccinating.

actually i had no clue about all this stuff when i got my 3 so they all got their puppy shots and one year booster but before demi who was a rescue got her one year booster i had her titered by cornell for $154 yep my dog went to an ivy league school :( - dd has been titered after her 6 month puppy shots as she has been a mess with allergies and a horrible immune system along with hypothyroid so that is when i started learning more and kept learning more then found out jean dodds was in california so i drive to see her for everything now. To be honest i am not sure they followed that protocol and could be why dd is so jacked up :( Demi tested low on one year booster so knowing rescue did not give her the last set of shots we went ahead with that but i had them separate the vaccines to be safe so i would know if she reacted to one of them but she was fine.

Ok, thanks again for the info. You are so lucky to have Dr Dodd's in your area :)

she came from your area :) she is from Canada - i really like her she has been a God send for me and a great support in dealing with my sick ones

Awww, I'm so sorry Missy isn't feeling well. Our vet will not give all shots at once. She spreads them out. It is so much better this way. Hope she starts to feel better.

She bounced back yesterday and was her playful old self. Thank goodness, I was so worried! That combo shot was obviously an overload to her system. I didn't think that it would be a problem because she handled her shots so well as a puppy. Oh well, you live...you learn right?

Glad to hear Missy is back to her ol' self. :)

great news so happy she is feeling better

I wonder why your vet wouldn't order singles for you...:confused:

Ellie has been titered the last two times. I'm not sure what we will do this year yet. However, from what I have seen of titering for Ellie so far, I'm not impressed. IMO, while it "may" be better than nothing, doing puppy shots, one year boosters, and then titering every one to three years is far from the perfect protocol.

Both mine have their 1 yr shots and rabies taken care of before I got them. I don't know if I will vaccinate this year. We are outside alot in our yard and going for walks on trails. I don't let them play with other dogs that we meet out in public.

I am soo glad Missy is back to her old self! :D

Again thank You for all the information this thread has given me :thumbup:

I really respect your opinion, you are so knowledgable when it comes to Yorkies. Could you share with me why you aren't impressed with the titering you've been doing for Ellie so far? What do you feel would be a better protocol? Thank you!

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a great protocol out there (or maybe puppy shots, one year booster and then nothing else is okay, but I'd like to see more research before I go there. My guess is that this is best though). So, I think we all just need to figure out what seems right (and I know that's not a real answer, but it's all I got ;) ).

I'm on the fence about titers because:
Ellie was vaccinated for a whole bunch of stuff at the same time in 2006 (before I knew not to give so many on one day). In 2007, she was titered for parvo and distemper. Distemper was really low (1:16). "Maybe" that could be explained by her having so many vaccines the year before. Perhaps the distemper didn't take... So we vaccinated for distemper only. In 2008, she was titered for parvo and distemper again. Parvo is still quite high. Her distemper was low again (1:32). Now it went up some, so I'm thinking the vaccine did "take" in 2007 (unless it's a bunch or lab error). Anyway, 1:32 is right on the line of labs telling you to revaccinate. We didn't in 2008, but it loooks like if we go by her titers, it will have to be done every other year and I absolutely do not believe this vaccine is only effective for two years... There is no proof of that. So, in Ellie's case, I think titers could falsely indicate that she needs distemper vaccines way too often. That's JMO.

Ahhh, that makes perfect sense. I too feel most comfortable with the idea of doing puppy vacc's then the 1 yr booster and being done with it. I remember reading awhile ago, that sometimes dogs will never develop immunity to certain virus's no matter how often you vaccinate. Of course I can't remember the source of that info now, but it is something to research. Thanks for your help!

Missy, I do hope that your baby girl starts to feel better soon!

Everyone else, where do you find out what shots are required in your states? This sounds horrible! I'm like this with my children too. There are a couple of shots that are optional (but of course reccomended by their pediatrician, no doubt to collect the big bucks) but I absolutely will not let them get! There are way too many side effects (autism??). I can't believe you have to worry about the same nonsense with your pup, too!