Titer testing

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Thought I would post that I had my 4 3/4 year old doodle titer tested this week for parvo and distemper. Her immunity is high. She had 2 puppy vaccinations and not one since. The last one at 12 weeks. I have had her titered before and will continue to do titers at 3 year intervals.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I can insure each dog separately, but I haven't. Most years it wouldn't pay to do it. This year it would have probably. A lot of my vet costs are not covered by insurance. It would cost about $500 a month to carry the minimum.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

That's true most insurance policies (ours included) don't cover "routine" care. It takes a disaster before you get your money out of it but I am perfectly happy to hand it over and NEVER get it back! :)

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

I agree, but if I had bought insurance, it would have cost me around $25,000 over the last 5 years. It is very unlikely that a bad year would cost that much in non routine care so pretty had to make it pay. I guess you could say I carry my own insurance policy. I am thinking about setting up a special "insurance"  bank account for emergencies.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I think in your case setting up your own "insurance" bank account would be the best way to handle it. Otherwise it its really cost prohibitive. I know that you do a lot of preventative measures as well to keep your dogs healthy which also decreases the odds of having a large non routine incident arise..just keep an eye on the staff! :)

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Having said that. I am going to start recommending that my puppy buyers have insurance. There are so many life saving expensive procedures now that are way beyond the amount of any money back warranty I could provide. The incidence of genetic faults is extremely low, but there are so many other things that could happen. I just had one of my 6 month old stud boys get attacked by a German Shepherd. He is in a guardian home and the guardian was fricken terrified. The owner of the Shepherd just stood there. He was off leash and my boy was on leash. The puppy suffered a torn neck and bites on his tummy and other important breeding parts

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Oh, that makes me ill just thinking about your poor baby being attacked! I hope he makes a full recovery both physically and emotionally. I think it is a great idea to recommend insurance to your new puppy owners. I try to do the same in the main forum posts when  DK'ers ask what they will need for their new puppies.  We've had many examples here on DK of how quickly the medical expenses can rise. Well, your puppies getting a hold of the towel and glove is a great example. That could easily happen to anyone and would not be covered by your or any breeder's warranty.

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

Awesome.  That's so good to know.  Yarrow is only 7 months old but I plan not to vaccinate unless I know it is absolutely necessary for her well being.  Do all vets offer Titer testing or did you have to look around?

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I'm so glad to hear that you have decided to approach vaccinating with caution. Tara is 5 and has also only had puppy shots for parvo and distemper. Her titers are still testing high. Not all vets in my area offer them but many do.  I have found that it pays to shop around though as some are charging much higher prices than others.