My First Experience With Titer Testing

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

It was time this week for the Girls Annual Vet Checks.  Lucy had not had vaccines since we lost Sophie because the Vet said to be safe, since they were liter mates,  we would only do them every 3 years. She had her rabies so this is the first time she was due for Vaccines.  So, I told them when I made the appointment that I wanted to run Titers on both girls.  I could tell this is something that they don't do a lot of but they gave me no arguments.  Today they called with the results.  Much to my surprise, Lucy is still fine.  She hasn't had anything in 3 years.  AnnaBelle on the other hand is not ok and has to go back for her vaccine.  You gotta wonder, how can that be.  So, now I'm wondering about going forward. Do I do titers every year.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are different types of titer tests. Some will only tell you that the dog has immunity against parvo and distemper, but not how much or for how long, others give more information. 

In the past, I was only told that JD had immunity, and therefore I tested every year. This past year, my vet started using a different testing lab, and at his annual check-up this spring, I was told that JD had acceptable immunity to one of the diseases, good immunity to the other, and wouldn't need to be tested again for 2 or 3 years, I forget which. It had been 4 years since he got his last vaccination. 

I wonder if Annabelle's young age and the fact that she hasn't had as many vaccinations as Lucy would account for the difference?

There is now a 3 year version of the distemper and parvo vaccine, so you might just opt for that. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Thanks Karen.  I'm not sure why AnnaBelle didn't test ok.  We have to go back for the vaccine so I'll get more info then.  I had to order more Atopica for Lucy so I'll take AnnaBelle as soon as that comes in.  I'll ask about the 3 year version of the vaccine.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I opted for the three year vaccine and stopped doing titers for my guys.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Tara has only had puppy shots for parvo and distemper and I had titers tested at one year and three years and they were high both times. The vet said I didn't need to test her anymore. I agree that it seems awfully strange that AnnaBelle was not okay after so many (I assume) puppy shots. When you say she was not okay do you mean she had no measurable titers or they were just lower? 

Dr. Jean Dodds  is kind of the go to vet in regard to vaccines and titers and this is a q & a with her providing the answer regarding low titers:

Question: Every year, the titer shows them as low on their distemper antibodies. What should I do?
Answer: I suggest titer testing your dog every three years for both distemper and parvovirus. You can also titer for adenovirus, although we don’t routinely recommend it. There basically is no or minimal infectious canine hepatitis in North America at present; hasn’t been for 15 years except for one minor incident at the Canada/Maritime/US border.

Importantly, any measurable titer to a vaccine including distemper & parvovirus means that the dog has specific committed immune memory cells to respond and afford protection upon exposure. It really doesn’t matter how high the titer result is as long as it measures something. If your dogs consistently have no measurable titer to canine distemper virus, it means mean that they are distemper “non-or low-responders”, an heritable trait where they will never mount immunity to distemper and will always be susceptible. These dogs should not be used for breeding.

As non-or low-responders to distemper are rare (1:5000 cases), my suggestion is that you retest at least one of them at Hemopet.

This is also a good article explaining the immune response and how titers only test one part of it. The section about memory cells is of particular interest and how titers numbers can drop off but memory cells will still kick in the immune response if there is an invader.

http://vitalanimal.com/fallacy-of-titer-tests/

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Thanks Ricki.  All great information.   I'm pretty new at all of this so I appreciate the info.  Hopefully she isn't one of the non-or-low responders.  I'll get more info when we go back to the vet.

[Gail and Bailey]

I would like to hear Karen's response to the very last paragraph in the article where the author recommends a supplement called Transfer Factor which is said to strengthen the immune system. I am thinking this is something Karen has dismissed in the past. Am I wrong? Makes me wonder about the author and the goal of the article. Having said that....and hopefully not stepped on anyone's toes......I must add that the article is full of good info about titers which we do with Bailey.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Gail, I only posted the link for the titer info but you're right she is promoting a product.  However, the information about how the immune system functions and memory cells can be found on many different sites-some without promos, so I think we're good there. :)

[Gail and Bailey]

It is a very interesting and informative article. It really makes you think about the shots we get as children and how long they last......so why would it be any different with dogs? :)

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I always wondered the same Gail.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

For some reason, I haven't been getting notifications in discussions where I've posted a response, and just happened to see all this today. 

With all due respect to all involved, there is a LOT of incorrect information about the immune system in the article promoting the homeopathic "immune booster" product. And the product itself will do nothing to "boost" the immune system, which is not something you would want to do, even if you could. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And as far as Dr. Falconer goes, here's some good info on him and his "theories": 

http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2013/10/when-homeopathy-becomes-truly-dang...

Some of the information he presents in that link about the "dangers" of vaccinations makes my blood boil, because it's not just incorrect, it's dangerous. 

[Marni and Hanna]

Thanks for sharing this info!   Hanna is already on the 3-year versions, but I may look into the titer testing next time she is due for her shots, since she had such a rough go of it this last time......very interesting stuff!