How do you go about asking your vet to do titers instead of vaccines? I'm assuming it's probably not "normal", as most owners probably don't know what titers are.
Luckily, I really love our vet and they do have a holistic veterinarian on staff (as well as they sell THK in the lobby!) and I've seen titers mentioned on that section of the website. But she is not our personal veterinarian.
Anyways, it's a little ways off, as Jackson turns 4 in October but I do not plan on vaccinating him again except for rabies as required by law. He has received DHPP at 8 weeks, DHLPP at 12 weeks (BAD bad bad reaction to lepto, so never again will he get that), DHPP at 15 weeks, then we did not get the rabies vac until about 7 months. THEN he got a DHPP booster at one year old as well as rabies booster (on a different day). Oh and he has had two bordatella in his life, which I'm unsure I'll ever do again. He did have kennel cough twice but it cleared up quickly enough (both times he had been non-utd on bordatella).
So, when it comes time to setting the appt, do you ask about titers ahead of time? What is the protocol for this when it comes to dog events and facilities where they ask for shot records, do you show them the titer records?
Also, from what I understand about titers, the memory cells have to be activated to show proper immunity. So before you have the titers drawn, walking the dog around a Petsmart or a park where other dogs have walked around for a few days before the test is recommended? This gets their immune system up and running so the titer will be accurate. If the dog has just been in your backyard and not exposed to other dogs at all, there's a chance the titer may come back unacceptably low - even though the dog DOES have immunity, if that makes sense. This is apparently one downfall of the titers. A dog could be successfully immune against parvo/distemper/rabies but it might not show on the titer test if the memory cells are dormant and haven't been activated. Know anything about this?
Luckily, I really love our vet and they do have a holistic veterinarian on staff (as well as they sell THK in the lobby!) and I've seen titers mentioned on that section of the website. But she is not our personal veterinarian.
Anyways, it's a little ways off, as Jackson turns 4 in October but I do not plan on vaccinating him again except for rabies as required by law. He has received DHPP at 8 weeks, DHLPP at 12 weeks (BAD bad bad reaction to lepto, so never again will he get that), DHPP at 15 weeks, then we did not get the rabies vac until about 7 months. THEN he got a DHPP booster at one year old as well as rabies booster (on a different day). Oh and he has had two bordatella in his life, which I'm unsure I'll ever do again. He did have kennel cough twice but it cleared up quickly enough (both times he had been non-utd on bordatella).
So, when it comes time to setting the appt, do you ask about titers ahead of time? What is the protocol for this when it comes to dog events and facilities where they ask for shot records, do you show them the titer records?
Also, from what I understand about titers, the memory cells have to be activated to show proper immunity. So before you have the titers drawn, walking the dog around a Petsmart or a park where other dogs have walked around for a few days before the test is recommended? This gets their immune system up and running so the titer will be accurate. If the dog has just been in your backyard and not exposed to other dogs at all, there's a chance the titer may come back unacceptably low - even though the dog DOES have immunity, if that makes sense. This is apparently one downfall of the titers. A dog could be successfully immune against parvo/distemper/rabies but it might not show on the titer test if the memory cells are dormant and haven't been activated. Know anything about this?