For anyone who has not come across the titer/titre test before it is a simple blood test that involves taking a very small sample of blood from the dog and testing it in a laboratory for the presence of circulating antibodies. The blood sample will usually be taken at the veterinary surgery and sent to a laboratory for testing although in-house Vacci-check kits are now readily available if a vet practice wishes to do it in-house at a much reduced cost to the client. The price may vary from £30 for a Vaccicheck up to £100 or more depending on how much the vet practice wishes to make on the service. However should the test reveal a positive result for your dog the current view is that the test need not be repeated nor further vaccination required:
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This is a copy of the certificate with results for one of our dogs:
You may find that some vets will advise that a result of 40 or more is the minimum to demonstrate there is no need for vaccination but, as indicated in the above linked article, the immune system once effectively stimulated to recognise and destroy the viruses against which the core vaccines have been given will store the details of the virus for future identification and antibodies will be produced as and when needed. Antibodies against disease do not circulate in high numbers when not required but are produced when the body is under attack. Diseases such as parvovirus which may be prevalent in the environment nowadays will be reflected in the higher antibody reading for this showing the dog has encountered and defeated this in the not too distant past. Diseases such as distemper that are much more rare may often be denoted by a low reading as the dog has not needed to counter this. Expose the dog to the disease and the antibody reading will rise.
Puppies vaccinated at a young age i.e With the last shot being before 16 weeks should really be titer tested a couple of weeks post vaccination to establish if the vaccines have actually worked as otherwise it is an act of faith whether they have immunity or not and, if not, can lead to those situations reported not infrequently where previously vaccinated pups have actually gone on to contract the disease. Maternal antibodies to infection can continue to circulate up to 16 weeks and if still strong will counteract the vaccine although most will have waned by 10-12 weeks and vaccine manufacturers do claim their product is effective with just one set of vaccines administered at 10 weeks.
Before repeating any vaccination against the core vaccines a titer test will help to establish whether further vaccines are actually needed and prevent any unnecessary stress being put on a developing immune system. Older dogs are rarely in need of vaccination if vaccinated at 16 weeks or later as, if fit and well, their mature immune system should be well able to withstand infection by the core diseases and, if they are chronically ill, they should not be vaccinated anyway.
Not all insurance companies insist on constant vaccination for covering illnesses unrelated to the vaccinated diseases and not all training classes require it. Titer testing post successful puppy vaccination is by far a safer way forward to keep your dog healthy and is gradually becoming widely known and accepted in veterinary circles here as in the USA where much of the research has been carried out.
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Great post Leigh
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health have now agreed that a titre test certification is acceptable instead of a vaccination stamp for boarding kennels (at the owner's discretion):
