Titre Testing: Does Your Dog Really Need to be Revaccinated?
The last 15 years have seen a major shift in the thinking surrounding the vaccination of our dogs. Whereas vets used to give dogs yearly vaccine boosters against the “Big 3” viral diseases (distemper, parvo, and infectious hepatitis) by course, it is now increasingly common to use titre testing to check whether revaccination is necessary, thereby avoiding possible adverse reactions ranging from mild (fever) to severe (allergic reaction, arthritis, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia).
Titre testing is a process in which a small sample of blood is taken from your dog and checked for circulating antibodies, the presence of which indicates that the dog is immune, and a booster or revaccination with core vaccines is not required. Two new in-practice titre-testing kits are now available which will allow your vet to do a titre test very quickly without sending the blood sample to a laboratory, saving you money!