Comments on Titer Testing: Wasting Your Money?

March 18, 26: 4 large breed dogs are fighting for their lives. A small skunk found its way into our barn. 6 days ago. It was killed by one of the dogs. I suspect the Great Dane, since she is the more protective and smelled the worse. The skunk is sent into to be tested. Results come back positive (rabid.) Do you have any suggestions or experience on how the state of Texas in the county of Llano testing procedures can be questioned? The dogs live on a 25 acre ranch. They have been properly vaccinated as pups. I even waited past week 16 to be absolutely sure they were past mom’s support. We have a meeting tomorrow with our vet. The plan is to “boost” them. I’m refusing. Should we titer test now? One dog had horrible hot spots after vaccination. 2020. He is now 7yrs. Old. 2nd dog last vaccination expired 2022, age 5 3rd dog, expired 2024. Age 3. The Fourth dog is a rehomer, and came with current vaccination. Expires 2026. Age 3. According to the law. My dogs each real food, with kibbles as a filler only. They are healthy. What can we do to keep the Sherriff / State of Texas off our backs.

Dear Dr. Falconer, I have a kitten that was a foster to adopt from the animal shelter. He was given the FVRCP at 6 weeks, then at 12 weeks. At 16 weeks he received a Rabies shot and I thought he got the last booster, but just found out that they only gave him the Rabies. He is now 6 months old. When I called to get the third booster, my vet does not do titers and is telling me that I have to start the series all over again because the time has been too long since the first two shots. Can I get an online titer? A holistic vet I called in another state (none near me), said he was protected and didn't need another shot, but my vet says that without the series they will say that he's not fully vaccinated if I need to board him. I'm afraid to over-vaccinate. What do you think?

Dear Dr. Will Falconer:

I have a Maltese mix male dog that just turned 5 years old. He has been diagnosed with Encephalitis, specifically to the brain. (GME) He is doing well so far with Cytarabine 200 mg/m sq = 44 mg (20 mg/ml) given by subcutaneous injection, given every 3 weeks. He is also being weaned from Prednisone at 2.5 mg. every other day. Beta Thym herbal tablets are replacing Prednisone according to the holistic Vet. He is being treated by a Neurologist with the chemo vaccines and Prednisone.

The holistic Vet. did a titer per my request and Toby is 5 times over the antibodies for protection against rabies. She also prescribed brain inflammation supplements which I ordered off the Internet, the brand "Designs For Health" and I detox his liver and kidneys with Amber Technology drops. He also gets immune supported supplements as well.

Previously, when this started he had the full head tilt, body tremors, pacing, and other symptoms. The symptoms have gone away, except pacing when he's hungry. I have him on a steamed raw diet. He is 2 pounds underweight, but active and playing with his dog playmate. The holistic Vet. wants Toby at 9 pounds; he is 7. My holistic Vet. will NOT write an exemption letter for no more rabies vaccines. She said "what would I say"? I was just stunned. I stated, I would think you would say it's your opinion that this dog is not healthy with a brain disease and that he should not be vaccinated. She still won't write it. I don't know if I can get the Neurologist to write it for me. I will ask him the next time I take my dog for the chemo vaccine. I don't understand why my holistic Vet. refuses to write a waiver for a sick dog? I don't understand totally the rabies laws and how the titers work with this and what I can do to protect Toby. I also have a female Maltese mix and she is 1 year and 8 months. I want to protect her as well. She is 5 times over the amount of antibodies to protect against rabies.

Thanks Much!
Margot Hoffman
Colorado

Although this is an old post, I had to comment because one of my best friends had her GSD's titered and she called me in a panic. One of her dogs came back with low antibodies & also she did titer fo Lyme Disease too and it came back "positive" that he had Lyme. I told her titers are not the be all & end all and that her dogs are extremely healthy and she actually finally listened to me and started feeding Species Appropriate Raw Diet without plant matter/veggies which also harms your pets pancreas by making it over work to produce more enzymes to break down plant matter. So I told her not even to worry, and that her dogs immunity is protected for life and that I highly doubt he actually has Lyme disease either. The vet wants to put him on 30 day round of antibiotics!!! Yikes. I told her don't do it! If he truly does have it, there are homeopathic remedies that will cure him and not kill his immune system with a bombardment of 30 days of antibiotics. She makes enough money so I told her if she really wanted to feel safe & prove her allopathic vet to be incorrect about the titers for low antibodies & also having Lyme Disease, to wait 30 days and do the tests again.
She decided she trusted me but wanted to prove the vet wrong. So 30 days later she had the titer tests done for both antibodies & Lyme Disease. They both came back that the dog was absolutely FINE! His antibody titer came back normal and he did NOT have Lyme Disease either.
I do not know if the blood work was done in the vets office as many do their own blood work for many things, or if it was sent out to local lab? Either way it doesn't matter. If she had not listened to me, the vet wanted to give a TOXIC 6-in-1 combo vaccine to this dog(which these are horrible as it is but thank God he didn't say 7-1; 8-1 or 10-1!!!) and he wanted to pump this GSD up with 30 days of antibiotics for Lyme Disease which would had done more damage than good!
Just take care of your dogs & cats, feed them S.A.R.F.D. if you have adopted and they have been pumped up with not only numerous combo vaccines & rabies(over & over again depending on the animals age) & fed horrible diets in shelters & rescue groups, spayed/neutered WAY TOO YOUNG(also causing damage to the body) you can detox their bodies as best as possible with homeopathic remedies(don't be surprised that the damage is already done and not even homeopathy can cure some or most of the damage done to the immune system & certain organs) contact an excellent true Holistic vet that practices Classical Homeopathy and hope & pray you keep them as healthy & vital as possible and don't d anymore vaccines!! They are not necessary, not even rabies(laws or not, you are your pets advocate and you can fight rabies--the vet is not the law bu they will try to make you feel like they are)

Any advice for businesses that require UTD vaccinations, or in my case, accepting the titers for what vaccines they cover? I'll be attending the Starmark Dog Training Academy there in Hutto, TX next month and they want vaccinations current within 2 weeks of school start date. That includes DHLPP, bordetella, and of course rabies. Can you even titer for bordetella? I know the vaccine doesn't prevent it anyway. And i'm trying to figure out what all they'll clear me on, the only titer this local vet offers me is a parvo/distemper titer

Titer tests do not distinguish between the immunity generated by vaccination and that generated by natural exposure to disease agents. A dog may have developed immunity to a viral disease by receiving a vaccine against the disease, by being exposed to the disease in the natural environment and conquering it, sometimes without having demonstrated any symptoms of exposure to the disease, or by a combination of the two. Therefore, titer tests really measure both the “priming of the pump” that comes from vaccines, and the immunity resulting from natural exposure to disease during a dog’s lifetime. Only an indoor dog that has been totally sequestered from the natural environment is likely to have developed all of its immunity from vaccinations. Although the magnitude of immunity protection received by vaccination only is usually lower than by vaccination plus exposure, it doesn’t matter how your dog developed its strong immunity to specific viral diseases, as long as the immunity is present. By “titering” annually, a dog owner can assess whether her dog’s immune response has fallen below adequate levels. In that event, an appropriate vaccine booster can be administered.

Thank you for such a useful article. I had my puppy vaccinated at 14.5 weeks and titre tested just over three weeks later. Parvovirus was high positive and distemper low positive (+2 over the threshold of 5). These were both done on an immunocomb test. But adenovirus (using ab titre by VNT) said less than 5 with a further comment saying "antibodies are not detected". I am happy with the parvovirus and distemper result but appear to have no response to the adenovirus. But I can't revaccinate just for this as it comes complete with distemper and parvovirus. I'm not sure how common hepatitis is in the uk and whether I should be worried. My instinct is to leave it and retest after a few months to see if he is producing immunity naturally (which he's unlikely to do if the disease is rare)

What to do when titer numbers drop? "Believing" the dog still has immunity is not going to be enough. How do we elevate the numbers again to get good titer results to use in place of vaccination records when required?

I don't vaccinate. I feed raw. No flea or tick chemicals either. No vhemicals in my house or yard. Homeopathy, acupuncture and all natural what ever else we may need! :) I have a vet who supports me but he's not technically holistic.
My 10 year old lab had her first set of puppy shots before I got her. (Which was when she was 6) and she has re current itchy skin dry brittle yet oily feeling fur. The acupuncture has helped. But this spring and summer we have had up and down weather and I can't seem to get on top of her itchy skin. I think it's vaccinosis. It is sure hard to fight! My poor girl. Thankfully her spirits are good. But when she's absolutely clear she's like a different dog!

This is great information. After going down the path of over-vaccinating my oldest Chi (10 in Oct). We learned the hard way, by age 4 he severely reacted to any vaccine he was given and I finally realized I'm in charge not Dr Whitecoat no more for my boy! Honestly never did the licensing route as I think it is silly and unnecessary. Our 4 y/o Chi has only rec'd one rabies vaccine after getting the puppy shots. When we got our new kittens last year, they had their kitty shots and no more. they are inside cats what do they need vaccines for? I have also learned that when I take them into my traditional vet I can just "tell" them when they rec'd a vaccine and they will note the records as I have a TCVM & reg vet. It is sad that all these rules have reduced us to not being completely truthful but I think all of us do what is necessary to protect our babies. We lost a Pom in 2010 at 7 y/o to renal failure, she was so young and in hindsight vaccinations & kibble diet were her downfall. This journey with my pets has opened my eyes to so many things that we grew up with as "fact" and "have to do". I hope more people realize the masses are not always right and its ok to say "NO" to a vet. they are not God and they do not always know what is best for YOUR baby.

I lost my 8 year old Doberman over 11 years ago to lymphoma that was a direct reaction to vaccinations. I was going to board him and they required parvo and distemper annual proof. We separated the vaccinations and planned to give them a month apart. After the first vaccination, his lymph nodes enlarged within a few days. Biopsy came back as 'reactive'. Prednisone brought them down to normal size. So a month later we gave the other vaccinate. Lymph nodes enlarged again, but this time the biopsy came back as lymphoma. From that event on, I have only given the initial puppy and one adult shot, then nothing. Rabies is difficult as my state requires it every three years by law. But I refuse to vacinate for rabies after they turn 8. I just did a titer on my boy turning 11 through Hemopet, and the comment said he has very good levels. I wish all states and counties accepted titers, it would be so much healther for our dogs.

Great explanation, thank you.
While antiviral vaccines apparently confer lifelong immunity, antibacterial vaccines do not. This mean that those living in areas with active leptospirosis infestations do need to consider the risks associated with vaccinating against the newer strains vs not vaccinating. There are no easy answers in that situation.

I thank you for this article--- I learned something new about dropping titer numbers & immunity!
We had a beautiful black lab named Kody. He had not had vaccines in awhile. I had titers done on everything but rabies & had him revaccinated (for rabies) in October 2011. 8 days later he had 2 Grand Mal seizures within a few hours. Long story short--- he had developed a brain tumor & died 14 months later.
The vet claims it had nothing to do with the vaccine. I don't believe that. I will never do that to another dog. I will check titers & that's it. We still miss our beautiful boy. He was 9 & 1/2 when he died. The youngest ANY of our dogs have ever passed away--- and we've had some big guys:) (80+ pounds)
Karen

A very well balanced analysis of the situation. Great article Dr. Will Falconer.
I will share in Petutchy's FB.

We lost our wonderfully intelligent fun and loving Ally, a Standard Poodle, about six weeks ago at age eight. We think she had immune mediated hemolytic anemia. Her body was destroying her red blood cells and she was unresponsive to medications given by our conventional vet. They thought she had perhaps a form of bone cancer. She did have Addison's and was on Percortin, so maybe her system was compromised, anyway. However, after reading what you have written, I'm convinced she needn't have died if we had stayed away from the vaccination schedule and pesticides recommended we use on her. We are going to bring home a SP puppy soon, we hope, and expect to treat him as you have recommended. He is, as is our resident almost 16 year old SP, on the raw diet, so we only have to incorporate your guidelines for vaccinating and titering. Thank you for giving us a way forward with our new family member. I don't want to put another dog through what Ally went through and for us to experience another too early very painful loss. Gabby continues to look for her sister in her old haunts.

I love the articles you write and have been on a "no vaccine" journey for about 6 years now. My dogs are in the care of a homeopath and I avoid convention medicine at all costs unless its a total emergency. My question to you is just how do you get around the laws? I do believe the laws pertaining to animals are not there to protect anyone, rather keep them ill. In order to train at any facility you have to have proof of vaccination, and trying to get a waiver of any kind is almost impossible. I tried to get a rabies waiver for a dog that was 11 years old with multiple problems only to be turned down. I simply did not register her in my county. Told them the dog had passed away and then made sure there were no animal control vehicles near my house before I let her out in the front. That was not so hard, but what do you do with animals that you expect to live quite a few years? So many questions, so little time.
Thanks
Virginia

Thank you for this information. Even though I knew about Titers Vs Vaccines I didn't know that not having immunity against one of the big bad wolves simply means that the body doesn't need any period!!
Nature is very wise, we should start listening more to it !!

Personally speaking...
Our 7-year-old Chihuahua, received her 3rd Rabies Vaccination just before her 6th Birthday...and almost didn't see her 7th. Within a few days of receiving the 'shot', she was reduced to a scratching, writhing, running in circles, mess of a Canine...
At first, we thought she'd gotten into something...till we realized...we don't have anything around to get into...and finally deduced it was the shot.
I will spare the details of the mishaps that followed, due to 'Conventional Veterinary Medicine', and their "Protocols" ... but thankfully...we found a Homeopathic Vet, and within days, our little Girl, came back from the brink...
All I 'will' say is, if you're Animal ever has a reaction...the last thing you want to do , is allow a Cortisone Shot...it will kill, or near kill your Pet.
Let it be known also...Your Vet will never 'own it' when it comes to the responsibility...they will just keep repeating their Mantra..."We did everything within the protocol of the condition"...meanwhile...Your Pet, and you will have gone through a living Hell.

Hi Dr. Falconer,
Thank you so much for the wonderful article! A few years back I had my two boys titered at Hemopet. Here in the midwest it pretty uncommon still to titer rather than vaccinate over and over. I have a boy with allergies and some major skin issues. Unfortunately I learned at his expense that over vaccination causes disease. He is doing well with a raw diet and avoiding exposure to household chemicals, etc. I have recently found them a Holistic Vet as well. One of only about three in my area. I do have to comment that I recently inquired to Dr. Dodds (at Hemopet) about having the boys titered again. She told me it was not necessary. I love a vet who values our companion animals (who otherwise have no voice) over their pocket book.
Thank you Dr. Dodds and Thank you Dr. Falconer!!!