I need to convince a group that Titre Testing is legit.

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AlphaMutt - 09 Jan 2007 01:59 GMT

I am on the Advisory Committee for a group that trains Therapy Dogs. As
of now, the organization requires up to date vaccinations, but many,
many great dogs are Titred, and are excluded from the Therapy Dog
Program, mine included.

Where can I get good, solid, scientifically-based information about the
value of Titre testing as opposed to over-vaccinating?

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buglady - 09 Jan 2007 10:16 GMT

> I am on the Advisory Committee for a group that trains Therapy Dogs. As
> of now, the organization requires up to date vaccinations, but many,
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Where can I get good, solid, scientifically-based information about the
> value of Titre testing as opposed to over-vaccinating?

......Read some of the Schultz links on the recent Canine Vaccination
thread. The better read you are on immunology in general, the better case
you can make. As Schultz points out, having a low titer does not
necessarily mean the dog is susceptible to the disease. There are two parts
to the immune system response and at the moment we can't directly measure
the presence of memory cells to an antigen.
......For rabies, the correct way to prove that your dog has developed
immunity is to run a titer before being vaccinated, then 3 or so weeks
later. If there's a response, your dog has immunity. Unfortunately, this
is pricey as the rabies titer is 150 bucks a pop.
.......What do you mean exactly by up to date vaccinations? Which vaccines?
How often is up to date? You might be able to influence some decisions on a
few vaccines at least.

.......This is an ongoing issue WRT therapy dogs. You might contact other
organizations and see if there are any that accept titers. I don't think
this is about to change soon unfortunately.

You can check these articles http://www.caberfeidh.com/Revax.htm
http://www.caberfeidh.com/CanineTiters.htm and/or join the
BeyondVaccination list linked on this page.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

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Deborah, DVM - 10 Jan 2007 03:41 GMT

>> I am on the Advisory Committee for a group that trains Therapy Dogs. As
>> of now, the organization requires up to date vaccinations, but many,
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> to the immune system response and at the moment we can't directly measure
> the presence of memory cells to an antigen.

Without starting an argument of the validity of titers (the jury's still out
for me on this issue) -- I would also like to point out that having a high
titer doesn't necessarily mean the dog is NOT susceptible to the disease.

Deborah DVM

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buglady - 12 Jan 2007 14:04 GMT

-- I would also like to point out that having a high

> titer doesn't necessarily mean the dog is NOT susceptible to the disease.

Hi Dr. Deb,
As far as I understand it, either they're protected or they actually have
the disease at that point in time. Of course it's possible that they have a
wonky immune system at that point and can't mount a sufficient defense, but
I'd say the odds of any of these things happening is the zebra.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

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Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / January 2007

I need to convince a group that Titre Testing is legit.