Do vaccinate, don’t over-vaccinate
Immunity for your pet is incredibly important. Vaccinations are necessary, but we should only use them when they are really needed.
Kim, a vet and owner of Ringwood Vet Clinic, says being more discerning with vaccinations is about practising better medicine. It is about not over-vaccinating.
All drugs have side effects. No drug is risk-free and a percentage of animals will have reactions to vaccinations.
Titre testing has revealed that animals need less frequent vaccination than originally thought.
What is a titre test?
It’s a blood test that checks for certain antibodies in the blood stream. This involves drawing blood and testing it for the presence of disease. We can tell from a titre test if an animal is immune to a particular disease or needs vaccinating.
Why titre test?
Ringwood Vet Clinic has been titre testing since the start of 2020. Before then, like most clinics, they routinely vaccinated all animals every year.
They wouldn’t know if all the animals needed more vaccinations or not. The clinic did it on the premise that it would provide necessary protection.
Now, with titre testing, a relatively quick blood test, Kim and her team can tell if animals still have immunity to prior vaccinations. If they still have strong immunity, further shots are not necessary as they already have protection.
This knowledge can save your pet’s system from being overloaded with chemicals.
Antibodies are the mighty defenders
When an animal has a vaccination or is exposed to a disease, its body recognises it and produces antibodies, which stay in the blood stream long after the disease is gone, or long after the vaccination has been given.
After vaccination, antibodies are waiting in the wings, so when the animal’s system is exposed to that disease again, the antibodies are ready to attack and protect it.
Antibodies produced as a result of a previous vaccination can be detected in a titre blood test. If the vet can see high numbers of antibodies for particular diseases, that means the body is well protected from those diseases.
Your furry friend’s antibodies
All animals are born with antibodies from their mum to protect them. At some point, between 6 and 16 weeks of age, puppies and kittens lose those maternal antibodies and become vulnerable to catching certain diseases.
Vets vaccinate at 6 to 8 weeks of age, then again at 10 to 12 weeks. This is usually enough to protect puppies for 12 months. Kittens get an extra shot between 14 and 16 weeks.
Ringwood Vet Clinic calls the animals back a month later to titre test for antibodies. The clinic wants to make sure their bodies have mounted a proper immune response and have seroconverted (triggered antibodies) to antibody-positive.
If an animal has antibodies for all the diseases they were vaccinated for, then we know they are protected and another shot is not necessary. The clinic can titre test the animals every year to check those antibodies are still active instead of routinely vaccinating again.
A developing immune system
When the clinic vaccinates new puppies and kittens, Kim takes this time to educate people about how titre testing works and the dangers of unnecessary repeat vaccinations, which can potentially trigger an adverse reaction.
Pets are then called back a month later for a titre test to see if the vaccination has taken hold.
Until you know your puppy has full immunity, don’t socialise them with other dogs. Vaccinations take at least a week to kick in.
Some dogs do not seroconvert, even after a couple of vaccinations. Many dogs that don’t seroconvert never will. Their body can’t recognise and mount an immune response to that disease. That is the structure of their immune system. They will rely on herd immunity for protection.
Titre testing can identify this kind of immune system, saving the animal further unnecessary chemical burden.
What’s in the puppy vaccination?
Distemper
Hepatitis
Parvovirus
Kennel Cough (given with the above 3 or separately)
Your pup must be vaccinated for Kennel Cough every year as there is no titre test for this disease. Ringwood Vet Clinic tests for the other 3 diseases annually.
What’s in the kitten vaccination?
F3 FVR (feline viral rhinotracheitis)
FCV (feline calicivirus)
FPV (panleukopenia)
Kittens can be tested annually after their initial shots.
Do I have to vaccinate?
Vaccinations are important. All of the diseases vaccinated for have almost been eradicated in Australia.
Kim wants pet owners to check for immunity before giving ongoing vaccinations as part of routine care.
Vaccinations are not compulsory in Australia, but if you want to put your pet in a boarding house or puppy school, you must show documentation to prove they have been vaccinated. A certificate to prove the continued presence of immunity through titre testing is also acceptable.
Compromised immune systems
Some animals have an overreactive or poorly functioning immune system. If the immune system is not working properly, a vaccine can demand too much of it and trigger an abnormal response.
If your pet has shown genetic predisposition to an immune-mediated disease, Kim advises using vaccinations with caution. You don’t want to trigger an abnormal response unnecessarily and cause a flare up somewhere else in the body.
Vaccinations can potentially trigger life-threatening illness in immunocompromised animals.
A simple titre test identifies immunity and protects these animals from being overburdened chemically.
If an immunocompromised animal shows little or no immunity in a titre test, Kim talks to the owner about the likelihood of their pet being exposed to the diseases being vaccinated against. If the risk of exposure is low, she might advise against vaccination to protect the sensitive immune system.
How will I know if my pet is immunocompromised?
It may not become obvious that your puppy or kitten has a sensitive immune system until they are 6 to 12 months old.
Early warning signs, before or after first vaccinations, are usually skin-related, such as an allergic dermatitis that does not resolve.
Kim has noticed she sees a high number of dogs with skin problems. She thinks this is triggered by the immune system. Chemicals are likely to inflame a sensitive immune system.
Other early warning signs of an adverse reaction after vaccination might be intermittent diarrhoea or gastro, as the gut can also become inflamed.
If early warning signs are ignored, your pet could end up with more serious immune-related disease (such as inflammation of the adrenal glands or thyroid, which can lead to further whole system damage).
In Kim’s experience, up to 30% of pets in her clinic are immunocompromised to some degree. She believes this high number is largely a result of a poor diet of processed food (see our post on food), but there will be other factors at play as well.
System overload
Dogs and cats often suffer a massive chemical burden.
Many of us wash our pets with strong shampoos and douse them in regular flea treatments regardless of whether they have fleas or not. Some of us give routine worm treatments without checking if it is actually needed.
Check your pet for fleas before applying a treatment. If they don’t have fleas, don’t give them the treatment.
Check for worms before giving your pet tablets. Kim encourages clients to bring in a poo sample in spring and autumn. Her team checks it under a microscope and can easily identify if there are worms present. If there are no eggs detected, there are no worms in the animal’s body and no treatment is needed.
You don’t need to routinely apply chemical treatments and overload your pet’s system.
What does titre testing cost?
It is a priority for Ringwood Vet Clinic to practise good medicine, so they try and keep costs down to encourage pet owners to use the titre testing service. The clinic absorbs a small amount of the cost on principle.
If the titre test reveals no antibodies, the animal will be called back for another vaccination. The clinic charges a reduced fee, in this case, to encourage clients to participate in practising good medicine and support their pet’s optimal health.
Kim hopes all of her clients want the best for their pets and makes sure they understand the benefits of titre testing. None of them have refused the service.
Why are titre testing services hard to find?
Only about 2% of vets currently offer this service. Why? Kim says it’s easier to grab a vaccine and jab an animal than it is to collect a blood test, check for antibodies, and decide if the animal needs to come back for another vaccination.
Titre testing creates another layer of steps for clinics. More service time, more lab work, more communication with clients. More work and cost for the client, more work and cost for the clinic. In reality, there are no financial benefits for vets to offer titre services.
Support for titre testing requires commitment from pet owners and vet practices who truly seek optimal health for animals.
Will the service become more widely practised? Kim likes to think so, but it’s about swinging away from the lure of convenience and quick solutions to prioritising pet health.
Good medicine means not overmedicating
If you are going to vaccinate, then you need to know it is actually necessary. Seeking out a titre service at a vet clinic means you can make informed choices to protect your pet’s health.
If a titre test reveals that your pet already has immunity to a disease, then they don’t need another vaccination.
No drug is completely harmless. The need for medicine is sometimes warranted, but the alluring convenience of immediate overtreatment, rather than taking the time to investigate underlying causes, can put your pet at risk.
To keep animals in the best health possible, we have to start using medicine only when it is required and stop overtreating them, which is contributing to underlying diseases.
Take the time to learn how your pet’s body works and help them live a long, healthy life.