Brody's labwork and vaccination titer results!

[brodysmom]

I had Brody into the vet for his annual exam, heartworm test, bloodwork, and vaccination titers. His exam was great - his knees are firmly seated with no sign of luxation which was a relief. LP is such a problem in our breed. Teeth are excellent, good body condition, etc. I had a complete blood panel drawn, including thyroid. All blood values came back within normal range. Kidneys (BUN and creatinine), liver enzymes, electrolytes (potassium, calcium, mag, etc) as well as hemoglobin and T4 (thyroid). The vet said he was the picture of health. But what I was most interested in was his antibodies.

I had titers drawn to check immune response to parvo, distemper, and rabies (which takes longer and is pending). The parvo and distemper titers showed adequate response to vaccination, so I was thrilled to see those results.

Brody was vaccinated as a puppy at 10 weeks, 13 weeks, and 16 weeks. He had the rabies vaccine at 6 months. He has not had any vaccinations since and he is 2 1/2 years old. He will likely not be vaccinated again in his lifetime. The vet gave us a waiver for the rabies vaccine so we are in compliance with local and state laws.

I may titer again in a year or so but there is no reason to believe that vaccinations do not last for the life of the dog. Duration of immunity studies are proving that to be true.

Some good links in case of anyone is interested in titering and vaccination/immunology info:

TITER TEST

Age and long-term protective immunity in dogs and ... [J Comp Pathol. 2010] - PubMed result

Science of Vaccine Damage

Here's a copy of his titer results and a picture. Just because he's a good boy.

[Kristi]

If Brody were human I think you'd have a future porn star on your hands momma Tracy LOOK AT THAT FACE!

I am thrilled his titers showed good immunity and its encouraging to hear someone had a great experience with this approach to vaccinations.

[Lucy]

Oh Tracy that is such excellent news! But I think we were all expecting it anyway!
This will encourage a lot more people to consider a titer test. I'm definitely going to find out how much it would be for it.

Gorgeous boy, Brody. Well done!

[Paula]

That is so awesome, Tracy! Brody really is the picture of health! So glad he didn't need any jabs. It really goes to show how overdone these immunizations are too. Just awful really when you think about it.

[Sarah]

Amazing!!!! So pleased for you

And I agree with Kristi sexy boy lol

[brodysmom]

Apr 6, 2011 20:06:32 GMT Kristi said:

If Brody were human I think you'd have a future porn star on your hands momma Tracy LOOK AT THAT FACE!

Now wait just a minute missy... who you calling a porn star?! LOL! Well yeah... he's pretty studly for a guy with no .... um.... working parts. HA HA!

But ya know what? You never miss what you never had.

I'll post his rabies titer results when they come in. I don't know why they take so long, probably because only 3 labs in the US do them. His is pending at K-State.

[Katy]

Great job Tracy! Thats awesome news!
How much is it to do the titer test? Are they a big deal to do? Our vets are some of my inlaws and I dont want to offend them or cause a lot of hassle as they give us a very generous discount, but I dont want to needlessly keep vaccinating my guys either.

[brodysmom]

HI Katy - how lucky for you to have vets in the family!!! The distemper/parvo titer was $65. The rabies one is the expensive one as only 3 labs in the US do them (because they really aren't optional, they are required by law). The rabies titer was $130. I did it just to know. My vet gave us an exemption to satisfy local/state laws but he won't be vaccinated for rabies again. (Unless for some reason the titer would come back low).