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Post by amyjo on Apr 15, 2004 13:43:42 GMT -5
Distemper 128 Parvo 40
The vet said they like to see numbers around 80 for Parvo but also said that he never saw a dog over 2 years old with Parvo.
We talked about what titers really mean and he seconded what we have said here...he also said they express it in the simplest terms for people in the office (immune/not immune) because most people just want a cut and dried answer.
I decided not to vacc for the parvo and he said we could do it next year....I said nope and explained my new minimalist approach and my reasons. He was very supportive. I am impressed.
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Post by Brooke on Apr 15, 2004 14:23:32 GMT -5
Excellent! I hope to find a supportive vet here shortly. I need to get Kuma in for her check up and Rabies vaccs. Shen's going to have to take Peeka in. It's going to be a pain cause we just switched insurance companies from Pet Care to VPI. I'm wondering if they would cover titers? I'm betting no but they seem to cover a lot. They even cover our regular checkups, shots and prescriptions. I believe even heartworm and flea protection... I'm debating on going homeopathic though. I'm begining to not like my vet much. We've been using him since I was little with our family pets but I found out he treats the puppies at Petland for one. I also remember when we had our lab she had these tumors on her tummy that he refused to test or remove. He said it was normal for dogs to get them and they were probably nothing to worry about. "probably just fatty tissue" I always pushed my mom to push more but she felt he spoke the word of god of course. He was after all the professional. She suffered a really bad case of diabetes for a few years but ended up dying "suddenly" of cancerous tumors at 8 yrs old. And you'd be dog goned if they weren't the ones on her stomach! So yeah...I think I'm going to change.
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Post by Willow on Apr 15, 2004 15:07:59 GMT -5
They just had a discussion on TAV about titers again, because someone has a 5.5 mo. old pup they want to leave in a kennel and the kennel insists that the puppy have the rabies vaccine or a titer's.
First of all, puppies under 6 mo's aren't usually vaccinated for rabies, secondly...from what was discussed, if the titer's are taken, they may be low anyway, because even if he has been around vaccinated dogs and been exposed to shed virus, they use a dead virus, which won't show up on a titer's. In order for a dog to have a high titer, they have to either have gotten the vaccination or been exposed to the MLV or the disease. That's why they say having titer's done (unless you plan to vaccinate if they are low) is a waste of $$$$. A low titer's is no indication of low immunity to the disease. All it means is that they have not been exposed to it, either by MLV or the disease itself.
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Post by sibemom on Apr 15, 2004 15:34:56 GMT -5
Well this is our plan for Blade and the vet is fine with my decision. We are only doing Rabies THAT IS IT! I am going back to my old way of health care that I did for years. We are not showing or kenneling. If we go on vacation it will have to be one that Blade can go too. We plan on doing some camping this summer up at my other house in Mountain and there is still a nice dog run up so there will be no problems. We are taking the natural approach to fleas and ticks, and yes HEARTWORM MEDS ARE A NO GO. I know it sounds risky but I used this schedule for so many years without a problem and I feel comfortable with it. When the new pup comes in of course ( AND IT MIGHT BE A GSD ) I will have to follow their schedules but they know to that I only do rabies and they have no problems with it either. Amy I am glad your vet was supportive that is so important. They may not agree with everything you choose but at least they should respect your choices
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Post by amyjo on Apr 15, 2004 15:41:39 GMT -5
I probably won't do titer's anymore for the reason Loey mentions - but for this first year..they kind of provided a transitional comfort zone instead of jumping head first into the "great unknown"... There is a little bit of comfort in a hard number even when that number doesn't mean all that much! Strange, I know.....
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Post by sibemom on Apr 15, 2004 15:47:37 GMT -5
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Post by Willow on Apr 15, 2004 15:49:09 GMT -5
I don't think it's strange at all, Amyjo. We all have things we are comfortable (or not) with. It's just that so many people think low titer's means low immunity and they should vaccinate, or high titer's mean high immunity and they don't need to, when actually...titer's is in no way, shape or form a guage to the dogs immunity. All they tell is if the dog has been exposed to that virus or not and high titer's means it was a recent exposure, that's why the titer's are high.
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Post by Willow on Apr 15, 2004 15:54:05 GMT -5
I'm with you, Ann! After having dogs who were vaccinated up the giggy for years, given hw preventative and other chemicals and still having one develop an auto-immune disorder, I will take my chances going the non-vacc etc. route and raw feeding, from hear on out. What have I got to lose, except another dog???
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Post by sibemom on Apr 15, 2004 16:01:59 GMT -5
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Post by Willow on Apr 15, 2004 19:17:46 GMT -5
What I dont like is the fact we dont keep vacinating our kids every year so why do we do it to our dogs Good point, but I heard recently that they are now recommending the flu shot every year for children from now on too. After learning about ticks and Lymes and that the tick has to be imbedded in the host for 24 hrs. before it can transmit Lyme's to it, instead of putting the dangerous chemicals on our dogs, why not just go over the dog thoroughly once a day and pick off any ticks? Granted, we will look like Monkeys grooming each other...well...maybe not quite...I hope we won't eat the ticks... , but think how much your dog will benefit from that daily grooming/bonding too! Speaking of which...I finally caught Kerra after dinner tonight and groomed her and when I was done and let her go, she came up to me all wiggly and smiling and pawed at my leg!!! She has never done that!! After that she didn't go under the deck to hide anymore, either...she knew she was finished for the day! And they say animals are dumb!!!!
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Post by Nicole on Apr 19, 2004 16:51:11 GMT -5
Amyjo, did your results have any kind of ratio on it? Mine was all ratio.
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Post by amyjo on Apr 19, 2004 18:21:43 GMT -5
Hmmmm nope - just the numbers he gave me - I will call back and ask though.... I am curious.
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