Rabies shots are legally required at one year intervals in my locality. You present proof of vaccination to the county Animal Regulation Authority in order to license your animal.

As far as the rest, I have to board my dogs once a year, so I have to vaccinate. There are no boarding facilities that do not require proof of current vaccinations where I live.

I have the same circumstances where I live. As far as the rest, I have to board my dogs once a year, so I have to vaccinate. There are no boarding facilities that do not require proof of current vaccinations where I live.

BUTCH;Only I board at the Vet, he would have worked with me if I had opted for Titter test. Vacinations are a safer route for me and my two dogs.
It comes down to a decision that you and your dog will have to live with!

I can tell you that I have stopped all Vac's on my adult dogs and they have never taken ill to any of the viruses or diseases that they are suppose to prevent. I have Vac's my pups twice, and again at one year, and that is it. I ran a titer on two pups that were 14 months and both did not have thier 1 year shot and they came back low on the titer test. I am not sure why. But after the one year that is it.

I do not know how it is now because Poland is more economically advanced and it affects the vets too, but some years ago when I lived there there was NO vaccinating adult dogs against puppy diseases like parvo, distemper, etc. The vet came to the breeder's house for the puppies' first shots, after some time they got their boosters with new owners and later it was assumed that they are exposed to viruses in everyday life so they do not have to get additional portions at the vets office. Rabies was required by law so it was the only vaccination adult dogs received. And although both distemper and parvo were quite common in Poland with not vaccinated puppies, it was VERY rare among adult dogs, affected only those already ill with weakened immune system.

Gwen, look at the previous topic posted under:titer test. I have given a detailed explanation as to what a titer is.

I personally do not vaccinate after the puppy shots, with the exception of rabies, which I do every 3 yrs. after the initial vaccination.( required by law) I have not vaccinated my older dogs in many years and they are fine. I suggest periodic titers to assure yourself that the dog is protected( every 1-2 years if your dog travels around at all.)

Gwen:
Titer is a measure of the amount of protective antibodies in blood. In lay person terms the concentration of protective antibody. It is usually reported as a dilution at which the antibody is still reactive. e.g. 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16... and so on. For a protective antibody the higher the titer the better it is e.g. 1:1028

I do titers on my dogs every couple of years to see where things are at. However, you need to know that a low titer does not necessarily mean that your dogs immunity is low. It may just mean that your dog has not been recently exposed to anything. For example, if your dog came back with a low titer to distemper, it may just mean that it has not come into contact with distemper or with the shed vaccine in the environment lately. If the same dog was exposed to the shed virus through another dogs vaccination, the titer may come back at a high level as its body has then sent out a 'warning' and the body responds by making antigens to it and thus the titer level would be higher.

Hope that makes some sense. This is why some people and veternarians feel that titers are not necessarily accurate and therefore do not recommend them.

My reply is really a question? My dog and I are on a newly formed S&R team in Texas, I really had made the decision not to vaccinate her except for the Rabies (State Law Required). I do not know how to present this Idea to the Board. I am currently the Secretary and Training Coordinator, I have alot of herbal knowledge and use this alot with my dogs and horses. I have other dogs and all they ever get is rabies. I feel like if she can pass a yearly physical she should be allowed to stay on the team. Earlier this year an older dog develped Kennel Cough, My puppy was vaccinated early at 3m and 6m she got the cough anyway, what use is the shot if it does not work, any one with ideas please help.

There are different organisms that can cause "kennel cough". Bordatella is the most common, but just because your dog is vaccinated against Bordatella does not mean that he is protected from kennel cough. Kennel cough isn't a specific disease, so much as it is a symptom of infection. There can be harmful complications, so it is best to try to prevent it if possible.

You can sort of compare kennel cough to the common flu or cold. There are many different strains of it out there. I have heard at several different seminars I have attended that there is up to approx. 80 different strains of kennel cough. The 'vaccine' only is good for approsx. 6 -7 of the strains.

I personally feel that vaccinating for it is pretty useless. On the other side, if you go with the drops in the nose, it is a more 'natural' way of obtaining immunity to some strains.

I have only had kennel cough with 2 of my dogs and that was over 20 yrs. ago. Brought it 'home' from an obedience trial my dog was entered in. He in turn passed it along to my female. I phoned the Veternary College in Saskatoon (that was where I was living at the time) and talked to a vet. His advice was let it run its course. If the coughing is 'bad' he said to give over the counter cough medicine.

As with the common cold in MOST cases it runs it course and everything is fine. In a 'few' cases it can turn into something more serious. Usually in these cases there are other problems happening that have weakened the immune system.

In addtion most kennel cough 'vaccines' are only good for 3-6 months. Another good reason to forget about doing it in my opinion but.....