At CHAI, we prefer to titer test before vaccinating an adult dog with the Distemper/Parvo vaccine when possible. A titer test measures the blood antibodies to a disease to show if a pet has adequate antibodies to prevent infection from the disease if they were to encounter it. A titer test is far more reliable than a vaccine because a pet who is vaccinated may or may not build immunity to the disease they are vaccinated against. Vaccines work by stimulating the immune system, which causes the immune system to build antibodies against the disease we’re trying to prevent. If a pet is immune-compromised, they may not build the required antibodies and could still become infected with the disease. Vaccines are not always harmless and in the case of vaccines, repeating them every 1-3 years just because “it’s time” can cause many health issues in your pet. We believe vaccines are an absolutely vital part of your pets care but we only want to vaccinate when biologically necessary to prevent disease.
We recommend keeping Rabies vaccinations current unless your dog or cat has an underlying disease or prior Rabies vaccination reactions that make the vaccine riskier for them. Rabies titers are not recognized by law as confirming protection, since Rabies is transmissible to humans and nearly 100% fatal.
We do not perform vaccine titers for feline infectious diseases.
