Willem Posted September 16, 2016 Share Posted September 16, 2016 ...this new kit is now available in Australia: http://vaccicheck.com.au/ ... it's a kind of titer test, but conversely to the older available titer test where 2 testings are required (1 for parvo and distemper and 1 for hepatitis) it covers all 3 core vaccinations (distemper, parvo, hepatitis) in one test. The issue for the normal mortal dog owner is that vets are very reluctant to offer it, and that they have to buy it as a kit - 1 kit / package allows for 12 tests. I found only 1 vet in the Illawarra that offered the test for AU$ 90, but only if there are min. 6 interested parties...so I have to find 5 other dog owners who are keen to embark on such a testing regime. The benefits would be: for the same price of a yearly vaccination for a C3 shot you can verify that your dog(s) indeed has / have immunity - conversely giving the dog another shot and assume that it will immunize the dog (what is if the immunity was never lost?) is just speculation and lead to over-vaccination and the associated health risks. thus you can avoid all the potential side effects by avoiding every unnecessary vaccination having even a clear evidence that your dog's still has his immunity. ...if interested pm me and if we get the numbers together we should be able to embark on an interesting project... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 (edited) ...here the recommended vaccination protocol (2016) from Dr Jean Dodd, one of the highly regarded subject matter exerts in the field of vaccination: http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/147595920886/dodds-vaccination-protocol-dogs-2016#.V9yh-49OJhF .... titer testing instead of over-vaccination is definitely the future regarding dog healthcare ... ETA: you might notice that her protocol doesn't address hepatitis anymore!?!...in Australia the last case of dog hepatitis was recorded 10 years ago http://www.ava.com.au/node/13093 - still most vets will be happy to administer the hepatitis shot (included in the C3 shot) year after year.... Edited September 17, 2016 by Willem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 I have seen cases of both, but not in dogs of late... but foxes can transmit them both, and foxes are everywhere... even in suburbia. I'll stick with the C3 thank you, as neither disease is pretty... That said, titre testing is a wise move, but in most cases it can be more expensive than just giving a prophylactic C3 shot... and most average people will go for the cheapest option. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 I have seen cases of both, but not in dogs of late... but foxes can transmit them both, and foxes are everywhere... even in suburbia. I'll stick with the C3 thank you, as neither disease is pretty... That said, titre testing is a wise move, but in most cases it can be more expensive than just giving a prophylactic C3 shot... and most average people will go for the cheapest option. T. that's interesting...the Illawarra is also infested with foxes (more dead foxes on the princess highway than any other wild animal), and considering that the virus is spread by faeces and urine and can survive for months I wonder why there are no cases of infected dogs recorded for the last 10 years. There are quite some farms with working dogs around where the working dogs never see a booster shot... ...would it make sense to collect the fox carcasses and test them for the virus to get a better picture about how the disease is spread over the area / NSW? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 Vaccicheck makes Testing easy! Recently the Vaccicheck was approved by the USDA. The Canine VacciCheck is intended to be used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the antibody response to the core vaccination or infection by Infectious Canine Hepatitis (Canine Adenovirus), Canine Parvovirus and Canine Distemper Virus. Best of all – this test can be performed “In Clinic” with results available within a day. Enquiries about Titer testing have increased over the last few years so we know that this is a preferred option for many of our clients over regular vaccination. We can now offer the option of Titer testing your dog’s immunity against Canine Distemper, Canine Parvovirus and Canine hepatitis through our practice. The cost of the test is $73.00 in addition to a consultation fee. If you are interested in titer testing your dog to decide whether re-vaccination is necessary, please make an appointment to discuss this option with one of our vets. ...from http://www.thevetpractice.com.au/titer-testing-for-dogs/ ...the Mexican vets seem to be smarter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 I have seen cases of both, but not in dogs of late... but foxes can transmit them both, and foxes are everywhere... even in suburbia. I'll stick with the C3 thank you, as neither disease is pretty... That said, titre testing is a wise move, but in most cases it can be more expensive than just giving a prophylactic C3 shot... and most average people will go for the cheapest option. T. that's interesting...the Illawarra is also infested with foxes (more dead foxes on the princess highway than any other wild animal), and considering that the virus is spread by faeces and urine and can survive for months I wonder why there are no cases of infected dogs recorded for the last 10 years. There are quite some farms with working dogs around where the working dogs never see a booster shot... ...would it make sense to collect the fox carcasses and test them for the virus to get a better picture about how the disease is spread over the area / NSW? I'd say that the reason that there aren't any recorded cases would be a combination of mistaken diagnoses (symptoms can be similar to other diseases), and lax reporting by clinics... I know of vet practices that haven't seen Parvo in years... but we know that it is definitely still very active out there... That said, I had a vet misdiagnose a pup with vaccinosis as having Parvo, as his test came back a mild positive - however the pup had been vaccinated only 2 days prior, so of course he would have tested as mild positive for the bloody disease we injected into him... duhh! 2 days on a drip sorted the vaccinosis, and I can tell you now, had it actually been Parvo, he would have been on the drip a lot longer, and been a hell of a lot sicker. I've seen Parvo up close and personal, and it's an ugly disease with usually fatal results in pups. It would possibly make sense to collect at least specimens from fresh fox carcases to see what diseases they may be carrying. I don't know of any such studies though. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazydoglady99 Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Bummer you are so far away from me Willem (good to see you back btw) - I wanted to have my dog titre tested recently, just the parvo test was $300!! The distemper & hepatitis were above $100 each also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 18, 2016 Author Share Posted September 18, 2016 when I made the calls to vets here in the Illawarra around Wollongong it was actually pretty shocking that they didn't know about the VacciCheck kit - you would assume that a vet is aware about new developments and products available. It is pretty popular in the UK now, if you do a search for vets offering the test a lot of UK sites pop up. With the price advantage - the clinic in Vic offers it for AU$ 73 !!! see post above - and the benefits it is just a question of time till it becomes a standard testing regime, but why does it take so long? Once we have the numbers it would be also interesting to record the data over the years to get a clear picture about how and if immunity fades over time for the individual dogs. Some of the group might still prefer yearly or 3-yearly vaccination and just use the test to verify the immunity, others might decide to vaccinate only if immunity is faded...only using particular vaccines for the particular diseases for which the test discloses that the immunity faded. I have some contacts to the University of Wollongong, they might be even interested in accompanying such a study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_PL_ Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 I have seen cases of both, but not in dogs of late... but foxes can transmit them both, and foxes are everywhere... even in suburbia. I'll stick with the C3 thank you, as neither disease is pretty... That said, titre testing is a wise move, but in most cases it can be more expensive than just giving a prophylactic C3 shot... and most average people will go for the cheapest option. T. that's interesting...the Illawarra is also infested with foxes (more dead foxes on the princess highway than any other wild animal), and considering that the virus is spread by faeces and urine and can survive for months I wonder why there are no cases of infected dogs recorded for the last 10 years. There are quite some farms with working dogs around where the working dogs never see a booster shot... ...would it make sense to collect the fox carcasses and test them for the virus to get a better picture about how the disease is spread over the area / NSW? I don't know about the Illawarra but farmers can and do dispatch dogs themselves peacefully and at home rather than take a lengthy drive to the vet for the same outcome which is something to keep in mind. NSW had a distemper outbreak a couple of years ago. I can't remember where. It's a horrible disease, probably 20+ yrs ago I lost a litter, I jumped up and down and told the vet they had it (maybe he hadn't seen it before?) but he sent me home with them anyway and they died in my arms one after the other. That wouldn't have been left to suffer if that was parvo. Thank god, touch wood, I've not seen hepatitis yet. C3 is the core vaccine and it's upsetting that we're still losing dogs to preventable diseases because they didn't even get their puppy series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 the Mexican vets seem to be smarter... Not necessarily - that vet clinic is brilliant. I'm a 6.5 hour round trip from TVP and it's my primary vet clinic. Some of my friends managed to convince their clinic to get some test kits - just a matter of finding a vet willing to listen and think outside the square. My local vet has tolerated my request for titre testing in the past but certainly never encouraged it. It was better than some of the responses I got, including one senior vet who told me to stop being ridiculous - just vaccinate and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 the Mexican vets seem to be smarter... Not necessarily - that vet clinic is brilliant. I'm a 6.5 hour round trip from TVP and it's my primary vet clinic. Some of my friends managed to convince their clinic to get some test kits - just a matter of finding a vet willing to listen and think outside the square. My local vet has tolerated my request for titre testing in the past but certainly never encouraged it. It was better than some of the responses I got, including one senior vet who told me to stop being ridiculous - just vaccinate and be done with it. ...unfortunately it seems they did a 'good' job with brainwashing dog owners regarding the necessity and benefits of yearly vaccinations - it will take a while to get this out of the system. Still, I'm optimistic to get the numbers...3 to go.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 I actually had a discussion with a vet that does our rescue desexing... he's of the opinion that the new vets coming through seem to only go for the easy options when it comes to the job... and if they can overservice, they are encouraged to do so by the franchises that now seem to own every other vet clinic nowadays... *sigh* T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 I actually had a discussion with a vet that does our rescue desexing... he's of the opinion that the new vets coming through seem to only go for the easy options when it comes to the job... and if they can overservice, they are encouraged to do so by the franchises that now seem to own every other vet clinic nowadays... *sigh* T. ...http://www.ava.com.au/node/5415...their earnings seem to be not so high, so loosing a substantial part of their income due to less vaccinations has an impact... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I definitely would if closer. I have two dogs getting titre tested next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 I definitely would if closer. I have two dogs getting titre tested next week. South East WA...hm, ...a tad too far.... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Just a bit unfortunately:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 (edited) Sorry the hep talk confused me and it's late. This is a titre test to prove your dog is fully vaccinated. I have considered a titre test but so far my vet had convinced me to vaccinate. I have two dogs due. Will pm you sat. Interested Edited September 23, 2016 by skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I actually had a discussion with a vet that does our rescue desexing... he's of the opinion that the new vets coming through seem to only go for the easy options when it comes to the job... and if they can overservice, they are encouraged to do so by the franchises that now seem to own every other vet clinic nowadays... *sigh* T. ...http://www.ava.com.au/node/5415...their earnings seem to be not so high, so loosing a substantial part of their income due to less vaccinations has an impact... The salary is commensurate with their knowledge and skillset... straight out of school/study, that's not the worst salary on the planet... Most good vets that I know have a steady stream of clients coming through the door for all manner of things... they aren't losing out due to some people not wanting to vaccinate every year... T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 Sorry the hep talk confused me and it's late. This is a titre test to prove your dog is fully vaccinated. I have considered a titre test but so far my vet had convinced me to vaccinate. I have two dogs due. Will pm you sat. Interested unfortunately, this is the rule....on the one side you have a test that verifies that your dogs are vaccinated, on the other side you can vaccinate and vaccinate and vaccinate ....and hope that it will do something good and not so much bad...so where is the logic in their recommendations if it is not the $$$$? A smart vet would say, this is something that becomes anyway a common procedure (see UK), think long term and lets be one of the first to demonstrate a scientific and modern approach. If he can convince the dog owners to a yearly titer test and charges AU$ 90 for it he might maintain even the same income... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 (edited) ...it seems we have at least 6 dogs, however, Kiama (where the vet resides who made this offer) might be a tad too far away. I will make a call around again on Monday, maybe with 6 dogs one of the Wollongong vets is keen to go for it.... ...sorry, had a busy day...will call around tomorrow... @animallover: I will keep you informed... ETA: ups, I made a mess of this post - I wanted to quote myself, but obviously edited the genuine post, hence my response to animallover here and not as a follow up post...sorry... Edited September 26, 2016 by Willem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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