What is over vaccination and why can it be harmful to your pet?
The main vaccines protect our pets from serious infectious diseases, but if you over vaccinate, your pet can develop side effects like fever, allergic reactions and immune-mediated diseases.

How can we avoid over vaccination?
Although vets agree that vaccines are necessary and keep saving lots of dogs’ and cats’ lives, the frequency with which the main vaccines are administrated can exceed their needs. The key to know the real need of a vaccine for your pet is based on a simple blood test, a titer test.

What is a titer test?
A titer test measures the quantity of antibodies produced by the vaccines taken previously. It helps us know whether your pet is already immunized. If the antibodies are present in your pet’s blood there is no need to vaccinate again.
This is a routine procedure in other countries which is not widely spread in ours yet.

How do we, vets, analyse the results of this titer test?
Researches have proved that any measurable level for the main vaccines indicates that your pet is immune and does not need any more vaccination for the time being.

What main vaccines can be tested?
For dogs: Hepatitis, Parvovirus and Canine distemper.
For cats: Panleucopenia, Herpes and Calcivirus.

When should your pet be tested?
For cubs and kittens:
It’s very interesting to confirm that your pet is protected after the vaccines they take when they are sixteen weeks old (WSAVA).
Adult pets:
A titer test can be used to confirm antibodies protection three years after the last vaccine.
Abandoned animals:
A test can be very useful when we don’t know the vaccination record of a pet.

How is a titer test carried out?
We need a little blood sample on which a semi-healing test is performed to determine the antibodies which are present in your pet.

We encourage you to contact us to get further details.
Inés and Gabriel.
Vet’s surgery in Lajares. +34 633 105 012