All three of the local vets I asked were similarly interested - I'll be interested to find out what they quote you!
Wow, if professional ears are pricking that is a major breakthrough. I'll update this post for you as soon as I have spoken to my vet.
hi..may be a stupid question but why would you be concerned about yearly vaccinations xx
I don't have time to reply in detail bentley, so to keep it very, very short, yearly vaccination can contrinbute to an animal developing Auto Immune Disease by overloading it's immune system. The primary and first booster vaccinations can give a dog all the immunity it needs for as much as 7 years (or even lifetime) therefore to booster every year is overloading the animal's system to a possible detrimental affect. When you get time, have a read through this: http://www.wsava.org/VGG1.htm
I checked with Petplan today and I was informed that Tali won't be covered for the diseases the vaccines would cover however they didn't seem adverse to the fact if I could prove immunity through titring that with the right paperwork they may consider accepting that.
So I will give that a go.
However, he is fully insured for anything else.
Mel, getting insurance companies to accept a Titre tested dog is the next step. Are you going to supply the paperwork to them in the hope they will confirm it to you in writing that they are happy to do this?
Lepto is the dangerous one as it is a live bacterium vaccine. It only covers a couple of strains so a dog can still pick it up even if vaccinated. I also believe it's only effective for about 8 months anyway.
Please read up more on the dangers of these vaccines before boostering your dogs.
As you know Mel, Titre testing covers the three core vaccinations: Parvo, Heptatitis and Distemper (Hardpad). The others; Lepto and Para-influenza cannot be tested for and yes indeed, protection from the Lepto vaccine can last for as little as only six months. It's suggested that owners and vets consult as to the risk of a dog coming into contact with Lepto - if your dog drinks from puddles, canals, rivers etc it is at high risk and should have the vaccination. A dog that is walked onlead an doesn't have access to canal, river, puddle water would be classed as low risk. So, the onus is on the owner to assess the risk factor.
Found this on another forum:-
We use the Nobivac vaccine. I would prefer not to vaccinate but as I use kennels and they insist on an up to date vaccine we don't have a choice. Nobivac state that the main elements of the vaccine are valid for 3 years but that the Lepto needs to be done annually. Therefore as long as you have lepto in between the 3 yearly Nobivac full vaccine the kennels are complying with their licencing requirements and happy to take your dog. Their licences say they must have a vaccinated dog and if you are vaccinating in line with manufacturers recommendations this is then "fully vaccinated". The price of a Nobivac vaccine is I believe the same as other brands of vaccines and the years that I have only the Lepto I don't pay any less, but at least that way it saves my dog from having a full vaccine every year. If your vet doesn't use Nobivac it may be worth ringing around the other local vets.
Hope it helps
Thanks Pat, that's interesting to know and my vet uses Nobivac.