Canine Vaccination and Titre Testing

Regular vaccinations are important to keep your pets protected and boost their immunity to important and potentially life-threatening diseases. Melbourne is still exposed to outbreaks of a number of the diseases that we vaccinate against, and pets without up-to-date protection are at risk.

There are six diseases that your dog needs to be vaccinated against:

• Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus, combined into a C3 triennial injection – needed every 3 years, for adult dogs
• Two of the Canine Cough complex (C2) – needed annually
• Leptospirosis – needed annually

We believe there is no need to give your dog unnecessary vaccinations; at DVH, we use a three-yearly (triennial) C3 vaccine because we know that it provides sufficient protection for at least three years.  Furthermore, at the time that the 3 year injection is due, for suitable patients, we are able to offer instead a small blood test (known as an antibody titre test) to assess their existing protection levels, and if they have sufficient antibody titre volume to pass this test, they do not require re-vaccination for at least another three years.  This avoids over-vaccinating patients that do not need it.