Are annual shots overkill!!!

[shihtzulover850]

A titer is a simple blood test that checks the levels of immunity the dog has to certain diseases. Unfortunatly unless the dog has either had the shot or had the disease, the titer will just tell you that the dog is unprotected for the disease -- it won't tell you if the dog can get it or not. For instance, when I titre Visa, the results come back that Visa can not have parvo (as she's already had it) and is unprotected for distemper. Titers have helped to prove that one shot can last a dog it's entire life.

Are they expensive?

[wolfsoul]

Are they expensive?

I can't find Visa's titer records so I'm not sure how much it costs here. But I believe her last appointment was around $150, that included a regular examination and a titre testing two viruses.

If shots are good for life, if you get a titer, they will show up, correct?

Yep, Visa is only titered for parvo and distemper, and the titer always says that Visa has antibodies that will not let her get parvo, and that she doesn't have any antibodies to protect her from distemper (as she's never had a distemper shot) but that she doesn't have it.

[Roxyluvsme13]

On the whole you must have a Vet to give vaccines, I know it's not true here. My mom was suggesting a few years ago that she was going to do our Doxie's shots at home.