Booster and titer test.

[MarcoPoloCX]

Do any of you ask for titer test before deciding whether to have the booster?
Just that I hear stories of dogs being over vaccinated and given unnecessary injections when they still have immunity which lasts for several years.
And if your dogs do not go in to kennels, is there a need to have a yearly booster?

Most vets are moving to vaccination schedules that vaccinate with fewer things each year.
I currently use a schedule with distemper, hepatitis and parvo every three years and then lepto every year.
I do have clients who have titre testing done, but as it is more expensive than a booster it is not so attractive. Additionally the titre testing can not check lepto and we are a high risk area for this disease so even with titre testing advise it every year.
Have a chat to your vet about costs, risks in your area etc.

You don't have to titre test ever year so cost need not be an issue. If you are happy to get a group of you together titre testing is less than vaccinations.

Lepto does not always cover the full year anyway and there are many strains so no vaccine covers all Lepto, so vaccinated dogs still get lepto. The newest Lepto vaccine is at the moment controversial with side effects (but that is often the case when a new vaccine comes out)

Not a vet like Lonecat so she obviously has more accurate and medical knowledge just showing another point of view. I am not anti vaccination but like to make an individual decision based on m dogs needs.

The side of effects of the new vaccine are the same as with all vaccines. In incredibly rare cases there is anaphylaxis that can cause death.
The reporting of the protection given by the the new vaccine that goes with the story has a lot of confusion in scientific terms. There are around 200 strains of lepto that belong to five family groups ( serovars). The old vaccine protected against two serovars (around 45% of strains) and the new vaccine protects against four serovars ( around 85%) of strains.
Again this goes back to discussing with your vet the local situation. Whilst lepto vaccination is considered non-core by WSAVA vast portions of the U.K. Are relatively high risk for it due to water courses etc.

But isn't the lepto injection not really a vaccine anyway but used to lessen the symptoms if the dog does get infected with it? So you may get an ill dog with little symptoms showing which hinders early detection?

An extract from Natural Dog magazine about lepto vaccine.

Not only is infection not prevented, but because symptoms are less severe, you may not notice that your pet is very ill. You might think your pet has some gastrointestinal upset which will pass. Instead of seeking veterinary care early on in the disease process, the infection will brew, causing permanent bodily harm. Without early detection, leptospirosis is very difficult to treat!

No vaccine prevents infection in humans or dogs. Vaccination primes the immune system so that if the individual becomes infected with the disease the immune system is able to fight the infection and prevent development of clinical signs - disease.
This is the principal of all vaccination. This is the method by which lepto vaccination works.