The Field – August 2019

156 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK

COUNTRYESTATE

SPORTING DOG

Vaccinationswillprotect your dogagainst

most infectious diseasesbut increaseits risk of

cancer and other auto-immune diseases

IFyouexcludehereditarycomplaints

(admittedlya rather bigif),Britain’s

dogs have never been healthier.

Advances in veterinaryscience and

improved animal husbandry have

virtuallyeliminatedthediseasesthat

once caused so many problems for

all canines, from gundogs to lap-

dogs. Few dog owners today have

even heard of canine distemper or

hard pad, let alone considered that

theiranimalsmightbevulnerableto

tapewormsorsufferfromrickets.For

thishappystateofaffairswehavethe

pharmaceuticalindustryto thank for

effectivevaccinations.

Puppies,likechildren,arefarmoresus-

ceptible to diseases than adult dogs that

havea degree ofnaturalimmunity, sofor

manyyearsit hasbeenstandardpracticeto

givepuppiesa courseofwhatareknownas

corevaccinationstocoverthemajorinfec-

tious diseases of canine hepatitis, canine

parvovirusandcaninedistemper.Allthree

wereformerkillers.A yearafterthedateof

thevaccinationtheusualrecommendation

is thatthedogshouldbeinoculatedagain.

Afterthisvaccinationit usedtobestand-

ardpracticeforthedogtovisitthevetoncea

yeartoreceivea booster.Manyvetsstillrec-

ommend this – it is, after all, a steady earner

Takingyourdogtothevetforitsannualjabshasbecomecommonplace,

says David Tomlinson. But is it necessary? A new test might have the answer...

Give them a booster?

forboththepracticeandthepharmaceuti-

calindustry–butthegeneraladvicetoday

isthatthisisover-vaccination.Ithasbeen

foundthattheinitialimmunisationlastsfar

longerthanwasoncethought,sothere’sno

clinicalneedforannual boosters.Therec-

ommendation of the World Small Animal

VeterinaryAssociationisthatcorevaccina-

tionsshouldbegiven“nomoreoftenthan

everythreeyears”.Manyveterinaryexperts

arguethatthereisnosciencebehindeven

a three-yearcycle,andthat the corevac-

cinationsadministeredinthedog’sfirst 14

monthswilllastit forlife.I rememberhav-

ing vaccinations as a child for a variety of

diseases,butdon’trecall being summoned

backforboosters.

Backinthedayswhenmydogsdidhave

annualboosterjabs,oneofmyadultspaniels

sufferedanadversereactionwithinhoursof

visitingthe vetforherbooster. Shewasa

fitandhealthydogsosoonrecovered,but

it wasa subtlewarningthatproblemscan

ariseandover-vaccinationcanbeasriskyas

notvaccinatingatall.Whilevaccinationwill

protectyourdogagainstmostinfectiousdis-

eases, it will also increase your dog’s risk of

cancerandotherseriousauto-immunedis-

eases.A balancehastobestruckbutthereis

helpavailableif youremain undecided. It’s

calledthetitretest.

Youmayneverhaveheardofa titretest

• I hadn’t untilrecently.Itisa bloodtest
  thatmeasuresthelevelofantibodiesinthe
  immunesystem.Whena dogisvaccinated
  theimmunesystemrespondsbyproducing
  antibodiesthatwillbeabletoresistfuture
  infections. The titre test simply measures
  howmanyantibodiesremain in the dog’s
  blood and whether further vaccination is
  reallynecessary.Thinkof itasa sophisti-
  cated version of the dip-stick in your car’s

engine. Thelatterindicateswhether
youneedtotopuptheoil:withmost
modernenginesyourarelyneedto.
An increasing number of veteri-
narypracticesintheUKnowoffertitre
testing butthere are stillmanythat
don’t, leading to the suspicion that
annualvaccinationsaremoreprofit-
able than bloodtesting.Thecostof
thelatteris notdissimilartotheprice
ofboostervaccinations,butthechief
expenseissendingthebloodsample
tothelaboratorywherethetesttakes
place.Thelaboratoryalsotakesa fee,
reducing the profitforyourvet. It’s
worth remembering, too, that titre
testingcan’tbereliedoncompletelytomake
sureyourdogis protected but it does offer a
valuableindication.
There are few more controversialsub-
jectsinthedogworldthantheneed,ornot,
torevaccinatedogsonanannualbasis.Turn
totheinternetandyouarelikelytoendup
moreconfusedthatyoudidbefore.Websites
with links to the pharmaceutical indus-
tryinvariablyinsistonannual vaccination,
whileothers,suchasthePeople’sDispen-
saryforSickAnimals(PDSA),suggestonce
everythreeyears.Others statethat there’s
littleneedtorevaccinatea dogaslongasit
hadthefullcourseofpuppyinjections.Most
ofusliketorelyonourvetforadviceon
subjectssuchasthisbutit’sworthbearingin
mindthatyourvethasa financialinterest,so
hisorheradvicemaynotbeunbiased.
However,whatnearlyeveryoneagreeson
isthatvaccinatingpuppiesisessential,but
accordingtothePDSA,some25%oftheUK’s
dogsnolongerreceivea primarycourseof
vaccinationsaspuppies,a risefrom20%in
2011.Nooneknowswhetherthisis because
of complacency or the so-called anti-vax
movement. Many parents now optnot to
havetheirchildrenvaccinated:arethesame
people not vaccinating their dogs for the
samereasons?
Whatevertheexplanation,thisisa wor-
ryingtrendandcouldleadtoanincreasing
number of outbreaks of diseases that we
oncefearedsomuch.Thereisnoescaping
thefactthatvaccinationisessentialforthe
healthofourdogsbutit is a toolthatshould
be considered carefully whenever we use it.
DAVID TOMLINSON

AccordingtothePDSA,around25%ofpuppiesareno

longer receiving a primary course of vaccinations