How do vets do a titre test?
I had a dog who MIGHT have had parvo, it is not for sure because he died before the doctor could do the test and I only had enough money to get him cremated, not do a necropsy. Anyway, if I was to get another dog in the future, how much do titre tests usually cost on average and how does the process work? How long til I find out the result?
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When I heard about titre testing, I did a lot of research and found the most valuable information on this site:
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/tit...
Good luck in your decision to find another dog.
To do a titer test.. the vet draws a sample of blood and sends it off to the lab.
The blood is tested to see where the dog's immunity levels are at for a particular disease.. how exactly that is done, I dont know.
It doesnt actually tell if your dog had been vaccinated or not.. but it will determine if your dog has been exposed and developed an immunity (vaccines are basically nothing more than exposing your dog to a disease using dead or weakened virus anyways). It will determine if your dog has a high or low immunity.
Cost of test varies.. most titer tests only check for one disease.. such as parvo or distemper... I beleive you can have a titer done for just about any disease. I think average cost was around $60-80 for one test tho. I've had some people tell me that they've paid as little as $30 or so.. and some tell me that they've paid around $120 or so. Call your vet to get a price.
How long it takes may depend on if your vet has access to a lab, or if the sample has to be sent out.
Since you are unsure if this is parvo, I highly reccommend that you do not get any young puppies for a while. Most adult dogs have been vaccinated or developed an immunity to parvo. Its pretty rare that an adult gets it.. unless the immune system is compromised due to stress or illness.
Parvo can live in the ground from 6 months to a year.. even in freezing temperatures.
Are you looking to have vaccine titer tests done, or disease titers? Any vet should have access to a laboratory that can do either of these.