#4 Dr. John Robb: titers and immune certificates
Dr. John Robb joins me to discuss titers and immunity. He’s gathered a lot of data on titers in pets to inform his stance. Dr. Robb wants to see titers accepted widely by all licensing authorities as a means of preventing over-vaccination.
Listen in as Dr. Robb shares these gems with us:
- 02:34 “The titer tells us the pet has already achieved immunity. So there’s no benefit from the vaccine…you’re injecting something that can only harm, with no benefit. That’s malpractice, in my opinion.”
- 04:34: “I don’t really agree with the numbers game, because the lowest titer is the same immunity as the highest titer.”
- 05:06: “Dr. Schultz (Univ of Wis immunologist, Dr. Ron Schultz) said it best, ‘It should be a yes or no answer.’ …If your pet has any measurable antibodies…it’s a pregnancy test, you are or you are not (immune), period.”
- 17:32: “One state requires a titer: Hawaii. Because they know the vaccine certificate doesn’t tell you that the dog is immune. And since they don’t have rabies in Hawaii, you can’t get in there without a titer.…when it becomes real, like ‘we don’t want to have rabies here,’ you better have a titer to prove your pet’s immune.”
At Dr. Robb’s website, ProtectThePets.com, you’ll learn how you can save money on titer testing and get his official “Immunity Certificate” for your animal. Also there are petitions to help you get your state’s legislatures to change their out of date rabies laws and letters you can use to write individual law makers.
French Study on titers in thousands of pets
Venjenz (nee Vital Pet Health) (for Motherboard nee: Canine and Feline Immune Complete, to help if you must vaccinate)
Thanks so much for listening!
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Question: What is the status of the initiative for states to recognize titers as an alternative to the actual vaccination with respect to state rabies vaccination laws? Are positive titer test recognized ANYWHERE yet ? If so, where ? And, if you can, what is your opinion on how close some states may be to recognizing such ?
I believe there’s 1-2 states that have “seen the light” on this. I want to say Delaware, but maybe CT? will allow a vet’s letter saying my patient cannot be further vaccinated.
I don’t follow the states closely enough to know, as it’s literally state by state who has to change the “laws” around rabies.
I am really thankful for this podcast and this website. Thank YOU SO much!!! In this podcast K9 Immune Complete is mentioned, but I can’t find it at Amazon or elsewhere. Can someone help me locate it and explain what it is for again and how it works?
Ah, good catch, Cheryl. This product changed names as the company changed names, it’s now called Motherboard, and it’s the best immune support on the planet, based on transfer factors, medicinal mushrooms, and Ayurvedic herbs. That link will get you to the right place to read more and purchase, if you’re so inclined.
What a brilliant podcast, thank you to you both! My question is why do some dogs die others have really bad side effects some have very little side effects and some have none at all is there a reason for this variation? If over vaccination are dangerous should all over vaccinated dog/cats be sick? Thank you for your time and superior information on the titer tests. Veronica in Northern Az.
It’s just the nature of biology, Veronica. Some are born to healthy stock, some conceived on the street to moms with poor nutrition, then go through rescue orgs, some repeatedly and repeatedly vac’d. Too many variables to predict who’ll be lesser or more affected.
Wow! Thank you so much for this interview! This was such an education. I began pushing back against vaccines years ago and started titer testing my dog instead. But I found that to be way more expensive. Now I know why. Ugh.
Plus, the vet encouraged me to revaccinate when my dog had a low rabies titer. I now feel like either he didn’t know what he was talking about or he was thinking of the profits. I’m still working on forgiving him.
What I’ve come to believe is that the veterinary industry is such a web of deception. It’s challenging to know “the truth” but I’m so thankful that my dog, somehow, has an extremely resilient body. She is 14 years old, and people often think she’s a fraction of her age. She and I are courageously walking this path together.
Nice work, Bryn. She’s lucky to have you, and your tuned “antennae” ever watchful on her behalf.
My dog bit an intruder to protect my son but was a year passed due for his rabies booster. He is now in quarantine and has to sit in a small cage isolated. He will have to pee and poop in that cage too. I’m at a loss as to what I need to do! Is this the only option I have?
Thank you , i just titolated my pet , no vaccine required!
Just remember: even if that number goes low at some future point, you need NOT revaccinate. If you want to better understand why, this post should shed light on it: The Fallacy of Titer Tests
Thank you Dr Falconer, great podcast. And thank you Dr. John Robb for all that you do for our pets – Thank you !
Thank you Dr. Falconer and Dr. Robb for a really informative podcast on Titers. I am a pet parent who recently opted to Titer over vaccinating for Rabies, even though it is against state law in Virginia. Luckily, my vet was onboard with the Titer instead of the vaccine, and I am so glad I decided on this option. You’ve given me the information I need, and I am officially motivated to change the vaccination laws in Virginia. Will keep you posted! P.S. I am going to Dewey Beach, Delaware for vacation this week, with my dog Schooner of course : ) and may look up Al Casapulla while I’m there to see what I’ll need to do to start this change. Thanks for all you do!
Awesome, Mary Ann! Go get ’em, and do keep us posted!!
Is there a way to save the notes from this podcast? I have saved others but this one does not have that option since I cannot listen to the actual podcast. thanks.
Hi, what part of VA are you in? Would love to chat with you!
Mary Ann, one year later and can you briefly update on your journey to change the vaccination laws in Virginia? I am one of those dog owners who now has an injured dog from the rabies vaccine. She began having seizures 3 mos after her one and done. Have been treating her homeopathically for 2 years now. I have become a natural rearing advocate for my 6 dogs as well as all the foster dogs that come through my rescue here in Houston, TX. Unfortunately it’s like getting rid of an ant bed one ant at a time. People are so indoctrinated by the mouthpiece they have forgotten to think on their own. And it makes rescue doubly hard. Would love to hear how it’s going up there! nod2016dog@gmail
Hi Dr. Will,
Thank you and Dr. Robb for such a clear and informative session on Titer Tests.
I just last week took both my girls in to get titers done as they were “due” vaccinations.
It took me a few months to find a vet in my area who actually provided titer services, as I had to walk away from the vets that I had used in the past since they refused to entertain the idea.
The practice I found utilizes Kansas State for their testing, so I was glad to hear Dr. Robb speak so highly of that facility.
I am still waiting on the results, but this podcast has relieved my concerns around how to interpret those results, and thanks to both of you, I am armed with your expert knowledge, so that I am not at the mercy of the “opinion” of someone else.
I thought I had finally found a vet I could place my trust in, until she and her staff tried to pressure and guilt me into purchasing heart worm “meds” at the end of the visit.
I was so disappointed (ANGRY), and now the search continues.
Please keep the podcasts and all your passionate knowledge coming.
We need your help out here!
Thanks so much,
Glenn
I’d like to know how to get my dog groomed without an “up to date” rabies vax. At the time my dog was technically “due” he had a lump on his rear end and there was no way he was getting vaxxed with that there. Plus he has ear infections that never clear up since he got 6,vaccines in one day before I adopted him. WhenI saw that, I decided no more! But since the pandemic it has become impossible to find a groomer who will take him without that rabies vax- so far. And he has gotten pretty shaggy.
The best is usually a mobile groomer. They’d really have no right to ask your animals’s vaccine status in your own home (or in their van). It’s entirely inappropriate that your animals’ health can be held hostage by someone who knows nothing about your animal or anything about duration of immunity.
Your best response, ONLY IF ASKED: “They are current.” Why is that true? See this article.