Titer Testing vs Vaccinations For Dogs

December 23, 2015/in Animal Health, Dog, News, Pet Care /by Gaby Ware

Titer Testing Now Available

Regular Vaccinations has been the most significant contributing factor in the reduction of serious infectious diseases among our canine companions.

Thanks to effective vaccines we now see far less of the core diseases – Canine Hepatitis, Distemper and Parvovirus in everyday practice and deaths from these are rare.

While as vets we all agree these vaccinations are necessary – the frequency at which they are given is debatable.

Regular Vaccinations are given to maintain the animals individual immunity against serious core diseases. Once optimal immunity is established, re-vaccination is not necessary however without knowing your dog’s immunity status we have no choice but to re-vaccinate regularly to ensure protection.

Several years ago triennial vaccinations against core diseases were introduced which now sees many dogs now being vaccinated against core diseases every 3 years instead of every year.

While titer testing has been available for some time, the cost and complexity of performing these tests made it difficult for vets to recommend this option to dog owners – until now!

Vaccicheck makes Testing easy!

Recently the Vaccicheck was approved by the USDA. The Canine VacciCheck is intended to be used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the antibody response to the core vaccination or infection by Infectious Canine Hepatitis (Canine Adenovirus), Canine Parvovirus and Canine Distemper Virus.

Best of all – this test can be performed “In Clinic” with results available within a day.

Enquiries about Titer testing have increased over the last few years so we know that this is a preferred option for many of our clients over regular vaccination.

We can now offer the option of Titer testing your dog’s immunity against Canine Distemper, Canine Parvovirus and Canine hepatitis through our practice.

The cost of the test is $73.00 in addition to a consultation fee.

If you are interested in titer testing your dog to decide whether re-vaccination is necessary, please make an appointment to discuss this option with one of our vets.

At Last – A New Clinic at South Morang in 2016

December 8, 2015/in News /by Gaby Ware

Hello Clients

We thought we’d write a brief post to let you know that plans are most definitely underway for our proposed new purpose built Veterinary Practice at South Morang.

It’s intentionally clean design is in keeping with the look and feel of our surrounding neighbourhood. The internal fit out of course is far more complex and will incorporate all elements of a modern Veterinary Consulting Practice and Canine Rehabilitation Centre.

Minimal Interruptions

Because we will be building on the vacant block we expect minimal disruptions to any of our current services which will continue to be provided in the current premises until the new building is completed.

So for now – we ask for your patience as we start the lengthy process of obtaining all the required permissions and permits.

Dr Malcolm Ware and Dr Lisa Weldon (Practice Principals)

Why Our Blog?

December 1, 2015/in News, Pet Care /by Gaby Ware

How Our Blog Can Help You

Over the Years we’ve learned a thing or two about animals (and people)

We recognise that everyone is different. By this we mean, our priorities, our beliefs, our values, our opinions about things, the way we do things and see the world and just about in any other way.

These in turn influence just about anything we do every day from where we shop, what products we buy to who we turn to when we need help.

Underpinning all this of course is the TRUST factor. We buy from brands we trust to deliver a quality product just as we place the care of our own health to Medical Professionals whose opinions and advice we trust to be in our and our family’s best interest.

We make choices every day based on these fundamental things.

Do You Choose Your Vet like I Choose My Pool Guy?

If you’re like me (and I don’t think I’m all that different from most people) – I like to do I bit if research before I commit to a purchase OR choose a new Dentist or Hire a Pool Company to keep my pool clean and sparkly.

So the first thing I do is turn to my good friend Google to start comparing options. Once I’m there – it’s not hard to find which business I’m attracted to. Without fail its the one with the informative website that gives me a good idea of the company values and how they approach their work.

I don’t get excited by meaningless tag lines that are designed to be catchy rather than true.

“Passionate about Pools” does nothing for me.

But what I do want to know is what’s the quality of their work? Are they punctual? Do they clean up any mess before they leave? Are they reliable?

If I have a problem is there someone who can deal with it promptly? Can they answer my questions? (I don’t know a lot about pool stuff) Can I trust that they’ll do what they say they’ll do when I’m not there to supervise them? If there’s an problem will they come out quickly – even on weekends?

And I want to find all these answers on their website – Thank You!

So What does Pet Care and Pool Care Have in Common?

In terms of What they do – absolutely nothing.

However in terms of How they do it? – their respective businesses may share some values and beliefs.

So – just like Pool businesses, our Industry has a lot more to it than a tag line or logo can describe. Add to that – things have changed dramatically over the past years as new treatments options, drugs and technology have become available and new discoveries are made.

This has created great diversity in the Veterinary Industry to include both privately owned individual practices as well as the growing number of large scale corporate clinics.

Although we share things in common – we all approach pet care in different ways.

Keep in mind, there’s no right or wrong – just different.

Just as I’m drawn towards a specific business because it meets my needs, the same goes for you in choosing the right vets for your pet.

The goal of our website and blog is to be as transparent as possible about what we stand for and what we do – to help you decide whether our approach to animal care aligns with yours.

And Finally

As pet parents – you should have access to reliable and trustworthy pet care information and as vets, we should be the ones providing it.

We believe there is far too little factual pet care information on the web that’s written by qualified professionals. This has led to so many pet owners making decisions based on nothing more than unfounded opinions. We battle misinformation and outdated myths every day

The goal of our Blog is to to help challenge some of these opinions that circulate the web and Social Media plus provide clarity around some of those burning issues that we know many of our pet parents have.