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This actually isn't true. Many studies have shown that doing a puppy series alone provides 1-3 years of immunity, on average. Doing a puppy series, followed by a year old booster provides 3-5 years of immunity in normal healthy dogs. I titer my dogs immunity levels and have found the same thing in them. Recommendations for vaccine frequency is based on something like 90% of the vaccinated population is still immune, the same it is in humans. So for example with the 3 year dog vaccines, at the 3 year mark 90% of dogs still have adequate immunity, 4 years its something like 75%, 5 years is below 50%... and so on. That's why I titer my dogs, I don't want to over vaccinate OR under vaccinate.
I spoke with our veterinarian recently about this...it's very interesting to me. I'm definitely in the camp that says yearly shots are bogus, yet puppy shots aren't "good enough". She told me that the immunity to parvo sticks with them for a very long time, but the immunity to distemper doesn't stay with them for nearly as long. We don't do the titers, but they get their distemper/parvo series vaccine right along with their rabies every three years or so.