Wouldn't it be so nice to take your animal to the vet and trust what your vet was saying? I certainly used to. As a first-time bulldog mom to Sheldon, I was obsessed with making sure I did everything "right" and followed my former vet's advice as the gospel of Sheldon's life. I vaccinated him all of the time, which was when that vet advised to do so. I even vaccinated him when he was sick (I didn't know any better at the time) to save on having to take multiple trips to the vet. We lived in Brooklyn and didn't have a car and finding an Uber that accepted larger dogs was not easy. So sure, why not vaccinate him when he was there for an ear infection?
Unfortunately, I didn't know that animals (or humans for that matter) should NOT be vaccinated when sick. Their immune system is already compromised because of something and aren't in optimal health to receive that vaccine and handle it well. This same vet also recommended Royal Canin puppy formula followed by the "special" bulldog formulated recipe when he was older. I learned later on, after healing Sheldon's vasculitis, chronic ear infections, the itchies and interdigital cysts that feeding him kibble. was essentially the equivalent of feeding my kid McNuggets everyday. Yes, kibble was convenient, but it doesn't have the nutrients he needs to thrive and optimize his health. The combo of vaccine after vaccine and kibble was the perfect storm of sickness that Sheldon and I deal with for the first 3.5 years of his life. He now only eats home-cooked or dehydrated raw.
Anyway, I did everything that vet told me to do and she was wrong. In fact, I emailed her after I had healed Sheldon one year later and she apologized for not making the connections between vaccinating Sheldon and his many ailments. I digress, but it is unfortunate and sad that you can't put your full faith and confidence in your vet. Or maybe you do, but it is certainly at your own risk.
I don't think vets intend to give bad advice, they just don't know any better. In fact, most veterinary schools lack comprehensive courses on nutrition. Also, the vet industry is most definitely compromised by the influence of pet food and pharma. "Hills and Bayer provide university and ongoing education" (read more here). So if the dog food company and the pharma company sponsor education, how can we possibly be sure that this information isn't biased? We can't.
Even more alarmingly, “there are numerous opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to corrupt the marketing of animal medicine because nobody really checks them. These people make a lot of money because nobody questions them and the animals get the short end of the stick. Vets can do whatever they want without fear of malpractice suits because dogs are property and their value is insufficient to be much of a threat (read more here)"
Ultimately, it's up to you to advocate for your animal. Ask questions (as many as you need to) and don't do something just because your vet says. Make sure it something that is actually needed.