The problem with the vet biz is that the whole industry is monopolized by large corporations that have an interest in their bottom line, which is profit, and not the health and well-being of you or your pet.
"An industry analysis showed, in 2021, 82% of the $38 billion in veterinarian billings were done by independently owned, mom-and-pop vets. By 2023, that number is expected to drop to just 50%." (You can read more on that here).
This corporatization of vets results in vets following protocols that are simply just wrong. It's like vets just follow a flow-chart of prescriptions because that is what they are told to do instead of finding out what the root cause of the symptom was in the first place.
Your dog has an itch? Boom. Apoquel. Your dog has an autoimmune disease? Boom. Steroids. Your dog has allergies? Boom. Eat this grain-free kibble.
These are the perfect ingredients to create a very sick dog, which is insane because this is what your allegedly, highly-qualified vet told you to do.
Let's take a look at my least favorite company in the world, behemoth, MARs Inc. "The privately held company known for M&Ms as well as Pedigree, Iams, and Nutro pet foods has dramatically grown its Petcare subsidiary with acquisitions such as Banfield, BluePearl, Pet Partners, and most recently VCA, purchased for $9.1 billion in September 2017" (You can read more on that here).
Why does a well-known candy company also dominate the vet industry? The answer is money. And my inner-conspiracy theorist brain thinks that it is because we know sugar is bad for humans, but super cheap and super easy to produce. If we have left over sugar anywhere, we want to use that sugar and maximize profit. So we throw it in dog food. It keeps the cost down, it's really easy to mass-produce, it tastes good and people will buy it to feed their pets, which they do in drones. Just because it tastes good, it does not mean it is healthy or a species appropriate food.
Companies like MARs Inc., not only own food brands and animal hospitals, they donate/sponsor veterinary schools and have subsidiary or partner companies that mass-produce vaccines and animal medicine.
The more that companies like MARs Inc., that take over small mom and pop vet practices, the sicker our dogs will become because remember these companies are in the business of keeping animals alive, not curing them or keeping them healthy. Vet schools are funded by the dog food guy, the dog food guy is also owned by the vaccine guy and the vaccine guy makes the laws on what makes what legal and what is approved. The dog food guy is also friends with the vet board guy because the vet board guy is funded by the vaccine guy.