Comments on Animal Health for Corporate Profit: Beware This Scheme

No I have not got caught I just try to tell my new puppy owners and others who will listen. Please do not vaccinate every year and I will send them Dr, Schultz video as to why not. I am sure I have reached a few. I also get on their case about feeding a good diet which keeps the immune system strong and thereby eliminates the need for the monthly poisons. Unfortunately Dr. Whitecoat has the degree and I do not. My last visit to a vet with a litter of collie puppies I was offered Heart Guard by the vet himself. I mentioned MDR1. He told me it was perfectly safe for collies. He truly did not understand my methods of raising a litter. However, I have developed a thick skin I can say no but so many of my puppy owners are afraid of the vet and do as they are told.

Yes thank-you, what you say is true. Everything needs to be questioned.

I'm so glad to have found your site! I've been lucky enough to have found an integrative veterinarian in our new home; we are running titers for rabies and will be doing for my dogs other vaccinations in the future. We feed her a freeze dried raw with veggies and fruits and use only herbal insect repellents. I'm planning to read your info on heartworm too- although our vet says she advises year round topical meds due to the climate in SC we have only used it when temps exceed 57 for 2 week, and I only apply every 45 days which is what they tested per FDA site info. I also bathe after 90 min to remove the residual insecticide in this med (advantage multi). If I could avoid doing this it would make me feel better. Thank you for all the great info.

Guest- your rant is absurd and doesn't belong here

How can I get information on switching from a hydrolyzed protein diet to a raw diet or home cooked diet and which do you prefer?

The Pet profit machine is alive and well for sure Dr. Will, and is the main reason many vets continue to prescribe drug after drug and vaccinate, despite the obvious adverse effects in their patients.
When I brought home my new pup 11 years ago I had no idea which vet in town to go to. A neighbour highly recommended a local vet I'll call Dr. C.
I went to her for my pup's 2nd set of shots (yes, it's true:() but was not impressed with her manner toward me, though she gushed all over my pup (cuter I guess..).
I also noticed she had the highest prices in town, so I switched to another vet I liked much better.
Over the years since then, when I have talked to pet owners about their animal's health (or lack thereof), I am flabbergasted that this particular Dr. C is the vet of choice, despite many other vets in our area to choose from. I have come to describe her as a "drug pusher" since every pet owner who goes to her ends up being prescribed something, or pushed to vaccinate regularly. She even told one client that she was "required by law to vaccinate her dog for rabies" despite the fact that we have no such law here (a Canadian province which doesn't require it)!
Ears repeatedly itchy and infected? My friend's dog had antibiotics prescribed by Dr. C again and again. Could it be the dog's (kibble) food that might be a problem, I suggested to my friend? It wasn't until their dog had endured multiple rounds of antibiotics that they finally suggested to this vet it might be the food and she agreed they should change it. Presto! The dog's ears finally cleared up. Mind you, now there's that little yeast problem to deal with.
In another friend's case, allergies were diagnosed at 6 months of age and the dog was put on a drug for 7 years until the owner discovered from another vet that the drug had a high risk of causing cancer. Are you telling me that Dr. C wasn't aware of this, or the many other serious side effects of this particular drug?? Now my friend's dog is on raw food and herbs and the allergies have disappeared. I guess that latter approach wouldn't have netted Dr. C much in the way of income.
This same vet is always quoted in the local newspaper when there's a parvo (or other) outbreak, admonishing those negligent owners who haven't vaccinated their pets (oh and by the way, just go straight to her for those shots, and she'll even help you out with more drugs when your pet becomes ill from the effects of those shots....cha-ching!).
I could go on with more examples but I think I have made my point.
I have to say my eyes have been opened. When I look back at how I fed that profit machine by blindly going along with whatever my vet recommended, I cringe.
I now see that many of the things I did to keep my dog "healthy" (the kibble, the shots, the drugs) were likely big contributors to his poor health and early demise.
But eyes open is the way I have now chosen to go and my current pup is having an excellent start to her life.
Thanks Dr. Will for choosing the path you have and helping the rest of us along the way.

I rescued Rusty last August and he was in bad shape when the shelter found him. The SPCA vet diagnosed him with atopic dermatitis (cause unknown) and said he might also be allergic to fleas. They gave him 4 rounds of antibiotics along with steroids over a 2 month period. I started him on daily EPA/DHA fish oil and probiotics. Once the first frost arrived his dermatitis disappeared, which suggested to me that he had seasonal allergies. He was healthy throughout the winter months with no signs of dermatitis.
When spring arrived Rusty started to scratch and bite again, although no as bad as before. I took him to the vet and Apoquel was recommended as a miracle drug - suggesting that his itching would stop within 4 hours of his first pill. Yup. The itching stopped, but by day 10 I had a different dog - paranoid, not eating, restless at night and experiencing diarrhea in the house. I immediately stopped the medication and returned to the vet to get my money back (which hasn't happened yet).
Of course the vet said this was the "first time" they've ever heard of this type of reaction, and then she recommended two things: Royal Canin dog food and a $500 dermatology test to determine what he was allergic to. I declined both.
Instead, I have been applying colloidal silver to his itchy spots (twice a day) and started him on a supplement containing bovine colostrum (as recommended by your website) to boost his immune system.
Rusty is back! And although he still has 2 or 3 little spots on his skin, they are healing and he is one happy dog! I have been treating myself naturally for almost ten years, so why not Rusty! Thank you for your insight and advocacy regarding healthy dogs!

One of my dogs got pancreatitis some years ago. Was told she had to be on a low fat diet. Only the vet sold the correct products, I was informed. They cost a fortune, but I paid the price. When I retired I could not afford the food from the vet anymore, so I hunted around, only to find that regular supermarkets were selling dog food that was lower in fat than the ones from the vet, and half the price. Beware, don't believe anything. Heartworm isn't even in Melbourne Australia, but plastic models of hearts with worms pouring out, adorne every vet clinic! I never have my dogs vaccinated apart from initial ones, they are really healthy. Beware, beware, beware unsuspecting animal lover!

Forgot to mention. His reception area, one wall covered with packages of Royal Canin!

Hey, all,
I am in the process of converting all 4 of my cats to a raw diet. No more vaccinations. I have two cats that I'm sure have a flea allergy from the vaccinations. Thanks, Doc for being here for us.

The vet I chose in my town (close) of course a conventional vet. He emails me regularly about my dogs ears (inserts her name) may need (and names drug) for her ears, and bring her in if she has these symptoms etc.. he repeatedly emails me about this, pushing the drug. The one that really made me laugh was: you need to make an appointment for (inserts my dog's name) by the end of June. She is due for her DHPP (at least they took the 'L' out!) I have NO plans to ever vaccinate my dog again!! I ignore all the emails. However, if they should make the mistake of calling me, they will get an ear load!!! I remember the good old days (not) when got post cards in the mail. I have a funny story to relate, I got a post card once in my NAME saying I was due for my DHLPP booster, it was from a local vet, when I was living in KY. I was in between pets at the time, and got a good laugh that they mistook me for a dog! Haha!

The model they follow is problem/reaction/solution...they create the problem, then use the media to provoke and create a public reaction, then they step in with the solution. It works every time. And will continue to work...until people start waking up.
I believe it's happening, but for me, at a snail's pace.
If anyone's seen FOOD INC, they'll know that only a few companies control all the food and that would include animal food, as well. Thank goodness you recommended a raw diet for my boy. He's healthier than ever, as a result.

i agree about the words to try out on our vets. i have found that by doing just that, my traditional vet and i have created a true partnership when it comes to my pets' care. i would like to say i've opened his mind a bit, too.

Great article on the horrors that are out there for our critters. These corporate connections to creating and then treating the resulting disease need to be brought to public attention. It's been happening to us for some time----now the poor animals are catching up. One example in the human realm is the Astra Zeneca company, manufacturer of agricultural chemicals (a certain cause of breast cancer), also makers of tamoxifen, the breast cancer drug, and more recently, a line of cancer treatment centers. Isn't that just one neat package?