🦴 The Invisible Leash: How Vets Are Trained to Obey Protocols — and What That Means for Your Dog
How I broke free from the cycle of shots, pills, and preventatives — and what I’ve learned from nearly three years of vet-free wellness.
Most people who enter the veterinary field do so because they care deeply about animals. Their hearts are in it. And that makes this conversation even harder — because we don’t want to look at what might be guiding their hands when we aren’t watching.
But we must.
Because the leash isn’t always around your dog’s neck.
Sometimes, it’s around the vet’s.
🧾 When Protocol Pretends to Be Care
Most dog guardians are familiar with the standard checklist:
✔️ Early spay or neuter
✔️ A series of puppy shots
✔️ Annual boosters for life
✔️ Monthly preventatives
✔️ Prescription kibble if anything goes wrong
These steps are presented as health — but they’re often habit, not healing. Protocol is not the same as health. It’s not the same as care. It’s a production-line approach, and it leaves no room for individuality, intuition, or questioning.
And even for those who believe in the system — the very institutions that built it quietly admit it’s being overused.
💰 Carrots, Sticks, and the Invisible Hand
Veterinarians — like many medical professionals — are shaped by systems they didn’t design. The pressure isn’t usually malicious; it’s structural.
💉 Vaccines and preventatives often come with rebates or incentives.
🥼 Prescription diets come with loyalty programs.
📋 Deviating from the standard can risk scrutiny or even licensing consequences.
Carrot = payday.
Stick = fear.
And your dog? Your dog is caught the middle.
Even the kindest vet is not immune to this structure. Most don't realize how tightly it's wrapped around them — or how deeply it influences the advice they give.
🧠 From “Normal” to Not Needed
I’ve never vaccinated — but I did use chemical preventatives. I assumed they were necessary. I didn’t know any other way.
And my dogs?
We were regulars at the vet.
Itching. Gunky ears. Lumps. Hot spots.
Someone always had something going on.
Then, almost three years ago, I changed one thing: how I fed them. I began feeding a species-appropriate diet, the way nature intended — and everything changed.
I share my home with 9 dogs.
We haven’t needed a single vet trip since.
No shots. No pills. No chemical preventatives.
And it’s not because I started doing more.
It’s because I started doing less — and feeding them what their bodies actually recognize as food. Parasites don’t seem to like properly-fed dogs. They don’t even show up.
This isn’t a boast. It’s not a formula.
It’s just a glimpse of what happens when we stop interrupting nature — and start listening.
🧪 Even the Experts Say: Less Is More
The very institutions who wrote the protocols — AAHA, WSAVA, WHO — have all acknowledged that core vaccines (like distemper, parvo, and adenovirus) last a minimum of 3–7 years, and often much longer.
In fact, some studies found immunity lasting 10 to 15 years — or a lifetime.
And yet, many vets still recommend annual boosters.
Why?
Because the script says so. Because the system rewards compliance.
It’s not about science anymore.
It’s about sales, structure, and staying in line.
You can read more about this research in this article from Doglistener, which cites multiple sources — including veterinary immunologists — who confirm just how unnecessary these annual shots are.
Even by their own rules… they’re overdoing it.
🐾 Questions That Can Set You Free
This doesn’t mean you have to fire your vet.
It means you’re allowed to ask.
Here are a few questions you can bring with you to your next visit:
“Is this necessary — or just routine?”
“What would happen if we waited?”
“Are there non-chemical options?”
“What do you see when you look at my dog?”
Your dog’s body speaks volumes every day.
Let that be your metric for health — not the reminder card in the mail.
🔚 Letting Go of the Leash
This leash doesn’t wrap around your hand.
It wraps around your trust.
And when you start to loosen it, everything shifts.
Your dog begins to shine again.
You stop living in fear of symptoms.
You start to feel — maybe for the first time — that you’re allowed to trust your instincts.
It’s normal to feel unsure when you step away from the standard path. You’ll have questions. Maybe even fear.
That’s what the Help Desk is for. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
I’ve helped many homes leave behind the vet-dependent cycle and discover what true wellness looks like — naturally, simply, and with calm confidence.
If that’s what you’re looking for, I’d be honored to help.
👉 Companion Doggos Help Desk Intake Form
💬 I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments — or your own story if you’ve begun to walk a different path. Your voice might be just what someone else needs to hear. 💛
🐶 Learn more at www.companiondoggos.com