People say this so much some people begin to think it's true, vets do not recommend Science diet or other low rated foods because they are getting a kick-back or because they know nothing about nutrition. While it's true most vets are not experts in nutrition, they usually have had one class, and that's all it would take to tell you some of the stuff you read on the web, is nonsense. Did you know that on those rating sites, the people have had NO classes in nutrition? They have no credentials, at all, on Dog Food Analysis it even says,
"The ratings given and comments made about the foods assessed on this site and ingredients listed are the opinion of the Editors, who are a small team of volunteers each with a long standing interest in dog nutrition."
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/about.html
These are not good credentials, they are extreemly poor, yet so many people recommend the site, that people think it's a good site. Another thing, is that most vets are trained by the "scientific method". Unless something can be backed up with empirical evidence, or scientific testing, they disregard it as being a "fact." There is much said on different sites about the benefit of this or the harm of that, but if there is no empirical evidence, vets aren't as likely to believe it as the average consumer, who tends to believe whatever looks official, or they read enough times.
Concerning raw and the benefits, it may be true that raw is healthier, but if it is, someone should be able to test this, and prove it, and in 10 years we may have more evidence. Right now, most vets aren't going to recommend something that hasn't been tested for safety. Just one article I read about raw, bothered me, and the fact that meat processing plants, even those that process organic meat are exposed to millions of chemicals and hormones, and these hormones and chemicals are destroyed by heat, but with raw,
you are subjecting your dog to these chemicals and hormones, so it's not the bacteria that vets are worried about like so many sites claim, its the chemicals. There are benefits and risks with every food we choose, I only had one class in nutrition myself, but I can tell you that I learned that things are much more complex than what you read on the web, and the true experts, act much more uncertain with everything than the people who claim to be experts. Remember, a doctors first promise is to do no harm, and recommending a food that has a rather good record for safety and has been tested is better than recommending something that hasn't been thoroughly tested. Even with a homemade diet that has been tested for nutritional balance, just changing one thing can upset the whole nutritional value, and people love to do substitutions. So for most people a commercial dog food that has been tested is the safest method, it may not be the absolute best, but it is considered the safest.