Pet-co/mart (you know the names) stories

Let's see, the one that sticks out most with Kirby and me was when I stopped in the grooming section of Petsmart because I wanted to see what brands of shampoos they carried and see if I could get a decent brush.  One of the groomers who was working the floor approached me and I asked her where where the pin brushes/combs were.  She then tried to correct me and told me what I really wanted was a slicker brush.  I told her that all the info I had gotten said not to use slicker brushes on a paps.  She then argued with me that I couldn't believe everything I read, heard. 

Within the next breath she suggested that I start getting Kirby used to going to the groomers because he was going to need a lot of maintenance work as he got older to keep his coat in shape.  He was just shy of one at the time so he was still getting in his adult coat in.  I told her I wasn't worried about it since the most he was going to need was a touch of trimming between the pads of his feet and bit around his nether regions for sanitary reasons and I could easily do that myself.  She then proceeded to tell me that no, I was going to need to get him regularly shaved or his hair would become too long and too much hassle to handle.  She stated I would especially need to shave the hair around his ears and face so he wouldn't get mats.  She wanted to shave the ear fringes off my papillon... I pretty much ignored her after that.

That story aside I must admit I usually end up in fun conversations at the chain petstores.  When I'm buying crickets and the like they often ask what I'm feeding them to and that gives me a perfect springboard into babbling on about my pet praying mantises.  First thing most people say is, "Wow I didn't know you could keep those as pets."  Thus, I don't have to worry about any mantis experts trying to butt in and give me advice. 

 Luckily I've never really had anything bad happen to me in petco. One time I went in with Simba and one of the employees was going gaga over Simba, it was rather amusing. She kept complimenting him and gave him some treats from the doggie treat bar. :P One thing that did happen that bugged me a little bit was not with an employee but another customer. She was bragging about her dog, who at the time was in the basket and basically made a remark about Simba without actually saying it to me. She looked at him and then said how her dog was very well behaved unlike other dogs. Funny, because Simba was actually sitting rather politely at the time. Basically all of his experiences have been good and he loves the attention he gets when he goes there.

 Oye when Bugsy was a pup he was cwazy when he went there-

He once went shopping along the rawhide aisle he took a cow hoof, various bones, etc from the bins.

Our first trip there as I was paying for something he detected the bowl of biscuits on the counter and just put his feet on the counter and started eating out of it (Marmaduke moment or as Jano has termed it Bugsaduke)  The cashier was laughing hysterically as I am trying to get his head out of the bowl, have my wallet & handbag open, trying to finish the sale etc.  I thought we'd be banned LOL

Now he likes to go up and down the food aisles sniffing each variety 

The only thing I buy there anymore is fuzzies. Dead, frozen mice are not a big conversation starter. I am usually in and out in a jiffy! I shop for everything else, at the local feed store...I highly recommend them to ALL. Much nicer place with much nicer pricing.

rwbeagles

I shop for everything else, at the local feed store...I highly recommend them to ALL. Much nicer place with much nicer pricing.

Me too.  Not a feed store, but a boutique store.  Mainly because they carry Orijen, but I also really like the customer service there (the folks there refuse to let me carry the bags of kibble to my car...they insist on doing it for me!).  I do pop into Petco every now and then, like when I had to replace our Chuck It, but really that was only because I was running errands in that area and it was closer that day.

I don't think I've ever had a negative experience in one of the stores.  I did have a nice conversation once with a Natural Balance rep who was in there one day, but other than that, I don't really talk to people in the store except the checkout person.

Petsmart also cuts us a check for a few grand a couple times per year.

I occasionally go to PetSmart because they have a better selection of toys and one bully treat that I like.  I can't say I've had a bad experience personally.  I've seen people with horribly behaved dogs and such but nothing that really impacted me or my dog.  One time I was there with Nikon when he was a puppy and another woman was there with a bulldog and we kind of hit it off and let our dogs practice greeting and being calm lying down next to each other.  The last time I was there looking for a new Kong Wubba, someone saw me unload Nikon and followed me into the store with her GSD (who was barking and lunging at us but she kept him back a safe distance).  She saw some stickers on my fan pertaining to GSDs and dog training so she wanted to ask me how to get help controlling her dog and where they could do agility.  I just quickly demonstrated a few things for her, showed her how I use toys more often than food (and since I was buying a new toy I showed her how I use it for agility).

We do go to Chow Hound a lot, I think it's a local franchise more like Pet Supplies Plus, they do not sell animals and have much better choices for food and such.  The manager at "my" store really knows his stuff when it comes to food.  The last time I was there with Nikon a lady came up and asked for help picking out a pulling collar.  She knew I didn't work there but seemed maybe embarrassed to ask the employees.  We looked at all the options and I recommended the Easy Walk harness because she was having trouble figuring out how to size and put on the Gentle Leader.

Don't really go to either that much anymore.  We used to go to the PetSmart in WI when we lived there for x-mas pictures with Santa.  I don't think they sold any animals...can't remember, maybe just fish.  I do recall getting my Furminator there and they were willing to give me the online price vs. the store price, so that left a good impression.

Now we usually go to a local small pet store.  They have reptiles, fish, birds and other small animals but they are more of a rescue I think since most have signs on them that they aren't for sale.  They are really nice there and they let Riley pet the smaller furry animals (hampsters, etc.) under high supervision.  The have the coolest turtle pond ever!!  None of them are for sale though.  The bonus is they have the lowest price on the Innova that I buy...beating Pet Supplies Plus by at least $2!  They are family owned and really great.  Charlie loves going to any pet store since everyone loves on him and they usually have a treat bowl at the checkout.

 Ditto, though I go to the local pet food store rather than feed store... their name is T&T Feed and Seed....hmmm....

But I get rats. Medium size for Mickey, my ball python.  Speaking of which, I need to be off to go do that.

I posted this one a while back. My friend takes big white fuzzy to get groomed...

Big white fuzzy comes back looking like this...

You can read more about this and see more pics here.

meilani

Big white fuzzy comes back looking like this...

I can't catch my breath. . .OMG!!  I hope BWF's fur grew back OK!

 I haven't had too many issues at Petco. I don't buy food there (we go to the feed store) but my food ambivalent Chow LOVES the little bear cookies there, so we get those and toys now and then. Plus hamster bedding.

There used to be an employee who, when Aesop was a tiny Chowling, asked "so, do you rip faces off?", "do you bite yet?" etc. All as he wagged away. She wasn't being witty either...she really thought he'd one day do so.  I have a feeling she was equally rude to others, though, as she disappeared.  She wasn't very bright though, she once asked if he was a "mini Chow", when he was a 4 month old puppy covered in puppy fuzz I kind of wish she still worked there just to point out that the 75 lb not Mini still wags his tail at everyone. 

The closest Petsmart is about 40 minutes away, so we go there sans pets since we usually go shopping/lunch if we're there. No weird issues there.

I will say that some of the people at the feed store are a little odd too

grab01

I will say that some of the people at the feed store are a little odd too

ROFLMBO because this struck me as hilarious and so true as far as talking about people who say odd or rude things concerning dogs or any number of subjects.   I can't say I've ever been impressed with the skills or knowledge of the big box dog trainers.  But I've known or heard or plenty of bad trainers who aren't associated with any store.  I shop for certain items at both the big stores.  I give them full credit for hosting adoption events. 

 The woman at the feed store is the one who gave me scathing, judgmental looks for putting "Newt the tiny poodle" on the ID tag and a completely separate woman questioned why Grimm was named that, in a demanding tone.  I assume she thought it was Grim (one M) ...but either way, don't be rude.

I go there because that's where I can get my TOTW and reasonable chewies, otherwise I'd have probably gone elsewhere by now :p