Petco

I cancelled my appointment because of the terrible environment that I saw when dropping my dog off. I was not going to put my dog through the torment and malpractice that I saw.
When I first went into the place, there was a multitude of open scissors and electric shavers left on the edge of grooming tables. The cords were also left on the ground which could have easily tripped anyone or a dog. The environment was disastrous with fur left behind and random crap on the grooming tables and floors.
There was only one attendant who was handling another dog. She told me that my groomer went on lunch break. My groomer was not prompt for my appointment so I couldn’t even speak to her about how I wanted my dog groomed. I waited for her for a few minutes, but after seeing the actions of how the attendant was «taking care» of the dogs it was not worth anymore of my time.
The way she handle dogs was extremely concerning. She left a dog unattended who apparently had issues to help a walk in and never checked back with the unattended dog. The walk in left his dog in her care, asking for a nail trimming. She brought the dog back in and started to check me in.
As she was checking me in, she went to go clip the dogs nails, but the way she was handling the dog made the dog scream and Unilocal in pain. She stated that most dogs do not like their nails clipped, but what I saw was improper use of handling the dog’s leg. She wasn’t leveled with the dog’s feet and started clipping the nails in a crouching position, bending and pulling the leg out of its shoulder socket.
I understand most dogs do not like their nails clipped; however, that position looked extremely painful and I am certain that most dogs do not scream in agonizing pain when getting their nails clipped. She stated she was handling the dog’s leg correctly, but she WAS NOT. I have experience due to my dog having 8 years of hip dyspepsia and now has shoulder arthritis. She didn’t even know how to properly hold a small dog with hip dyspepsia.
I asked if she had any training or if I could speak to a manager, but apparently she was the manager and she stated she did have training. This is even more concerning because now I am curious what kind of training this person even had and why a manager sent her assistant off to lunch knowing that she had booked me and another person at the same time, had a walk in, plus the other dog was still left unattended.
No wonder why Petco has you sign that they are not responsible for any injuries. She could of caused serious injuries to my dog and put her through the same pain. I will be filing a complaint for this grooming malpractice. They even called me later to come back and book another appointment on a different day where it was less hectic. They were not apologetic about the environment, the treatment of the other animals, or even my situation.
This is what could happen to your dog if you drop them off at PETCO.

We just started puppy classes with Tesia and it made a huge difference! Learned a lot! Highly recommend the Wednesday evening free puppy play from 6 – 6:30. I laughed and relaxed and our puppy had fun! Try it if you want to have while training!!!

Their grooming is pretty bad. I mean, they are courteous and always see our dogs on short notice but they’re awful at handling dogs and they don’t do all the services you pay for. Even though it’s right by our house we just have to go elsewhere going forward. We pay extra every time to have our dogs brushed «15 minutes extra» and half the time we pick them up it obviously wasn’t done at all, much less for «extra minutes.» (We have Great Pyrenees so if you don’t brush them after bathing their hair just comes off in your hands, it’s quite obvious.) They also are terrible at handling dogs to have their nails trimmed. We have a dog with no history of biting or growling any of her handlers, she loves them all, and twice now their staff has been so incompetent that they are obviously hurting her (as I stand there watching) and have no idea how to respond to dog behavior (like pulling their foot away, crying, sometimes just because they need a quick rest). I don’t think their convenience is worth it at all.

I’ve been getting my dogs nails trimmed here for quite a while… They have cut his quick multiple times which is traumatic but he doesn’t even Unilocal.I changed to the grinder today and the guy that was doing the trim totally manhandled my dog until he finally Unilocaled out in pain. I asked him what he was doing. He responded «he’s not bleeding». Turnover and training are a problem as well. I rarely see the same people between trims. Most of the other groomers at least treat my dog well… I will never return.

Petco doesn’t always get the reviews it deserves. I’m taking a training class there now and Tesia is our trainer. She is fantastic! I can’t say enough about her great attitude, knowledge and over all love for animals. She has taught me so much already. I will be taking as many classes as I can with her. Thank you Tesia for being such a great trainer, for me AND my dog.

Planning on getting your dog groomed here?
DO NOT
Horrible customer service on phone when I just called.
Horrible customer service when I walked in to ask questions about 10 months ago. It’s too bad, cuz it would do well to have higher standards in their grooming department than a bunch of shitty attitudes and careless demeanors. Who would want to leave their dog with that?
Petco — your losing out on a lot of $$$

This is one of the smaller Petco’s in the bay area, and while their selection may be minimal they have at least one employee with fantastic customer service skills. I was lucky enough to be helped out by Arianna McDaniel. She was very attentive and understanding as well as knowledgeable. I would recommend seeking out her assistance if you decide to shop at this Petco location, she was wonderful!

I just moved here from the north bay — which has a wonderful Petco in Walnut Creek. Thank goodness that there is a good Petco in Novato. The San Rafael Petco is full of surly and curt staff. Even the supervisors do not seem to care. My family and I will not be going back. Our last visit put the final nail in the coffin. My daughter asked for help in the fish section from the cashier 3 times in 20 minutes. No one came to assist. My daughter has been treated rudely on each visit — and when I have finally went to ask for assistance, the cashier was flip to the point of rudeness. When I spoke with the Supervisor, she made it obvious that she did not care. (By the way there were 3 staff and one supervisor present and only one other customer.) Petco needs to do a major overhaul of the staff. Avoid it until then!

They have so many different fish! They have a good selection and fair prices on accessories for my aquarium. I don’t like how a lot of the staff isn’t too knowledgeable but they are extremely nice. I would mainly recommend going here for supplies since they have a great return policy and cheaper prices than I’ve seen around. I would not recommend getting animals here because they don’t seem to be kept that well and I feel better supporting mom and pop shops.

I would have given this Petco 5 stars because everyone has been so sweet and helpful regarding helping choose items (food, toys etc) for my new chihuahua. I am a new dog owner and made many trial and errors.
Day of the incident:
I walked into Petco on June 25^th 2015 at 6:30pm with a carrier that I had purchased two days earlier for my chi. However I had opted to buy a carrier that wasn’t wrapped in plastic on June 23^rd 2015. I noticed a mere two days later (because it was the first time I took it on a long trip around town without my car) that the carrier was dented around the metal portion where the clasps connect the short handle of the carrier. I explained this to the employee (named Renee) and she didn’t believe me and insisted I show the exact damage of the product though I showed the cashier Gostovo (who was awesome BTW) prior to showing her, and he said it was fine to continue with the exchange. So she insisted on refusing to give me a recipe for the new carrier so even if there is damage to this new one I won’t be able to return. She also ripped the tag off of the new bag so I couldn’t return it. She is a horrible customer service associate and I will be notifying Petco corporate about this matter. This type of treatment makes me not want to return to this store.
This employee Renee needs to either be fired or given time off away from her position because she obviously does not work well with customers.

We brought our puppy here for the level 1 training and I can’t imagine having a better experience anywhere. It was THAT good.
We brought our puppy back for the level 2 training and had an opposite experience. We had a different trainer, but I have no way of knowing it was due to the trainer or due to the training the trainer got. Maybe the AWESOME first trainer was a fluke, maybe the less than impressive second trainer was a fluke.
The course was 6 classes long. One day included Mother’s Day which we missed for family events. Another day included Easter which we missed for family events. The trainer missed one day as well. So, we paid for 6 classes and we only got 3 of them. If I had experienced anything in those three classes worthwhile I may have looked into rescheduling classes.
It felt like each 60 minute class was about 5 – 10 minutes of puppies socializing (I’m fine with that). 15 – 25 minutes of training. And nearly a half hour of awkwardly waiting until the hour runs out and trying to figure out how to take advantage of having a trainer to help me with my dog.
Part of the issue may be that the second course just isn’t as exciting. In the first course the puppy learns fantastic tricks and commands that are entertaining and functional. In the second course the puppy is supposed to reinforce those already learned abilities. It’s difficult for me to fault a trainer or the store without really knowing exactly where the fault lays.
Either way, Puppy class 1 was amazing, the store staff is helpful, and knowledgeable, and the store’s return policy seems great. I like the store!

Worst grooming experience EVER. A lot of issues setting up and them keeping an appointment — should have seen that as a sign it wasn’t meant to be. When Molly finally did go in for the appointment at 8:30AM (and the only dog there at that time btw), I was told it would only take 3 – 3:30 hours, 4 tops. I know how Petco works as I use to take Molly there in the City, so I know that they work on a dog, put it in a cage, work on another dog, and repeat. I hate this method as it means my dog is in a cage longer than needed, but we were desperate because our fabulous groomer moved away, foxtails are out and Molly needed a haircut. Plus, the Petco in the City always did a great job. Anyway, fast forward 3 hours, and I call to check on her status. They told me she wouldn’t be ready until 1:30 at the earliest! That would have been 5 hours! They said all Molly had had done in 3 hours is a «pre-​groom» and bath. I told them this was unacceptable and would be picking Molly up at noon. They basically made all kinds of excuses and blamed me for making an appointment on a Saturday and the fact that they overschedule and understaff. When I got there, they said nothing. No apologies. Nothing. Just handed me Molly, who looks ridiculous. Apparantely, «pre-​grooming» means cutting off chunks of hair here and there (honestly, no rhyme or reason, some places she didn’t have any matting or anything). Ugh, never, ever, ever going to a Petco again. You can’t even say its worth the cost. They would have charged more than my froufrou Mill Valley groomer would have charged, and Molly would have been in and out in under 2 hours.

Avoid them unless all you need is a wash and dry of your pet! They couldn’t even trim my dogs nails without my help holding him and as for the hair cut. I cried when I saw him and we didn’t even recognize my friends dog (we actually thought they were giving us the wrong dog) because instead of a trim they have him a poodle cut. Looked horrible and had several Knicks on him. !!!
Try somewhere else so that you don’t experience the same misery we had

We WERE loyal grooming customers but the last two times I went my dog, who is like my second child, was infested with fleas. The first time I questioned myself thinking, «Maybe this wasn’t Petco.» Then, the second time I thought, «Why do I doubt myself, this is the second time and now I know that this is a direct correlation!» I called to complain but was given the run-​around, until I mentioned Unilocaling! Then, I got offered, not a free grooming but an Advantage treatment. Yuck! — super toxic and I needed to pick out a ton of eggs, leaving my dog’s skin red and open. I will not take «my precious» back … ever! This is Marin ya know? Humpf!

This place seems a little dark but other then the fact that they stopped carrying Blue Buffalo brand cat food (not their fault and it’s just the type that I get not all Blue BUffalo) this store is pretty clean and nice and good customer service.

A-​OK is fine with Petco. I bring our large dog into the grooming area to get his pawdi-​cure done. He doesn’t really like his claws clipped at home but is fine with the groomers at Petco. They are good with him as his size can sometimes be an issue for other groomers.
This Petco is fine with their product selection too. They have the food we need and the pet products we need. The toys don’t really last with my large breeds but they seem like they would work well with a smaller breed (and for a dog that is 150 pounds most other breeds are smaller breeds)

Went in for a simple return using my Petco number. Had to go through 3 folks before they told me they’d have to call the help center to walk them through the return process. 10 minutes wasted. And they weren’t particularly friendly.

Sure… Petco is a chain, but honestly, they fact that they only connect people with dogs and cats through adoption agencies is 5 stars.
Employees were nice and helpful. Merchandise can be a little spendy, but there’s some good sales that happen and some decent products that are from inexpensive and adequate to super fancy. They’ve also go birds, mice, gerbils, etc. Was a bit disappointed with their fish though. they could’ve use better care, especially the bettas at this location. Had to minus a star for that.

Ugh. I wish I would have read the grooming reviews BEFORE I brought my dog in. I brought her in several months ago, so I’m hoping management has addressed the issues. If you have, please let me know and I’d be happy to give you another shot.
I’ve had good experiences with other petco grooming centers, so when we moved here, I just set up an appointment. I dropped my girl off and was told it would be an hour. When I called later to double check before driving down, I was told they were swamped and she wouldn’t be ready for another 2 hours. No big deal. However, when I picked her up, after 3 hours, it didn’t look like she’d even been bathed. Seriously, her foot was still dirty. Toenails were not trimmed. Fir was not clipped. The real kicker — they charged me a random extra fee for extra combing time. Again, I would have gladly paid it except that she didn’t look at all groomed and was still shedding. From now on I’ll drive up to Novato.

I have a Keeshond. I took him in last Saturday with instruction to bathe, thoroughtly brush out, and only clip his butthole and toe pads. 5 hours later, he looked exactly like he did when I dropped him off. He smelled faintly like a powder puff, but none of the clipping I asked for was done. Obviously they didn’t use the proper brush, because when I got home, I raked him for 1 hour and pulled out an entire trash bag of fur. It was even matted under his collar. I don’t think they took it off of him, if they even washed him at all.
Worst, they called him a Chow! How are you supposed to groom a dog, if you don’t even remember what kind of dog it is? Chows and Keeshonds are nothing alike and don’t even look similar!
$ 51 wasted