PUGnacious Pet Provisions

I was quite shocked by some of the reviews. This is a real welcoming store and doris always has recommendations for my elderly cats and two dogs. Doris has never once portrayed any rudeness — people do not have to fall all over you to be nice — sometimes giving you your space to browse is better. This is an absolutely lovely store with great products and great owners!!! Try it —you wil find something you absolutely must have.

The shopkeeper of this establishment is rude and without scruples. I told her I wanted a bag of soft treats for my small dog. I paid more that $ 12 for a small bag of venison liver goodies. When I got them home, I found they were hard a pieces of gravel.
I returned the treats to the shop. The owner asked why I’d tried to break a treat into a smaller piece. «Because I didn’t want my dog to chip a tooth.» The owner told me the treats weren’t hard and weren’t large. That’s not the way I see it, but this is a shop where the customer is always wrong.
«Dogs chew on bones,» I was instructed.
I explained that I was not a happy customer. I received no apology, no regret, no nothing except that she would give the treats to her dog.
I’m pissed off. This woman should not be shopkeeper, spreading her toxic trip. No good bye, just back to doing her crossword puzzle.

I really like to support local businesses, but I stopped walking the block or so from my house to the very handy Pugnacious Pet Provisions because the owner is so unfriendly, and started driving to the not so handy Alpha Pet Supplies on San Pablo between Solano and Buchanan where they are so friendly and helpful. Responding to the review before mine: please don’t turn people’s reviews into «cruelty» using the disability card. Come on. Neither my husband nor I have ever seen the owner be helpful or friendly — to us or other customers. My husband came home empty-​handed when he went there for the last time either of us were there when she snapped «we’re closed» at 1 minute after 6, which is closing time. I don’t need to be slapped around for helping to keep a local business alive by giving money away for overpriced pet supplies.

I’ve never been treated so badly. Not a «hello», not a «can i help you». We just rescued a beautiful little dog and I wanted to talk to her about different dog foods. But she was too busy doing a crossword puzzle. I left the store and thought about just how rude the service was. So I called her and told her I was in her store and needed help but she was too busy doing a crossword puzzle. She said «oh yes thats what I like to do-​so what?» I asked about helping her customers, and then she hung up on me. Needless to say, I shall never never ever shop there!!! She doesn’t even deserve one star!

Disappointed in how I was greeted upon entering store.
I asked the woman sitting behind the counter who was reading a magazine if they had bulk bones, and she looked at me like I was interrupting her for a dumb question and pointed over to the table in the middle and her tone of voice was saying ~ «I don’t want to be bothered»…
I paid for the bone I picked out and was treated the same…
Very disappointed in lack of customer service.
It looked like a cute place, but lacks very much in customer service.
I won’t be back.

I also feel really bad about the negative reviews about the owner. She is a very hard of hearing person who isnt all gushy over people when they come in but she is always very kind to the animals, cares about her customers and has gone out of her way to keep the store open a few extra minutes when I have called and said we are out of food and my husband is on the way before a holiday weekend. Prices are great, she carries a lot of unique stuff and is thoughtful. I can see how she could be seen as gruff as I thought she was somewhat standoffish when I first went in there but have since realized that she is a very kind person.

A good neighborhood pet store, albeit expensive. The products are mostly locally sourced and selected with great conscience: I once went in asking for that peanut butter wiz that you squirt into Kong toys and the owner was like, «Honey, your dog doesn’t need all that mess. Just put in some real PB, without the chemicals.» Good advice, and my dogs are just as happy with the non-​imitation filling.
Speaking of my dogs – because this store is more for them than me – they are always very excited to walk by. If they can convince me to go inside, they are always rewarded with multiple, healthy treats. The owner is very sweet and generous.
The main reason I come to this store regularly is to buy their frozen raw food, which my dogs have been eating for year and has significantly reduced the allergies my dog, Toby, was suffering from.
I noticed a lot of animosity towards the owner, and it makes me sad, especially those Unilocalers saying that she ignores them. She is quite hard of hearing, and even when I am standing in front of her, talking with her, I sometimes need to repeat what I’ve said. So the smug attitude of some of these customers is nothing short of cruel.

I live walking distance from this store so Im a regular visitor. Im in love with the natural products!!! My favorite are the BULLYSTICKS FOR A 1.70 EACH! These things usually run almost 5 – 6 bucks for a small one at the big pet chain stores.
The woman the other reviewers are referring to actually was very nice and speaking to me in open conversation! I never take anything personal if people are ever having a bad day, as I have sensed maybe she had before. Ill be a regular customer as long as I live here no matter what.
Best natural to raw brand selection for my little dude plus cheap organic bullysticks!!! woOp!
For a small store they have a lot of items. especially for small dogs!.. Stuff I cant wait to buy:
more bullysticks
Raw dog food
leash light

I work close to here and needed some cat food. The woman behind the counter could care less for my bussiness. I asked her about a certain cat food and she gestured towards the cat section. Had she explained her product I would have purchased. Alas I will be going to pet club, they are local and care. Too bad this location could be profitable.

This is our store!
First, PUGnacious orders the little bags of Orijen for us, because Lilypup just isn’t big enough to go through even a 5-​pound bag before it goes stale. Hello! That is customer service! Doris, the owner, is also calm and grounded; she doesn’t rile a dog. That is how you should be around animals!
Second, PUGnacious stocks good stuff. I mentioned the Orijen. It also carries our salmon oil (omega-3’s!) and our made in the USA chicken sticks (ingredients: chicken!). The list goes on: our best collar and leash (the Lupine Moo Cow) (lightweight, no scratchy parts), our two dog leash, our hands-​free leash, our harness, our cloth place mats (which we use for sitting, not eating). AND I have to add, we got our brilliant hand-​knit «band» sweaters here — they wrap around and are fastened with a kilt pin (providing an adjustable, non-​binding fit). They actually cover the underbelly, the most exposed part of the dog!
Third, PUGnacious is upscale WITHOUT all that nattering, squealing, and sashaying that goes on in so many upscale boutiques. (Can someone tell me what is up with all that la-​de-​da and relentless service?)

I echo the sentiments of others on this site. She is often in the store next door chatting away… could have stolen her blind in the time it took for her to get back to the store. Bought a coat for a new dog and asked about if it didn’t fit could I bring it back. Yes she said and forgot to add «for exchange only». She got $ 40 of my money involuntarily.
She was rude and not at all helpful.

My experience in this shop was horrible. First the owner tried to give our dog a treat without first asking us. Then she completely ignored us, instead fiddling with her computer. How rude! How does this place stay in business?

Just left this place with my two little dogs. The lady didn’t acknowledge our existence even though nobody else was in the store. We tried going here before going to Petsmart because we figured with a small boutique store run by an animal lover, we’d get personalized service, while also supporting a local business. Unfortunately, this place just missed out on two new customers, D and Chloe (our dogs) will be taking their business elsewhere. I seriously hope the lady working wasn’t the proprietor, because she did not seen to care about animals. Petsmart at least says hi to you when you enter, and offers the doggies a treat.

I have shopped from coast to coast for my pets. This is the only place that makes you feel bad, as if you’re inconveniencing her. Some people are not meant to work with people… or pets. The woman is unpleasant, cranky, cannot be engaged to find out information about products in her store. She is more interested in working on her laptop. No personal interaction.
Gave her the benefit of the doubt and returned 3 times. Same situation. Even called out of courtesy, to advise her that the link to her website went to a PORN site. She was unappreciative and merely SNAPPED that she knew of the problem. Hopefully she resolved that issue.
PetSmart & Alpha Pet are within a mile. No they aren’t boutiques but they appreciate your business. You would have thought, that after reading all the negative reviews, she would change her behavior… no luck there… sorry for the bad review but you were consistently rude.
Does she pay for the good reviews? Why the tremendous number of one OR five stars, thats a vast range (a sprinklng of 2 or 4 stars) for Unilocal reviews… HMMMMmmm weird.
Please come out from behind the counter and make believe you like your customers or find someone who has customer service skills.

The hubby and I prefer to support local businesses whenever possible… but for the owner of this store, we will make an exception. She is either unable or unwilling to provide adequate pleasantries to her customers. This review was prompted by my fourth and final visit.
I walked in this morning and she muttered an irritated «hello». She barely glanced at me, her eyes focused on the inventory strewn across her small cashier’s countertop. The store was otherwise empty of customers. I proceeded to wander around the store by myself. I finally found the dog food I was looking for, only to have to clear my throat at the counter before she would turn her butt from my face (literally). She barely shoved aside her inventory and muttered «put it down here» — never mind that I am 8 months pregnant and balancing 4 cans of dog food on my belly. I am not the type of person that expects special treatment for any reason, but my experience waddling around with a protruding belly is that many, if not MOST, people are super nice and courteous (a bonus of being pregnant, imho) — all the more reason it struck me this lady was not nice OR courteous; she was just plain RUDE.
Her demeanor gets worse with every visit — the folks down at PetSmart (where I had just come from, but did not buy anything) were nicer, friendlier, and more personable than this lady. Doris — Sorry to have interrupted your inventory, but you just lost a potential loyal customer.

What is the opposite of helpful? I remember now, clueless. That is what I thought of the owner. I have shopped here for a about 2 years for treats for my dog when I’m on Solano and I have found the owner to less than friendly, but that was OK I wasn’t looking for a bff. However, the other day I was searching for canned cat food that might tempt my CRF cat and the owner not only knew nothing about how it is important to get these cats to eat, but actually stated something to the effect that picky cats will not starve themselves. Well, first off CRF cats are not «picky», they are sick, they sometimes lose their appetite, and they can lose weight dramatically because of their kidney disease and die. Therefore getting them to eat is imperative. I didn’t expect expertise, like I would find at Holistic Hound, but I was surprised by the level of ignorance.
Maybe she knows a lot about pugs and maybe she is very lovely towards her favored regulars, but she is dangerously ill informed

I love supporting the local businesses. And our lil guy happens to love a brand of canned dog food she carries at a fair price.
I’ve been in here multiple times, buying pretty much the same thing every time.
Oddly enough, she seems to get more irritable every time I patronize her store. In spite of my attempts to be friendly, her responses vary from menacing glare to just outright annoyance.
I dunno. Maybe she’d be nicer to me if I lifted a leg and urinated the corner of the store?

Normally I love dog boutiques for the mere fact that they indicate that our needs as a society have been so fully satisfied that we can justify opening expensive pet stores… but now that PUGnacious has stopped carrying my dog’s favorite treats, I can come out and say that I hate this place and hope to never go back.
The woman who works in/​possibly owns this store won’t give you the time of day. When I asked her a question recently, she totally ignored me and zoomed over to her laptop. When I approached her and asked again, she had an attitude and barely made eye contact. I’ve also bought products from them that broke literally minutes later, and they act like you’re bankrupting the store when you ask for an exchange. Um, HELLO, you opened a store selling overpriced yuppie crap for a specific breed of dog, and you’re surprised that the market won’t sustain you???
Also, pugs are ugly and barely dogs. People who like them are creepy. That’s right, I said it.

My Shiba baby and I come here at least every week! As a first time dog owner, I have sought out advice and recommendations from every professional… Doris at PUGnacious has been a fountain of knowledge and excellent advice for us!
There is real food here that is actually good for dogs, with healthy and natural ingredients (not 12-​syllable chemicals, by-​products, or fillers). We feed Kenji a variety of raw and cooked foods from here — Nature’s Variety, Happetite (an awesome local and sustainable pet food and treat company), and Bravo. The selection of treats is excellent, fairly priced, and so healthy — I feel no guilt about feeding Kenji Happetite’s jerky, or Nature’s Variety freeze-​dried raw treats.
We also got the world’s best harness here — the «Wonder Walker.» I thought we were doomed to a life of pulling and choking on the leash — thanks to Doris’s expertise, we can walk anywhere without issue! Just got the seatbelt attachment to the walker a few days ago, and it works great.
If you’re a dog-​parent, you and your furry friend will love this store!

This place is packed with fancy toys and gear and treats, so naturally my dog loved it.
Except when the sales lady suddenly leaned over her to offer a treat, my shy dog barked in surprise and then the lady acted all judgy even when I apologized. I wasn’t really happy about my dog’s behavior either but usually pet store employees are more understanding (and know not to lean over small dogs, shy or not).