PetSmart

My opinion has changed a few times about this place. But lately, I love it since our bulldog, June, is now on prescription dog food and this place actually carries her food! It’s so nice not to have to go to our vet every single time. I also have to commend their grooming staff because we’ve taken June in there a couple times for nail trims and baths and they spoil her rotten! Plus she always leaves happy and looking great.

Horrible customer service, had to wait for someone to be available to get a fish for 25 minutes. I will never return

Very poor service. My dog came out of the Pet Smart groomers very hot and smelled of hot sweaty dog. I no longer trust what goes on in there.

Excellent selection! Wish it was closer than 130 miles!

Okay, I am not reviewing petsmart as a store. I am reviewing the training only. I adopted a 3 year old collie lab mix about 4 months ago. She was in desperate need to training. She tried to attack every dog we go near, and is very nervous. Kelsey has been our trainer for months now. We finished the beginner classes with her and are now in the middle of the intermediate. The first day of class, Lily bit one of her class mates right off the bat. Kelsey explained what she saw and how to help. Now Lily plays with that dog like nothing. She learned everything very fast and what we have been learning has been extremely helpful in the real world. Not tricks, but real skills.

I will say this about Petsmart: First, the people who work there are friendly. Second, they will take back, without question, anything that doesn’t work for you. Even if your cat doesn’t like a toy, they will take it back. Is there anywhere else in town that would do that?
I am about to take back a $ 16 «bone» made of plastic and wood that my dog, who is a puppy and who chews everything, is not the least bit interested in, to Prairieland Feeds, and will see. They are a great store with also very nice people and great selection. Family-​owned and local, so I usually shop there.

Petsmart is a great place to shop for your pet, with your pet.
The downside is that they do seem a bit overpriced for almost everything they sell. I spent $ 10 for a bag of dog treats and almost $ 80 for a dog sweater and boots. which I found obscene. (not just the price but dog clothes themselves).
you can find almost everything sold at petsmart cheaper on the internet but then you pay shipping so it evens out.

I used Petsmart’s grooming services for the first time this weekend, and it’ll most likely be the last time I use them. My dog only needed a bath and a nail grind. When I called to make an appointment, I asked for the price, and they quoted me $ 18.99 since the services I was getting were standardized regardless of dog size/​coat length. When I picked him up, though he smelled wonderful and his nails were done well, his face did not look like they washed it, and he had dark tear marks on both sides of his face. He hadn’t been waiting long post-​bath, so I don’t think they actually washed his face (and quite frankly, the marks were so large that at the very least, they should have wiped them off before sending him home, considering he was there for a bath). In addition to this, when I went to check out, my bill was actually $ 30, not the $ 18.99 they quoted me beforehand. Apparently the girl on the phone forgot to add the $ 11 for the nail grind when she gave me the total. Had I known it would be that much, I wouldn’t have brought him in. And although it could just be a coincidence, the next day, my pup woke up with a goopy right eye that he still has (two days later). I suspect he picked something up while there, since he hasn’t been exposed to any other dogs in the past few days, but of course, that’s just speculation. Regardless, the combination of a higher than expected price and a dog that wasn’t completely clean (especially considering I was paying almost $ 20 for a bath!) is enough to prevent me from using them ever again.

I’m spoiled, I know, but the quality-​to-​price ratio here is way off. In my neck of the woods, you can get top-​of-​the-​line food and grooming supplies for the same prices as Iams and Martha Stewart Pets at this petsmart.
Their staff members are hit or miss. I had to get really pushy in order to get help. Better than being hovered over, I guess.

DO NOT HAVE YOUR DOG GROOMED HERE!
Grooming here is terrible. My dog looked ridiculous, and I’m sure has never been more embarrassed in his life. The groomer we had to take him to so he could be fixed spent a good five minutes laughing at the job they had done. It was absurdly bad.

Everything they sell is 2x the cost you can find elsewhere with minimal effort. If you are looking for food/​medications/​all consumable supplies, these can be ordered on the Internet or purchased at other big boxes, such as Wal-​Mart and Target for huge savings over this idiot-​trap.
I am an aquarium hobbyist, and I have to say that this particular PetSmart has a pretty good number of freshwater fish, but the health and quality of their livestock is quite poor. Further, while this is not unique in the trade, they obviously kill a lot of fish here (and sell a lot of sick ones). They have some REALLY poorly informed people here working in the aquarium department: I asked a girl if they had any Florite brand substrate and she began looking in the fish meds section (substrate means gravel). So, if you are tempted by their relative (to Sailfin) low prices on SOME of their items, do your homework before you go, and know exactly what you are looking for and how to determine that item/​fish/​plant/​whatever is healthy/​compatible/​safe. Otherwise, go to the place where the people actually know what they are selling and will ask you questions to determine if your tank is right for what you’re buying. PetSmart has absolutely no saltwater stuff. If you are tempted to buy an aquarium here, do yourself a favor and look over the past few weeks of the Craigslist «Pets» and «For Sale» posts. You will pay ¹⁄₅ the price or less, which of course means you can get bigger and better!

This place is affiliated with and looks like Petco (which is in Bloomington and everywhere else). Since pet stores really monopolize the field of specialized pet products, of course their prices are sky high. For example, my cats eat Hill’s Science Diet, Sensitive Stomach formula. Every month there is a $ 5 sale on all big bags of Science Diet (light, hairball, adult, kitten) EXCEPT Sensitive Stomach. It’s simply because there is no other food that works as well for cats with IBS-​like conditions that is not a vet formula. So $ 28+tax for 17.5 pounds of food (by comparison, 20 pounds of Whiskas runs $ 8, Natural Choice, Nutramax, Royale Feline, and Eukanuba are all around $ 17 – 24 for the 8-​pound bag, $ 30-​ish for 17 pounds).
Prices aside, I love going in the store because I live for my cats, and one huge place completely devoted to their needs (furniture, catnip, toys, food, litter, leashes, collars, shampoo)… Heaven! However, I do not enjoy the open pet policy where everyone under the sun brings in a dog. Panting, shedding, drooling, smelly… I’m not a dog fan. I also do not enjoy the caged up animals for adoption… But, it was a lot easier to look at them once I figured out they were shelter animals, not specially bred for pet store sales (like other stores!). I also respect that they have volunteers go in nearly every weekend and set up shop to get the animals adopted. Nonetheless, every time that I check-​out here, they always ask if I want to do a $ 1 donation to animal shelters. Kind of irritating, being trapped and pressured at the register, looking heartless if you say no, but also realizing that you have no income… The first and second times — sure, add the $ 1, no big deal… even though I have adopted my cuties from a shelter and volunteered countless hours at shelters. The third time — not so giving… and then felt guilty and selfish and figured the checkout chick thought I was mean… Anyway, personal insecurity there, probably. But, if you’re like me and don’t like being pressured into philanthropy — no matter how small the dollar amount (it’s the principle) — now you can have a gameplan on what to do before you ever hit the register. For me — probably a donate — don’t donate — donate — don’t donate undulation of conscience…
Anyway — clean, overwhelming variety of choices, rather expensive.

Petsmart is just OK. Low quality toys for high prices (almost every toy I have bought from here has been ravaged by my dog within hours). Their return policy, however, is pretty decent.
I find their employees to be incompetent most of the time. Sure they might love animals, but I find the majority of the employees aren’t truly trained experts.
Check out some others on Neil Street :
Prairieland Feeds (newly remodeled), Animal Outfitters (newly remodeled) are in Savoy.
Sailfin Pet Shop is a little more exotic — but in Champaign.
Lesiure Time Pet & Hobby is the exception to the rule, it’s over on Mattis Street.
But ALL are less expensive & have better sales.