petco or petsmart?

[Zippy]

I like Petco because they have bigger bowls for the betta fish and don't sale any birds bigger then a conure.

[k9krazee]

Out of the two I go to Petsmart...Petco is too far away :( I actually prefer shopping at smaller stores or farm stores, Petsmart is a bit pricy for me :o

[Suki Wingy]

Petco has better stuff, Petsmart has better service. Unfortunatley I live about 45 minutes away from any type of farm or feed store so I go to petsmart a lot.

[sammy101]

Petsmart.:)
I dont really like the Petco in my area.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

PetsMart. We don't have a PetCo in Canada to my knowledge...could be wrong though. Most of the time, I go to the smaller privately owned pet stores though, better service, nicer people, better prices and better stuff.

[Flatcoatluver]

Petsmart was here in my city then petco moved 1 min. away. I checked out petco and got the rudest service I have ever recieved. I am sticking to petsmart.

[lute]

PetSmart!!! i like that they support humane societies. i see lots of adoption booths at the PetSmart i go to. better prices and a lot friendlier employees.

[critter crazy]

we dont have either one around here!!! i hate it!! I went to a petsmart when i was in florida visiting my sister and have wanted them to put one in here ever since!!! they have tons of stuff!! we just have a whole bunch of mom and pop petstores around here!!

[Chilli]

I must say Petco, only because its the only one out of the two thats near us.
They used to be HORRIBLE, but they've gotten a new manager, and its improved very much. No more bad bedding for the rodents (They use Carefresh now), No more dead fish in every other tank (though they still need to improve on the bettas), and its also the place where we met the humane society that Ethan was at. :)
The only pet I've ever bought from Petco was Ellison (my CT betta), and he seems just as healthy as my other bettas.
I do prefer the smaller petstores, such as the one in my town. It is a WONDERFUL place run by only around five people who take wonderful care of every animal there. And they actually know what they're doing.

[Karen]

There is no Petsmart around here, but we have three choices of Petcos to go to. They all hold adoption events on Saturdays, and seem to care about their animals, the cages are always clean and the critters look happy and well-fed.

[Jessika]

It honestly depends on location. I know the particular PetCo I worked at the animals were VERY well taken care of. If a mouse so much as got a respitory infection (a MOUSE, a 99 cent mouse) they would bring it to the vet and pay hundreds of dollars in vet billsto get it back up to good health. And then, they couldn't sell it, so they would have to adopt it out.

But I have seen good petsmarts, and bad ones. The closest petsmart to me is very nice, clean, reasonable prices. The one I was near in St Charles.. was gross.. always had dead fish... sick animals that weren't taken care of...

So its the luck of the draw. Both chains have awesome stores, both have awful stores. Its just luck of the draw.

Both also host adoption clinics and take donations for animal organizations though

[Lori Jordan]

Always go to Pet Smarts closer than anyother petstore but i do but my food at a feed and seen Eukanuba is cheaper there than in a pet store or grocerystore.

[zoomer]

Petco. At my Petsmart teenagers work there and one of the teenager groomers was ripping through a poor Maltese's hair :(

[Sevaede]

PetSmart!!! i like that they support humane societies. i see lots of adoption booths at the PetSmart i go to. better prices and a lot friendlier employees.

PetCo does that too. They also have some sort of dealie going on with Petfinder.

[.sarah]

PetSmart!!! i like that they support humane societies. i see lots of adoption booths at the PetSmart i go to. better prices and a lot friendlier employees.
It is the same here. Petco also has adoption booths but the one here has awful service. Their prices are higher than Petsmart also.

[binka_nugget]

I've only been to one PetCo in Washington (none in Canada) and one PetSmart (closest one is still really far away).. I prefer Petsmart to Petco though. They had more products and cheaper prices. The staff were also much more helpful.

[IRescue452]

Petsmart by far. Our petco is the combination of every horror story you've heard about pet stores. Abuse in the grooming facility, animals dying all over the place, horrible care advice. They also sell less products than petsmart and ours does have the tiniest bowls for fish. Our petsmart, even though they do hire teenagers like every retail business does, seems to hire only people who like animals. Their tanks are always great. The used to have a vet that was real nice. Plus they have a clearence section that's my favorite. When you can pay 19 cents for clearence tank decorations you'll be there every week to surf the aisles. Both do adoptions, but you can hardly take that as a measure of quality.

[mini rex girl]

i put petsmart thats were i always go

[lvpets2002]

:) I really like them both.. I have adobted from both.. However Petsmart is closer to me so I go there the most..

[lute]

PetCo does that too. They also have some sort of dealie going on with Petfinder.

really? i didn't know that. the ones around here don't. :(

[Alysser]

Both. The petstores here have good service and prices.

[Suki Wingy]

I'd also like to add that the only thing close to a privatley owned shop around here is a two-store business that has excelent service and products, and takes wonderfull care of the animals (Both places) but for some reason sells puppies and kittens, a lot of bengals and mutts. :mad:

[JenBKR]

I like both actually, the prices are better at Petsmart, but I prefer the grooming at Petco. I typically buy stuff from a pet warehouse in the area, but their hours aren't the greatest (they close at 6 M-F, and short hours on Saturday), so sometimes I do go to Petsmart - but I'm not crazy about their groomers, so Roscoe goes to Petco ;)

[wolf_Q]

I work at Petco so I have to say them. I can't speak for ones in other areas but the animals seem well-cared for here.

I also go to Petsmart sometimes. I think they are cheaper for quite a few things, but Petco is cheaper in some cases as well (plus I get a 20% discount so its always cheaper for me).

I don't generally go to other pet stores that are close because they sell puppies and kittens. I have been to them, but it just makes me sad. :(

[cali]

we dont have petco here but of all the petstores here petsmart is my favarite, after getting Toivo and seeing first hand what great care they take of the animals I was sold lol every single other store I have gotten a small pet from, they just droped the animal in a box and said see ya! , I mean even when I adopted my rabbit from the humane society, they asked for $10 handed her over and sent us out the door! all my other birds they trapped then in a net, shoved then in a boz, taped in shut and handed them over, when I got Toivo from petsmart yesterday, I asked to see him, so they put their hand in the cage, set "up" he hopped up and they brought him over, he sat in my finger in the store while I examined him, before they let me have him, I had to sign a contract, he was looked over by a vet, I was given a care guide.... he is well trained, healthy, very well adjusted, very friendly and relaxed and playful. I could not ask for better, and I am EXTREMLY impressed with the service and care.

[Aspen and Misty]

PETSMART

I work there and get a 15% discount :D I love the stuff, the people and the way they care for all the animals in there care. Can't ask for more in petstore if you ask me!


Ashley

[bckrazy]

Petco carries better kibbles... Wysong and Natural Balance, but I don't feed either so I don't really care about that!

Knowing people who work at both stores, in different locations, I vote Petsmart! They typically take way better care of animals (as Petco has been in lots of trouble for neglect all over the country!) and they always tend to be neater, more organized, and have lower prices. Petco only hires people 18+ years, which is assinine to me. I think people should be hired based on skill and dedication, there is NO reason they should not hire a 16 year-old. Their management and customer service is also disgusting, in all of the stores I've visited (5 Petco's). I also like that Petsmart does offer training, as subpar as it is sometimes.

[lv4dogs]

Pet-co has better items & better prices but the service at petsmart is better.
I prefer farm/feed stores better though.

[dogzr#1]

Petsmart. It is the nearest store here and their service is really good. The bettas aren't in those tiny cups. All of the animals are well taken care of. Clean cages, not cramped etc. The emplyees are also very friendly and knowledgable(sp?)

[shihtzulover850]

Petsmart is outrageously priced but we go sometimes. Both places around here do pet adoption things

[IRescue452]

I don't buy much at petsmart, definately not dog food, but I surf their extremely low priced clearence racks. Autumn got a new sweatshirt for winter and a doggie swimsuit for the bark in the park theme this year for a dollar each at petsmart. I also got some cheap stuff for my fish tanks. Petsmart is the only area store with healthy fish. I recently got a fish from my favorite small store and it had septicemia so now I only go to petsmart.
I had to call the better buisness bureau on Petco again- they have mislabeled fish being sold for a higher price and the manager wouldn't sell them to me at the proper price.
Whereas petco has 5 gallon tanks/cages holding 5-10 gerbils, mice, hampsters and whatnot-Petsmart has at least 20 gallons of space per pair of gerbils and per 5 or so mice. And then they have those huge pens for ferrets and larger rodents.