Petco

I love this Petco! The store personnel is so helpful and kind. I buy all my pet stuff here but today was special. Luna, my rescue kitty with an attitude, was brought here to be groomed by Sunshine. She was amazing and the lion cut is the cutest shave down Luna has ever received. We’ve been to more expensive vet grooming facilities in the city but this blew them all away from check in to pick up. Sunshine listened to my stories about how quickly Luna’s irritation escalates and she was able to accomplish exactly what was needed. Thank you very much for taking sweet care of Luna today!

I visit this particular location because it’s the only convenient pet store in the area. Firstly, I will say the store staff I encounter is generally fairly friendly. I cannot however speak to the grooming or training staff; I’ve not worked with either.
Now, the rest of my review:
— The store smells bad. It’s generally an odor mix of pee, poo, wet dog and fish tank.
— Speaking of pee, it’s often easy to find some in the aisles.
— Unfortunately, as if pee in the aisles wasn’t bad enough, the place is also generally dirty. It needs an overall good spring (or winter, or summer, or whatever season!) cleaning.
— They need more cat food options, especially canned food. (It’s supposed to be a PET store, not a DOG store.)
— There are very few pet food options made in the USA. With all that we’ve learned about pet food recalls, why not give customers equal options from within our borders?
In all honesty, I will probably visit again in the future anytime I forget to order pet food in advance online. However, I do not go inside by choice, only out of fear of what the pets would do to me if they didn’t get dinner.
(Nonetheless, I don’t dare exit the store without applying hand sanitizer. If I had booties for my shoes, I would wear those too.)

I have two separate reviews, one for grooming and the other for the store, so the middle point would be 3 stars.
Petco Store (2 STARS)
The store is awful. It looks fine and dandy from the outside, but once you walk in, you smell horrendous basement musk and dirty animal hits you right in the face. It’s basement level, so once you walk in, you have to walk down steps, so if you have a hyper or overactive dog, be cautious on the stairs!
The store is fairly big, but I could only stand being there for so long because of the smell. I just had to literally run to get the food, run to the register then run right out. Disgusting.
Grooming (4 STARS)
I made an appointment earlier in the week for a later appointment for my oversized Yorkie. The man I spoke with to schedule the appointment, was super nice and accommodating. He had mentioned he did not actually work in grooming, but was going to assist them because they were busy. — Good customer service!
Our appointment was for the evening, we walked in and met with Danielle. She was super pleasant and so sweet. We told her everything we wanted done, she gently brought our pup in the back and let us know what time to pick up. She called us when she was ready, which was dead on the time she said our pup would be ready. When we picked her up, we were amazed with how cute she looked! We have always had bad experiences with grooming at these big pet stores, but we had a coupon for grooming and she needed it badly! The only thing is the grooming prices here are so much more than other areas, I assume it’s because it is in Cleveland Park? As much as we loved Danielle and her work, I’m not sure if we will be coming back. The cost of the grooming (over $ 70), then tip, then parking. Parking is apparently free under an hour, but the grooming took more than an hour. The total time was between 2 – 5 hours, and we had to pay $ 11. Also, the store doesn’t do cash back, we felt so bad, we had to leave, find an ATM and then come back to tip her, and they were already closed. So we didn’t get to tip Danielle, even though she deserved it. We will definitely be back one more time for grooming as long as we get Danielle so we can at least make up the tip we owe her, and then after that — we’ll go elsewhere for grooming. Petco is too outrageous.
But if you want to go — get Danielle!!!
The pro’s for this store — it is right off the Cleveland Park metro stop. Which is great if you just need to pick up something from the store, unless you need bulky heavy food. Probably not ideal, but great for otherwise.

If you are looking for dog training classes, I would definitely recommend the classes at PetCo lead by Victoria. The classes not only addressed the basics of dog behavior and how to address them, but Victoria was also able to tailor the classes to individual needs as well even with two other dogs in the class. We learned a lot and were able to use techniques we learned in class the same day and saw improvement almost immediately. Of course everything takes practice/​repetition and we were given a solid foundation :) Our Chihuahua Hugo loved the classes and we became better owners and had fun in the classes as well! Thanks Victoria for everything!

This place needs updating and/​or completely new staff. I want to like this Petco location, but shopping here is not a quick get-​in, get-​out process. Want to run in and get 1 – 2 items and check out quick? That is nearly impossible.
Whether you are trying to come in and pick up a heavy bit of kitty litter or dog food and catch a MetroBus, or paid for parking, or even metro, it is nearly impossible to get out of this store quickly. From what I can tell, there is only one counter to pay for items, yet this store is huge and one of very few options for people in this city.
Really, this Petco location needs to find a way for customers to purchase the items that are available in this store in an easy manner. I would love to be able to run into this store and quickly purchase an item, but that is not possible. There needs to be automatic checkout and more than one machine to check out at.

Petco is dog-​friendly, so I love walking my dog around the Cleveland Park neighborhood and stopping in for treats or a new toy.
I usually go straight for their bargain bins of mark down stuffed animals and bones. They markdown products constantly to make room in the store for their new stuff. I think this particular location doesn’t have the best business (more people in DC need to adopt dogs!) so they have to force product out.
I always have fun here, the staff truly love animals and always want to play with my dog, Odin and give him a dog biscuit when I check out.

Nice location, lots of parking. The staff is nice and helpful! Wide variety.

Ugh, Petco; considering how grubby this store actually is, I can’t for the life of me figure out why the employees are so snobby and act like they’re doing you a favor by waiting on you? I only stop in when I’m in the neighborhood (which isn’t that often), and can count on less than one hand the number of times over the years that I’ve been treated with even minimal courtesy.

I am writing a review for the Aquatics Manager — Jon.
As someone that is well versed in wildlife and that is picky about service and competence, Jon ranks as one of the smartest employees of a pet store I have ever encountered. After going from serving United States Senator’s in Congress to now managing this department at PETCO, Jon is a rare gem in a difficult industry (learned this from Jon after spending a lot of my free time being educated by him on advanced aquatics).
Jon took over the aquatics department and shaped it into his own utopia of how a aquatics department should run! When Jon is on duty, all the tanks are clean and functioning perfectly. He makes you want to buy items at PETCO! That said, I have spent over $ 2,000 at his store BECAUSE OF HIM!
Jon is incredibly nice, professional in every regard and has an encyclopedia brain for «all things aquatics». He cares deeply about his profession, his colleagues around him and beams great energy every time I see him at the store. He is the epitome of how pet store professionals should carry themselves — and I don’t make this statement lightly.
While the online shopping world is cheaper, you owe it to yourself and to your future pet, a visit with Jon at the Cleveland Park for guidance.
I hope PETCO leadership reads PETCO because Jon is a diamond in the ruff when it comes to expertise at a major chain.

Ewww. This location of Petco is totally smelly, depressing, and weird. It’s in a basement. I walked past at least three employees who weren’t doing anything and nobody asked if I needed help. I was looking for a specific product for about ten minutes, and I had to hunt someone down to help me. Plus, you have to pay for parking here. I will not return.

If I could give less than one star I would! Danielle BUTCHERED my dogs cut! It looked like she had groomed him with hedge clippers. There were deep swaths of uneven fur and entire areas that were just overlooked. It was awful and I really didn’t notice until I got him out to the parking lot. I took him right back in and the manager was horrified, she immediately refunded the ENTIRE charge and they loaded me up with a bunch of freebies. Did I mention that Danileele was also 30 minutes late to the appointment? Awful awful awful. I was embarrassed to tak my dog out in public until I was able to get him fixed by a professional groomed.

This store has a great location, and if you are after pet supplies for something other than a dog or cat, I’m sure it’s very useful. The employees are nice. The selection is good.
But it must be said: the prices here are insane for dog/​cat supplies (can’t speak to others). The wet food I feed my cat is almost twice as expensive here as I can get it for on Amazon (I’m talking almost $ 20 per case!). Everything else is similarly marked up far beyond prices I’ve seen anywhere else (including mom n’ pop stores in NYC). I am willing to pay a little more to support a local business, but this is way too much, and being a big chain should result in better pricing.

I mean, who sells aquarium/​tanks (for fish, turtle, etc.) without a top? And the top is 20 bucks extra! Talk about rip off! I think service is okay overall (it can be good or bad depending on who you get = okay overall). I was also not given a box for my huge 20 gallon tank. I guess the guy checked and there were none… but why would the store not have some on hand? Imagine hauling that around the metro and then onto a bus. I was shocked they do not carry these in boxes with foam protectors. I also wish they had maybe recommended I get a top, on the spot. They (should) know more about pets and when I called back to inquire about the top, the lady was like «Yah, 100% you need a top for your tank if a turtle is going in it. It can wait a few days, but get one!!» Why did they not tell me this in the store? be more straightforward, you guys are the pet experts, not me. Thankfully I already had a water filter, rock for him to bask after eating and tons of food already.

Danielle the groomer is the best!

We decided to get the full lion’s cut for my cat… I scheduled an appointment for 9am and had plans to meet friends at 11am. One would think this would be plenty of time, as I have heard it only takes 15 – 20 minutes to actually do the lion’s cut.
It took over two hours. Apparently, the time they tell you when you schedule the appointment isn’t the actual time when the appointment actually occurs. I drop my cat off at 9am and then go and sit in my car with a book to wait for them to finish. I see the groomer arrive at 9:30, casually smoke a cigarette in the parking lot and cha with friends. 10am rolls around and I wander back in to inquire about the hold-​up. In then end, they finish at 10:45 and I am 30 minutes late to meet up with friends in Takoma Park. Ugh.
In the future, they should tell customers an actual expected time frame for such services, especially when they charge $ 100+ for this type of cut.

This review is for groomers Danielle & Britney, who got Tiger & I out of a jam in excellent fashion, stress-​free, on one of the hottest mornings of the year. Our ride to our usual groomer in Dupont didn’t show up, and boy did His Highness need a bath & brush! He’d gotten home from his camping out in the country kinda smelly and shedding like crazy. The latter made much more intense due to temps in the 90s and some extra stress.
I walked him up to Petco, a few minutes from home, where we go for food and toys and to see our friend Jill from time to time at the register. Anyway, I had read good things about Danielle and said to myself let’s just go and see if she can take us w/​out an appointment. Well, she did and she did graciously. In under two hours he was bathed and brushed and looked happy and fluffy when I picked him up.
Think you need to go to a boutique groomer to get a 5 star bath & brush-​out?! Think again, all you need to do is take a five minute walk up the street to Petco to see Danielle & Britney. Thank you ladies, for excellent service. And making our lives so much easier :)

The holistic food I feed Monty (my cat) is made by a company that, unfortunately, went out of business at the end of 2012. So, I came into this Petco location looking for cat food and asked to speak to someone who was knowledgeable on the subject. I was told that the person most capable of answering my questions was in dispose, but he would be available momentarily.
I waited around by the register chatting with the cashiers (there was nobody waiting to check out at the time). I began talking about some of the foods I had fed Monty previously, all of which are very high quality foods, and one of the cashiers began telling me that Friskies and Meow Mix were great options to consider o_​O. I was in too polite a mood to correct him, but I would sooner set Monty free and tell him to «vaya con Dios» than force him to eat that kind of crap.
I have pretty good experience in buying premium cat foods and know the basics of what to look for, but I’m no expert. After giving up hope that any such knowledgeable person would arrive to help me before the month of April, I went over and chose a food on my own, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, which is grain-​free, which I wanted, but is, as I found out over the phone with Blue Buffalo, happens to be formulated for very active cats (Monty is an indoor couch potato). What I should have purchased, and would have had someone knowledgeable been available to guide me, was Blue Buffalo Freedom (or any similar product), which is also grain-​free but made for indoor couch potato cats.
So, kudos to me for being a good cat mom and following up on that… Monty could have potentially weighed 30 pounds by this time next year if I hadn’t. And a big thumbs down to Petco for not encouraging its employees to know about their products. I mean, even from a business perspective, and I’m clearly speaking as a crazy cat lady, but if you are knowledgeable on your products and can convince me that your wares will make my beloved little couch potato Monty live eternally and in good health, I’ll buy them. But telling me to feed him Meow Mix is a huge red flag to not listen to anything further that you have to say on the subject!
I docked two stars for badly trained employees. It’s saving grace is that they do have a very large selection to choose from, so once you’ve done your research, you should definitely be able to find the food or any other item you’re looking for here.

I spent some time here last Friday night as I waited for my boyfriend. There’s a good selection of fish and gerbils, mice, rats, and hamsters. There’s also a good selection of pet supplies.
Not much to say except the location is downstairs if you come in from the Metro side, and there were maybe three people working.

STAY AWAY. Go support your local mom-​and-​pop pet store even if prices are a few cents higher. Order online, even the Petco website is better than wasting your time by coming into this store.
It was my last and final trip to this store when I arrived and they were out of my brand of cat food. Spoke to a manager who said, «They sell in spurts. There are months when they hardly sell and there are months when they fly off the shelves. Unfortunately, this is one of those months.» Well, duh! It’s December; people are planning on stocking up for the holidays so they don’t have to make trips to Petco. This is just poor inventory management.
NEVER AGAIN.

For a city instance of a big chain pet store, this Petco really wasn’t half bad. Prices seemed in line with their locations just a few miles away in the suburbs and they had a good selection of the items I looked at. Picked up a couple bags of kitty kibble and yet another toy for the world’s most spoiled cat.
I’m all for supporting mom and pop shops but I also know that sticker shock that can come with independently owned pet stores when you’re trying to feed your faithful «furkid». That larger chains like Petco make an effort to come into the city is a good thing when it provides for more competitive pricing. Staff seemed very pet and people friendly leaving me with the impression that this Petco serves its local community well.