Not recommending this salon for nail trimming/grinding. Waited 12 minutes before I was even acknowledged, then the groomer (older lady) went in the back on a phone call, and when she finally came back she started chitchatting with a friend of hers in the store that had just come in. By the time she took my dog to get his nails done, it ended up being a 45 minute to do. And at the end, his nails were barely any shorter and she told me I had to come back in three weeks and that she couldn't do it any shorter. I've had my dogs nails done several times, and they've never been left this long. After all that, I still had to take my dog somewhere else to get his nails done correctly. Such a waste of a visit read more

I bring my boxer, Chowder to the doggy day camp here a few times a week. Chowder and I both LOVE it! The staff are always very friendly and welcome me and my dog by name in the morning and give me a "pawgress report" when I come to pick up. I feel comfortable leaving my dog here for the day and I know he is going to be safe. Thanks for the great service! read more

I dropped off my two dogs over the weekend at the pet hotel. They both came back with kennel cough/sickness. This is the second time this has happened. We will not be returning them here. The staff is overall nice though. read more

This post for FISH problem. Many of my friends and me chose this petsmart for fish selection and close to our home. However, we feel like betray and disappointed for this store. They sold us the fishes with disease ( white spots to be specific). The fishes death after 3 days and it is quite quick for the disease develop. Jame, the store customer service or manager. He told me he will discount 15% for the treatment medicine. I have lots of fishes and I have never get this disease before plus it take a huge amount time and labor to fix all of them. I love my fish and I don't think 15% off for the medicine it is matter to me. I have all the things at home to help them but at least say sorry, accept your fault. Never come back to this store again. it is a shame Petsmart brand read more

Staff was very friendly, I have absolutely no complaint there. However my experience with the online booking system was tremendously time consuming and frustrating. Adding your pets DOB takes forever due to the fact that it starts at today's date and does not allow you to type or select month or year. Scrolling back four years, luckily my pets are younger, was insane. I opted to just choose a recent date instead, silly me. I was then told that my pets were too young, this is when I realized that you can't edit or delete pet info, omg! Have to start all over again, and edit my pets name since I can't edit or delete existing pets. What an idiotic experience... Next on to the fact that I was told that I could not board my pets together because my dog has pitbull in his mix. I was outraged, I should have been allowed to make this decision on my own, I do not appreciate my dog being discriminated against because of your policies. The point of keeping them together is supposed to be for their comfort, as well as the owners. It's sad to me that certain breeds are excluded in this policy. To me that is unacceptable and if I didn't not have an emergency situation I would not have used your services. I was also terribly unfortunate that I had to have my dogs groomed after their stay due to the fact that both were saturated with urine. I understand that I didn't pay for grooming when I boarded my dogs but is your company really going to return both dogs drenched in urine, in good conscience? All in all it was a really disappointing experience, if not for the friendly customer service I would have rated the experience lower. read more

Visited today with alot f questions and i was so pleased with my service i had to yelp it now on the way home. Calvin was very knowledgeable and helpful! I was so relieved he was very genuine and a very nice guy. My boyfriend and i were glad he could suggest the best and new to owner practices for our new pet (family member). Thank you Calvin at Petsmart in El Cajon. You rock! read more

Reviewed the wrong location. Will be stopping in today to look at their cats for adoption and to pick up some food for my existing animals. I will follow with an updated review as soon as possible. Previous review was for the location in Flint, MI read more

DO LET HOLLY BATHE YOUR DOG!! She is absolutely terrible!! I went in the other day to get my dog a simple bath and nails trimmed and she was so rude, not only to me but to her fellow as well. The entire time she made me feel like I was a burden on her and then she ordered her other coworkers to do her job right in front of me! I don't know if she is a manager or what, but regardless this is unacceptable. The dog came out STILL WET and his nails jagged from the "trimming" she gave him. The only reason I give this 2 stars is because I have had exceptional service every other time. I'm sorry employees of the grooming salon, but this was a terrible experience. You should know better than to hire someone like this. read more

Over the past few years I have been a satisfied customer of the El Cajon Petsmart. I am always greeted with a smiling face by employees, some of which have come to recognize and spoil my little boy. Laura, one of the older cashiers is always sure to have a treat ready to go as we come to the register as well as checking me out quickly. The Petshotel has been a wonderful addition to the store, offering great care at decent prices and I know my dog gets plenty of love and attention because the second we walk in so he can go to day camp or have an overnight stay, he can't wait to say hello to everyone inside. The only complaints I have are that on occassion, my dog food is out of stock, but even this is remedied by associates offering alternatives or calling other Petsmarts to meet our needs. The other is to do with a few particular groomers. I have always been satisfied with my little guy's grooms as well as the service I recieve from many of the groomers regaurdless of whether they will be grooming him that day or not...but recently encountered a problem. The previous poster praised Ben for her dog's groom and while she may have been happy with him, I was not. I was very clear with the kind of breed cut I wanted, which is the same haircut he gets every time and it was not at all what I got. His face was uneven,the body was choppy and I noticed hair sticking out of his paws that should have been cut (after I got him home). I had watched part of the grooming process, as he was not finished when I came back to do some shopping before taking him home, and Ben seemed to be paying less attention to what he was doing and more attention to the conversation he was having with another groomer who was leaning on his table (who also looked to be rolling her eyes at me when I motioned for help at the counter when the groom was finished...I think her name was melinda?). While this was very unproffessional to me and although I was unhappy with the groom, I did not have the time or energy to make a complaint at the time and by now his hair has grown enough to cover most of the mistakes anyway. As I've never before this had a bad experience there, I won't change where I shop, but I will request that one of the girls I've become better aquinted with groom my baby in the future and recommend others to do the same. read more

We were having our flooring done and needed a place to board our two dogs for about a week. Because we found out the dogs couldn't stay at home with short notice, the only place we could find room was at Petsmart. Normally we would never keep our dogs in a low end place like this, but like I said it was our only option. We were actually very impressed with the service, but upon seeing the actual kennels we got very nervous. The kennels looked poorly ventilated, and extremely compact. Even the cages at most animal shelters were larger than the clear cages at the PetsHotel. After dropping them off we had no problem, but after picking them up we were horrified to see that both of them had awful bronchial infections (kennel cough). Most shelters screen dogs before allowing them in, but I guess not Petsmart! The staff didn't even care to tell us that they were sick, although I'm sure they knew because their coughs were very loud and unnatural. I would highly recommend going to any credible kennel instead of the PetsHotel if you have even an ounce of love for your dogs. We will never take our dogs here again, and you should NEVER allow your dogs to be in this breeding ground for disease! read more

I love Petshotel! It's the best alternative to keeping your dogs at home. For spoiled dogs, this is the best choice in boarding. They are staffed 24/7 (providing some peace of mind). Unlike most boarding kennels, your dogs will not be sleeping outside on the cold/wet concrete). Most petshotels allow you to bring your pet's beds and blankets. The only bad thing... You have to "check out" before noon or pay $18 (or some outrageous price). read more

We took our German Shepherd to the El Cajon store's Pet Hotel for 2 nights while we were out of town. When we returned to pick up our dog, she had an awful limp and could hardly put her paw down on the ground. No one could explain how this happened, only that when someone finally noticed the limp, they pulled her from Doggie Day Camp and put her back in her room. We don't know what type of accident or injury occurred, but the manager refused to have Banfield x-ray the injured leg. So we have no answers about what happened, and must take our dog to another Vet right away to be examined. What a nightmare, what a bunch of idiots. read more

Not only did the extremely nice employees sit with me for 20 minutes helping me decide on a fish tank, when I chose the sub heavy 60 gallon with base I not only got it for 100 dollars off, but they checked to see if my boyfriend and I needed help loading it into my truck. Then, 15 minutes later, came out into the parking lot to MAKE SURE we were still doing ok!!! Then, a week later, I had to return the filter I had bought at the same time as the tank due to a leak. I asked if I could keep the filters, as i had spent the last week putting the tank through its cycle building bacteria in the filters and blah blah, not only did they exchange it with a smile, but let me keep the old one AND gave me a brand new one with an apology for the trouble. The extra parts themselves made me almost happy it had a crack. Wonderful customer service that gives you extra help is a pleasant surprise that's hard to find in chain stores nowadays. read more

This review is for petsmart grooming... Alec groomed my multi-poo Buddy and did a wonderful job. My family couldn't of been happier. Alec was amazing with Buddy. Buddy was cared for from the moment we left. Alec was great. I would only use him. He is the best in town :) Buddy's coat looked wonderful. read more

The staff is really helpful and friendly and I just love the store. Much better than a Petco.

Went in to buy pet and supplies, then spotted a chameleon houses with another (which is bad in its self) and the other one was on the ground unable to climb due to the other chameleon. He somehow injured his leg (it was clearly broken bent the wrong way) we were distressed and so was he, we told 2 different store workers the chameleon had a broken leg they said they would address it. However it had been about 10 minutes since the one employee saw it, nothing had been done to help the animal. At that point our family was leaving an no one seemed to care and the employees who were made aware we're busy dealing with other customers. We were sickened by the fact this animal was in pain and suffering ms there was nothing we could do to help and the people there to help didn't. Hopefully he got help but my family and I have been traumatized at this lack of humanity. read more

We absolutely LOVE this petsmart. the employees are beyond nice and helpful. we get everything for our pets here!!!! I have shopped here for 15+ years, and loved the horse section back in the day!!!! Only the last 3 years have we started using the grooming department too, and I would never go anywhere else. Every two weeks, we get our dog groomed, and wow the two ladies we always request do a fantastic job. My dog HATES bathes and other animals, but when she is here its a lot calmer for her even on a busy Saturday. I think having groomers that are smart and loving handlers is a major benefit rather than just a person that loves dogs at other local groomers. read more

I enjoy coming to this location the most to purchase fish. In the past, I have gotten great customer service. However, the last few times I have gone in, it took FOREVER to get help in the fish section!! After waiting for a worker to come over, I realized that there was someone in line before me. In addition, the last time I went, the quality of the fish was bad. There were a lot of dead fish floating in several of their tanks. The fish that I ended up buying, a catfish for my tank holding my baby mollies, ended up dying failry quickly. So, I'm a little disappointed in this store now. We'll see how things go the next time I go in. I'm not ready to give up on them just yet :) read more

Great customer service! Calvin couldn't be friendlier. Love that they open up registers when it's busy.

It's a pet store. You can bring your pet. I've never been dazzled here, but I go to buy all the pets their food and things. Good selection of just about everything. read more

I love bringing my dog here, she loves it and the staff loves her. When she comes home she'll sleep off her pay time for two days! That makes me so happy. I usually bring my dog here when I work double shifts or If I won't be home most of the day. The staff remembers her and always comments on how she's such a good girl and how much they love her. This makes me feel like she's in great hands. They have wonderful customer service and seems to really care about their clients. This particular review is for this past week. I brought my dog Katana to doggie day camp this past Monday, January 2nd, because I was doing a double shift. I had dropped her off and had asked if she could get a bath, then one of the girls asked, who I assume was a groomer, if she could get bathed due to her longer hair. The groomer said yes, if they could bathe, I think they said Bruce, then they could wash her. When I went to go pick Katana up, the girl ringing me up was taking about how busy it's been since the holidays and when she told me it would be $20. I asked if Katana had gotten her bath as well since the price was off. She then had to ask another staff member if she got a bath, they said no she wasn't scheduled for one. The girl at the front apologized and asked if I wanted them to do it now real quick, I said no because it was late. I had told them I asked for her to be washed when I dropped her off. That is was okay, I just wanted her bathed.They then tried to figure out why no one had put it in the books. They gave me a free wash for her when she comes back and also gave me a free day at doggie day camp. I was so thrilled that they seemed truely sorry for not washing her and wanted to see that I was happy. The two girls kept apologizing and said it was their mistake. I said no thank you for the free wash and doggie day care session. When Katana finally came to the front she was happy as always, they again said sorry and that she was great, and that they had a really good day camp that day. She slept for two days as usual. I really like the fact that the staff cares and really seems to want to make you happy. I will ALWAYS bring my dog here as she loves it as well. read more

I brought my dog here for grooming and I have to say they did a fantastic job. I have taken her to several different places where her haircut had looked like they were rushing and paid no attention to detail. I am very pleased with Petsmart and will definitely be bringing her back. read more

DO NOT TAKE YOUR PETS HERE. Untrained groomers and rude staff!! My skittish rescue pitbull was terrified when the groomer went to touch her paws and let out a yelp that left the groomer looking almost as terrified as my dog. Meanwhile, the other woman behind the desk raised her voice at me to tell me to take my dog away and walk her then they would try to see her again. On return, again my dog yelped and came to sit by my side, obviously terrified, and the staff rudely tells me that she is too aggressive to be seen and they seemed annoyed that I was even there to begin with. Clearly they do not have experience working with scared dogs nor do they care enough about their customers to speak to them kindly. I will never apologize for adopting my shy timid girl nor will I ever give this petsmart or any other my money again. Here's a tip for you petsmart: Pitbulls are not evil monsters and they do not deserve to be treated as such. I cannot believe how rude and unprofessional the staff were. HORRIBLE! I would give them zero stars if I could. read more

So I recently got a puppy and he absolutely hates having his face touched or played with. I was a bit worried about getting him groomed because his face needed the most work. I took him to this location today and wish I would have gotten the girls name but she did an amazing job! I explained what I wanted and warned her about his touching his face. They took their time and he looks so adorable! I will definitely be back! A little on the pricy side but well worth it read more

The store in and of itself was fine. We took our dog to the veterinary there. I told the staff that I had to leave by 2:35 to pick up my child at school by 3pm. I was told I was the only client there so it should not be a problem. Well I didn't leave until 2:55 and I was 25 minutes late to pick up my child who was less than pleased. While my 10 year old son and I waited for the test results and the medication (which we never got. The Doctor said they would call us later with the information, still no call). The Veterinary assistants or nurses were heating up their food and one lady nurse was cussing so loud in the back that me and my 10 year old could hear everything they said. So pretty much I won't be going back there ever again! read more

I've taken my dog here twice. So far I'm very satisfied. My dog looks great and she hasn't gotten sick. I gave them 4 stars due to the delay in checking in and out. read more

I love this PetSmart! The nicest people in the world run it. The store is always clean and well stocked. The classes are well run. Yeah, this is a chain or franchise or whatever, but this is a store with a heart. They deserve your business read more

Love the pet hotel!!!! My dog "Cookie" loves going to Doggie Day Camp here. The staff is awesome and very friendly and would high recommend. Safe and secure location.....everything is indoors, no way to escape. :-) read more

Always either out of or very low on stock of my cat's food. It's a Petsmart exclusive so you can't buy it anywhere else, or else I would, and it's not available to buy on their website either :( I complained several times and now they have a little in stock here and there, but it's never stocked out. I always have to open the display boxes from the plastic myself and discard all the wrapping. It's frustrating. read more

Today my four year old daughter and I went to the El Cajon Petsmart to buy a few new fish for her aquarium. After browsing for a good 20 minutes we saw employee Alex, who told us she was helping another customer with some fish and that she'd be with us soon. After Alex finished up with the other customer, she approached us and asked how she could help. Alex was perfect. She realized that we knew very little and explained that some of the fish we were looking at would not be a good match with our current fish. She was very nice while also very confident, and she made both of us feel very comfortable. She suggested some other fish candidates and made the whole process very easy. She could have been frustrated with a couple of customers that didn't know anything about fish but she was very patient and made the experience perfect. Great work, Alex. As you venture from young adulthood into adulthood, I have no doubt that you will be an asset to those who work with you and for those for whom you work. read more

DISCLAIMER THIS IS A REVIEW FOR GROOMING: Petsmart is a wonderful place if you are your taking your baby to pet training Amanda is the best trainer EVER! (I will be writing a review on training at petmart later but that service is 5 star!) Now for why I gave them 1 star I wish there was an option for zero. I have taken my 6 month old Chi to get her nails cut about 3 times and have taken her once to get a puppy bath. Each time I have seen something I didn't like but brushed off I gave the staff the benefit of the doubt each time but this was the last straw. I for one have stated each time that my baby has anxiety she hates getting her nails cut. Because of the fact that these people are supposed to be professionals you would expect them to know how to handle dogs that sqwirm and snap. Each time I take her to get her nails cut they look exactly the same length, not only that but she is in so much distress. When I took her to get a puppy bath she smelt like she hadn't been showered her nails didn't look like they where clipped and with the puppy bath package they are supposed to clean her anal glands externally. After I take her I inspect her to see how they did I looked at her butt there were bright red pinch marks with blood where they had expressed her anal glands. That I know for a fact is not supposed to happen. The last time I took her to get her nails cut yesterday was the last time I will EVER take her there. I always watch them clip her nails through the window they have now put stickers of bubbles on the window so pet parents can't see they way they neglect the poor babies. I heard her winning, snarling and crying. HER NAILS LOOKED THE SAME!!! Not only that but a nice cashier wanted to my sweet girl and the lady from the salon yells out from across the store "BE CAREFUL SHE BITES!" SHE BIT YOU BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO GROOM ANIMALS. The apprentices I have encountered at petsmart don't know how to do their jobs. After that she went to puppy school she was so upset because of what happened at the groomers she was not herself at all she was growling and didn't want anyone to touch her. IF YOU LOVE YOUR PETS LIKE CHILDREN DON'T TAKE THEM TO PETSMART GROOMING. read more

I am totally not happy with the grooming salon....made appts on the phone last week went in today at 8 and waited 23 minutes ,,finally someone came out and looked me up and said I had no appt! I told her to cancel my 2nd appt tomorrow and left! not good customer service! moving on! The staff at the pet hospital wouldn't help me either as I was waiting! read more

Nice place. It sure is the biggest Petsmart I've seen. You can get different pets here: -Guinea Pigs -Rats -Mice -Hamsters -Snakes -Geckos -Lizards -I think spiders...not sure. -Fish Galore! -And cats While the cages for the reptiles and other mammals is keep very clean from what i've seen, the fish tanks are kinda dirty a lot. And it takes forever to get someone over there to get assistance. The store seems to always have everything in stock. I've never come here and they haven't had something i was looking for. They've got tons of different brands and different treats, toys, and accessories. They even have things like dog and cat memorabilia for dog and cat lovers. They have a training course there, but I've heard lots of bad reviews from that (Plus I do all my own training). They also have a Pet Hotel. Never been to it though. I like Camp Bow Wow better, which isn't that far of a drive from Petsmart. Plus, Camp Bow Wow has free online cameras for the dog enclosures, so you can see your dog any time, anywhere. They also segregate the dogs: Big, Medium, and Small. Rather than the big and small at the Pet Hotel. Really the only thing I love about the Pet Hotel is the big glass windows that you can watch the dogs play for hours. They have a grooming salon for dogs too. It's far less expensive than other groomers and honestly, I have seen no difference from how my dogs look when they go to the Petsmart or the other expensive groomers. They will give you a 7 to 8 week appointment after your first appt. just in case you want to make it a usual thing. When my dogs are done, they are super soft and smell great! Well, they don't exactly stay like that for long (My dogs are really active), but it's great for those first two or three days when they're really really clean. I've never really had any problems with the staff....well, except for one person who seemed "Speech Challenged". She keep telling me that someone was "taking a test" when I was at the groomers. I'm still not sure why I needed to know that so long as my dog was getting groomed. read more

Very nice people throughout the store, especially the manager. I was there with a table on Nov 7th collecting signatures for ferret legalization. Although not an invited guest, and trying not to be a pest - my thanks and appreciation to the employees - and a lot of the customers in helping me collect signatures to legalize ferrets. read more

Above and beyond, at least with this transaction. Went online and ordered two bags of dental bones for my little dogs. By doing so, it was a $10 a bag savings if I wanted to do store pickup. I had shopping to do in the area, so for me it was no problem. I got my conformation email. Next came another email saying my order was ready for pickup and THEN an email saying they had to change my order because they only had one bag. I was frustrated, as you can imagine, but I went to get the dental bones for my little guys anyway. Once there, I expressed my disappointment with the events of the emails and guess what? The lady took me to the shelves to double check if any came in throughout the night, but no more were available. So, she said "let's see what we can do". There were smaller bags available and she pulled them off the shelf and got close to the 97 pieces in the larger bag and rang them up to match what I paid for the larger bag online. That was outstanding!!!! I've learned it's a much better deal online than going in the store, and for me, smaller orders are easier to pick up since I go to grocery stores in the area and I just make a circle to hit all the stores I need to go to. For me, it saves time and gas by going one day a week and making the rounds. Well, I'm retired so I have the time to do that. But, I must say that customer service, especially today, was above and beyond. It's really cool if you get there when they let the dogs they are babysitting out to play. It really brings a smile to my face. read more

This is a review on the obedience classes that are offered at this location. My wife and I enrolled our puppy into the beginner obedience 8 week course.. When we first arrived for our class, we introduced ourselves to the instructor. Our puppy barked at her once and she winced as though she was being tortured. She seemed very, very annoyed that our puppy barked. I couldn't help but wonder how she could have such a low tolerance to a dog's barking in her profession. Immediately after our puppy barked, within the first minute of knowing us, the instructor pulls out a spray bottle and starts spraying our dog with water. "Not here!" she yelled at our puppy. Even though I felt a bit of anger, I did not say anything. It was our first time taking a dog to an obediance class. I calmed myself down assuming that this must be a normal tactic used by instructors. The next day, we shared our experience with some other dog owners. Their reaction towards the spraying of our dog was repulsive. They told us that we need to change instructors immediately. They told me that the instructor should be using positive reinforcement when training a dog. I went back to the store and asked for a refund for the remaining balance of the course. The manager was very nice and did an immediate refund. After meeting the instructor from the Santee store, we decided to enroll our puppy in their classes. The instructor at the Santee store comes highly recommended and only uses positive reinforcement. In other words, My puppy doesn't have to wear a bathing suit to class because there will be no spray bottles used! read more

My little Pomeranian loves coming here and is always greeted by the friendly, obviously animal obsessed staff lol. The store is very well kept and never under staffed. My favorite part about this particular petsmart though, would have to be the grooming department. Ask for Leslie. They're very professional, fairly priced and I've never been disappointed with the results. Highly recommend! read more

Thank you for taking such care of our dog. He is old and just wants a little love. We really like the report cards. read more

This is a review for the pet hotel and the only reason they are getting one star is because zero wasn't an option. I took my puppy in on Tuesday and he was planning on being there for 6 days, I was going out of state. I was already nervous about leaving him for so long since it's the first time we spend more than one night apart. Not even 48 hours in I get a call that my puppy has been attacked by another dog at their doggie daycare and has been sent to the vet. They didn't give me anymore information on how he was or how the incident went down so of course I imagined that he was pretty damn bad. I call them back and spoke to the manager of the pet hotel and she made everything worse. Her attitude was unbelievable, she was so rude and not helpful at all, she still couldn't fill me in or what was happening so I asked for photos of my puppy so I can see the damage and she said she will send them as soon as he is out of the vet. Hours passed and I haven't seen or heard anything so I call back only for her to tell me she can't send photos because corporate doesn't allow camera phones. Unfortunately I had to get a little real with her and said I wouldn't stop calling till I saw how he was doing and how he looked and I finally got a text with the photos showing that thankfully it wasn't as horrible as I imagined in my head. From that point I kept calling everyday to see how he was and to make sure they are really caring for him. What made the situation worse is I never even got a single apology for anything that happened, the manager just kept saying that unfortunately "these things just happen because they're dogs" Well it only got worse when I had to go pick him up only to deal with the manager again. I forget her name but she is the girl in the front who looks like she used way too much peroxide on her hair, good thick layer of make up and annoyingly long nails which she liked to click together or tap on the desk while your talking to her. The whole time I was trying to explain to her why I was so upset about this whole experience and she looked like she was bored and just kept giving me a condescending smile and tapping those effing nails on the counter. I felt like I was going to reach over and break her fingers so I asked to speak to another manager. That was also a mistake if possible she was just as incompetent of doing anything. Lastly to add fuel to the flame I was charged 230 for forcing my dog to stay in hell for 6 days. Please if you love your pets don't torture them and force them to stay there. read more

Bad experience w/grooming. I called for a dog toenail appt and was told come in any time w/o one. When I got there w/the dog, I couldn't get waited on. They ignored me like I was invisible and took everyone who came up after me. read more