I noticed that Petsmart offer vet services; is it better to than the regular vet hospital?

Question

I just got a new puppy & went to Petsmart the other day; noticed that they have vet services on-site. Is it better or just for the conveience so it's sort of like one stop shopping? Get your pet to the vet while you shop? Are they any good?

Answer 1

I don't think so. There seems to me to be a conflict of interest there. Don't you think? PetSmart wants to sell their products. The vet is going to promote PetSmart's products, even if it isn't necessarily what is the best, even if they wouldn't give it to their dogs in a million years. I've seen this happen before. My aunt took her dog to a PetSmart vet and the guy told her to feed her dog some horrible food that PetSmart wanted to sell. It's funny, because I worked for a competing pet store at the time, and the exact same vet came to our store to buy a food that PetSmart didn't sell (and is top of the line high quality) for his own dogs. You see the conflict of interest? I wouldn't trust PetSmart's vets. At all.

Answer 2

Because they are specialists. And because there is the added convenience that they are open 24/7. It's just like with people doctors and specialists. Specialists always cost more money and you always pay for convenience (night time clinics for kids are much more expensive than primary care doctors). It's the same with animals unfortunately. They know they have you in a vulnerable position, so they can charge pretty much what they want. Although, the specialists at the hospital would probably be much more knowledgeable and experienced in an emergency situation than a regular vet. So you're also paying for their experience and high quality care (they have a host of equipment and technology at their hands that your vet wouldn't have). The 24/7 animal hospitals are a godsend in an emergency situation where the animal's life is in danger or it is severely injured. The fees are worth it then I think. But for ordinary illness, the regular vet is best.

Answer 3

They have a vet at my local Petsmart. I enrolled my dog about two years ago thinking that it was going to be better than independent vets. The chain is called Banfield and it's all over the US. My dog went a couple of times but I didn't like it. The service was bad and the vets did not explain themselves very well. Also, in order to see the vet you need to buy a plan for a whole year. They have different prices. I only went to the vet a couple of times but I ended up paying monthly payments for the plan for a whole year, and that plas plus what they charged me for the consultation and medicine. It seemed that all they cared about was the money. I'm glad I'm done with the payments and I don't have to take her anymore. Also, they don't have boarding for dogs. I don't recommend it at all, Now my dog goes to an independent vet which is much better than Banfield.

Answer 4

I have used Banfield (which is the vet inside of Petsmarts in CA), and they have some advantages (and some disadvantages).

Advantages: Open more hours, shot clinics where you don't pay for the office visit--just the shots, no appointment needed.

Disadvantages: You see a different doctor every time, seems like many of their vets are new to the field (without enough experience to have a private practice yet), and more expensive.

We don't use them anymore only because I want to see the same doctor who knows my dog's health history. But in a pinch they make a great place for weekend visits that can't wait until Monday and I still go to their shot clinics.

Answer 5

Overall, I wouldn't recommend Banfield Vet Clinics to anyone. Though there are some good Vets, the place is run like an HMO in many places, but worse.
My dogs got on the plan and I felt weird because they were giving them all these shots including many they didn't really need and I was starting to say I only want certain ones and they said it was all covered. They already had the shots ready and so I didn't say anything. But my dogs were a pin cushion they had so many of them. They did eye tests I wouldn't have opted for and basic blood work which I never heard the results of (like they told me I would). The first time my dog needed to see a Vet she had an ear infection that was really bothering her. Her ear was somewhat read, had a smell. She was taken in to see the Vet early one day and no Vet showed. So she came home. The next day was a holiday so I had to wait until the day after that. By that time her ear was very red and she was very bothered by it and we got her in around 9 am. Since she had this infection and no Vet was there, we were hoping they would see her pretty soon, but after an hr. they said it would be HOURS before they would get to her. Some walk in person from the street brought a stray in that had mange and I guess they thought this is a cash payer, so they examined that dog and that person decided to go elsewhere because the prices there were too expensive and it wasn't HER dog..she said. So they didn't get any big bucks out of her and my dog sat in the back in pain still waiting. By nearly 3p we called to see if she was ready. (we were across the street at a Starbucks) and she wasn't. In fact, they said they would see the Wellness pts. before her! That it could still be hours. We wanted to be in when the Vet saw her, but that too would not be possible. At this point we decided to get our dog. We went to the clinic and asked if she had seen the Vet yet? NO. OKAY, give her to us we are taking her to another Vet. They got her after 10 minutes of paperwork and talking to someone else. We paid over 60 dollars (vet visit and medicine) out of pocket to get her seen by a private Vet.
The Vet and some staff were very rude to us at Banfield. Then we called corporate to make a complaint and they said we could transfer clinics. The local banfield said we could do it without paying extra but when we tried to, although nearly a hundred dollars was taken out in ins. payment a few days before, they demanded another payment immediately for TRANSFERRING. It has been a nightmare. I wouldn't recommend it to ANYONE.
Oh and to get out of the contract, nearly a thousand dollars would be due immediately for the bloated and overpriced services, incl. the ones we didn't want, that they performed when the dogs entered the banfield program.
Corporate was rude too. They just don't care.
I like PetSmart for pet needs, and Banfield is an independent corporation from PetSmart though they are in-store. So I am not against PetSmart, but can't stand Banfield.

Answer 6

PetSmart may be a national chain, but they are only as good as the people they hire. Ask around for references.

On a personal note, I have used their grooming services and found them to be acceptable...especially their express service. Where I live that means an extra $20.00 and they will be through in two hours so you can drop your puppy off, go shopping/run errands and your done for the day!

Answer 7

Each Banfield in a PetSmart has a different veterinarian so how good it is will depend on the vet that works there. It's certainly worth checking out that vet if you don't have one yet.

Answer 8

We take both our dogs to Banfield and they have been great. It really depends on the actual vet, not necessarily the practice. We have one vet that we adore, but we arn't crazy about the others one. So we just schedual appts when she's there, she has been wonderful with our animals, even our very shy pit/lab mix loves her.

Another plus is their wellness plan, I paid about $300 for a year for our new puppy, and it inclucds every office visit (usuall $35) all shots, spaying, etc. Plus 10% off perscriptions. I think many other vets are MORE expensive since every other vet i've gone to does not offer a plan such as this.

I highly recommend them, but ask to try a different vet each time at first and find one that you like.

Answer 9

Banfield is just like any other vet clinic. They just decide to be associated with PetSmart. Doesn't make them any better, or any worse.

I've heard things both positive and negative about them (but then again, I've heard both positive and negative about every place).

Negative is usually due to pricing (but depending on the service, things can get rather pricey).

I know someone who takes both of their dogs to Banfield, and the dogs are perfectly healthy. One of their dogs had 2 problems, and they were fixed up nice and quickly.

Answer 10

i use petsmart vet for all my dogs. they are very reasonably priced as they dont charge for the office visit just the shots, labs, etc. just make sure to keep your records that they give you, as they mail theres away to be stored in a diffrent location and it does take a few weeks to get a copy if you loose yours. my petsmart vet is great