Pet Stores

[raceman6135]

There are a couple Tail Blazers locations in the SW. I believe they are all independently owned, so they don't all carry the exact same food.

http://tailblazerspets.com/tailblazers-locations.php

[BlueHaloGirl]

I use Pet Planet for my food and I feed mine Acana. They have the buy so many bags get a bag free thing. Also I like the different flavor options so I can switch it up for her.
I usually get toys from a few different places

Pet Planet
Tail Blazers (panatela)
Pisces
PetsMart
Petland

[HomespunLobster]

I feed my dog whatever I feel like buying at that moment. Doesn't have stomach issues. Usually anything with Fish in it for a good coat, as well I feed him food when I eat (I make steaks, I buy him the pack of $2 thin beef and cook them up and make him do treats for it, salmon, eggs, etc...)

[bignerd]

Soooo.... basically ignore everyone's suggestions. You may have to try several types/brands of food before you find something that works well for your dog.

I personally believe that you get out what you put in, ie if you eat crap food you are going to feel and look like crap, so for me grocery store/department store foods are out.

Talk to someone at a pet store that is knowledgeable about foods, buy the best that you can afford and go from there.

I typically shop at Fairplay pets on Memorial, it is not close to me so usually buy a few bags of food at a time and only make a few trips there a year.

[cancer man]

What kind of dog did you get? unless i missed it.

[spikerS]

When I had my 2 dogs, they got the 60lb purple kirkland bag from costco. zero issues, and they loved it.

[npham]

Originally posted by cancer man
What kind of dog did you get? unless i missed it.

We got a Standard Schnauzer(salt and pepper) male.

There's lots of advice on what to feed the dog, but we have made plans to feed a mix of the current kibble and our kibble(Orijen Puppy) and see how that works. If the dog is ok on that brand and kind, we'll move to the other products in that line. If it doesn't, rinse and repeat until we find something that works for him and us.

Thanks for all the suggestions on the stores, we have been to a few of them so far, but still need a bunch of stuff.

[schurchill39]

I go to Tailblazers for all of my food for my Shiba. Orijen in the morning then Carnivora raw duck patties at night. Thats been her diet since she was born and she refuses to eat anything else.

[whydontchathen]

Originally posted by speedog
Global - chain but most locations are owner operated franchises.

Optimal Pet Food - independent with 2 or 3 locations in Calgary.

The Barking Lot - independent in Midnapore.

Fairplay - independent in Parkdale

Chewsy Pets - independent in Avenida shopping complex.

Especially for Pets - independent in Tuxedo Park.

PAWSitively Natural - independent in Mission.

PAWS Pet Food - independent with 2 locations in Calgary.

There's obviously more independents out there but I've focused on the smaller ones and not the ones that are just like big box places.


Good Canadian made foods - include Champion (Alberta - brands are Orijen and Acana), Horizon (Saskatchewan - brands are Legacy, Pulsar, Amicus and Complete), Petcurean (British Columbia - brands are Go, Now and Summit) and Canadian Naturals (British Columbia). There are other Canadian made brands but these IMHO produce the best quality pet foods in Canada - best bang for the buck are probably Legacy, Complete and Go.

you forgot Rascals Pet Supplies

3804 Edmonton Trail NE

their website

[speedog]

Originally posted by whydontchathen


you forgot Rascals Pet Supplies

3804 Edmonton Trail NE

their website

Rascals, while being an independent, is by no means one of the smaller ones. Never the less, I know the owners and they're great but my list's focus was "smaller" independents - forgot to include Dog Gone Healthy down by Canyon Creek Toyota, a small independent with a narrow focus on grain free and raw foods.

[Squishy]

I feed my almost 11 year old bichon/shih tzu/Yorkie poodle Hills J/D. She had $3000 surgery on her leg 1 1/2 years ago to basically rebuild her knee and the ligaments because she tore them and damaged the cartilage.

Her other back knee started slipping out and once I switched her it hasn't happened again. Not sure if it's because the vet popped it back in properly or the food... or both.


It was recommended to me by multiple vets because it helps joints and such and is supposed to be really good regardless of age. My 5 year old dog, similar breed decided she didn't want blue buffalo anymore and started eating it as well so I just switched them both. I get the food from certain vet clinics like macleod tr vet clinic or big rock in okotoks. $116/bag though :/ a lot of the staff told me its what they feed their dogs.

[whydontchathen]

Originally posted by speedog

Rascals, while being an independent, is by no means one of the smaller ones. Never the less, I know the owners and they're great but my list's focus was "smaller" independents - forgot to include Dog Gone Healthy down by Canyon Creek Toyota, a small independent with a narrow focus on grain free and raw foods.

Not to be argumentative or anything, but how small is small? Doesn't a single location qualify as small?

[speedog]

Originally posted by whydontchathen


Not to be argumentative or anything, but how small is small? Doesn't a single location qualify as small?

Pisces is an independent but by no means would I call it a small location - the same goes for Rascals. Hell, you could probably fit 5 or so Globals into the space that Rascals is in.

Small to me is a small footprint location where you should be able to get slightly better informed staff helping you - that said, Rascals has good quite knowledgeable people working there but at the same time there are small independents who have uninterested people working at them as well. I would say that an independent that has involved owners or managers regularly in the shop is much better to get food and/or information from as opposed to Petland or such as those owners/managers should have a good working knowledge of the products they sell.

Problem is that you'll probably pay a bit more than shopping at the big box places but you can develop a relationship at an independent that often can't be replicated a a big box store. I guess if you know what you want, then price points may become part of the picture but one has to balance that against the time and effort one incurs to travel farther to save 3 or 4 bucks. I remember a person who came into our store who commented they could get the same large bag of food at Rascals for $5 less a bag and asked if I'd price match - I politely said no because my nearby competition is what I had to worry about. If that customer wanted to put in a 60+ kilometer round trip to save $5, then they obviously aren't looking at the big picture because their vehicle would've easily burned up that $5 in fuel alone not to mention the extra time they would've incurred to go across the city and back. I suppose if you were going to be up in that neck of the woods, then yeah. it's okay but this particular person was making that trip strictly for that bag of dog food.

So to reiterate, Rascals is an independent but by no means a small independent - their daily sales would probably equate to what 5 smaller shops might sell in a day.

[whydontchathen]

good grief, what an education! Tks S,
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k now I read your post. I agree, I greatly value the personal service that is offered by the the small independents vs the big box store. It pisses me off greatly that they're being decimated by the corporations. No more Home Hardware, no more Fields, SAAN, and many more.....

Sears is falling apart, they stopped selling the Craftsman tools ffs!



oops! thread derailment,

[speedog]

Originally posted by whydontchathen
good grief, what an education! Tks S,
.
.
.
.
.
.
k now I read your post. I agree, I greatly value the personal service that is offered by the the small independents vs the big box store. It pisses me off greatly that they're being decimated by the corporations. No more Home Hardware, no more Fields, SAAN, and many more.....

Sears is falling apart, they stopped selling the Craftsman tools ffs!



oops! thread derailment,

No Craftsmen tools at Sears? This search seems to find some - link.

[whydontchathen]

Originally posted by speedog

No Craftsmen tools at Sears? This search seems to find some - link.

hahaha, I knew I wasn't being strictly accurate when I wrote that, but it just burns me up that Sears has drastically cut back on the tool selection. Specifically hand tools, screwdriver sets, etc, they just don't have the variety that they used to.

[jhmed]

We feed raw, with supplements for extra vitamins/minerals they need based on the type of raw food they are getting.

We started it because of our old dog, who has since passed, had just a terrible coat that was greasy to the touch and very coarse, and she had BO that literally stunk up the whole room - whichever she happened to be in. Switched to raw and within a month her coat was soft and the BO was gone.

Our other dog, who is with us now, has severe allergies and raw was the only thing that could help since most store-brands (even the hypo-allergenic from the vet) contained ingredients she can't eat.

Our second - current - dog gets it because, well, if you feed it one you may as well feed to both. He loves it.

On a side note: look into pet insurance... our dog with the allergies we've had since Aug 2009 and have already received more in benefits than we've paid into for the insurance premiums - and she's not even a senior yet... It's also a great feeling to know that when she is sick we can take her to the vet and not have to be as concerned about the cost. Plus with direct billing to insurance we don't have to get reimbursed. Just a thought.

[npham]

yea, I think we will get pet insurance, even though our Standard Schnauzer is one of the healthiest breeds out there.

How much do you pay, and who do you use?