I know, I know: we are first and foremost supposed to support our local pet supply store. Believe me, if I had one in my town, I would not be writing these words. The closest independent pet supply store is 30 miles from me, and believe me, when I go to that town for any reason at all, I also go to that store and buy stuff. (Shout-out to my friends at Trailblazer Pet Supply!)
In my town, we have a chain pet supply store, and I was super glad when they opened a store here a few years ago; it meant that there were at least a few foods I could pick up there, and at least a few toys, leashes, and other items that meet my standards for safety and quality.
When I want really cool, top-quality stuff made by U.S. manufacturers, I go to the independent stores. And I mean, any independent pet supply store I see open in any town in any state I travel to. My family members all groan when they see me spot a “pet supply” sign when we are on vacation, because they know we are going to pull over and they are going to have to amuse themselves for at least a half-hour while I walk the aisles and chat with the employees. (Independent store owners all stock different, unique stuff that grabbed them at one or two of the huge annual pet supply trade shows, and I think of them as curators; almost every independent store offers something that I’ve never seen before.)
But, guys, when I open the dog food container and all of a sudden it’s incredibly low, or I’m feeding a starving mama and her nine growing puppies and going through food at an unpredictably fast rate and I’ve been crazy-busy putting the magazine to bed and haven’t so much as taken a shower for a couple of days, being able to punch up my favorite online store and order food and have it on my porch in two days – you guys, that’s a blessing.
Mama is not keeping up with the demand, and I just ordered five pounds of milk-replacing formula to get us through the next couple of weeks. And the dry puppy food I like to soften in formula and feed to the growing pups is not one I can get in my very close chain store, OR my favorite independent store 30 miles away. Yes, I could have them order it, and wait a week, and drive a half-hour over there and a half-hour back… but no, placing an online order is just too easy. And when you are feeding four big dogs – Otto, Woody, my tenant’s dog (I don’t know exactly how this happened, but here we are…) and the foster mom – food goes much faster than my fractured attention span can keep up.
What about you guys? Are you using online dog food delivery? Or are you strongly against it?
I order my food on line. It is organic kibble recommended by my breeder. The breeder guarantees the health of my puppy as long as she remains on this food, which can only be purchased directly from the manufacturer. I supplement with organic fresh blueberries, vegies, grass fed beef, chicken, etc. I probably spend as much on my dog’s food as I do on our food. This being said, I still support our local pet supply stores whenever possible.
What is the name of the kibble? I am looking for some good quality kibble for my Japanese chin.
I always like to read these opinion letters. They show how different situations call for solutions that some people may like for good reasons and others are against , equally for good reasons. In the end you have to do what works best for you.
Oooops, sorry -NomNom.comm should be NomNom.com in the blog above.
I tried to go to this site but it didn’t work. It’s NomNom.com?
The last 3 weeks I’ve started ordering my three dogs’ food on line from Nom Nom. I did so because my two 8 pound poodles have been fed homemade food successfully from recipes I purchased from Dr. Schmalberg the nutritionist at the Gainesville Vet School in Florida several years ago. Recently I took my friend’s standard poodle (58 lb.) in to live with us so I decided to purchase a freshly made menu that comes through Fedex on dry ice for all of my dogs. It has worked out great so far. Now they have four varieties to eat – beef, chicken, pork and turkey – and they love it. It smells so good, you want to try it! (but I didn’t.). I chose Nom Nom because the nutritionist is Dr. Schmalberg and you can choose which food variety or varieties you wish to try. I am hearing that feeding a variety of foods may help to prevent food allergies. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised in 4 – 5 years if none of my poodles have food allergies. In the past I’ve had so many problems in purchasing dog food. Either the dogs didn’t like it, the food didn’t agree with them, the pet shop stopped supplying it or the mfg company changed how the food was being made, etc. Nom Nom.comm allows you many choices including speaking to a live, knowlegable person!
I too buy from Chewy. After working a long day and being on my feet, I would stop at a local pet store and was often told my brand was “coming in Thursday,etc. so stop back”. When I found Chewy and another then local on line supplier, it was so much easier. As a busy working woman it was such a convenience, it made my life just a little easier. I still go to the local store on occasion to buy my outdoor birdseed.
As far as the veterinarian comments, both veterinarians at the practice I used for 35 years retired. The practice was sold to a corporation and the vets were pushing products and services I didn’t want or need. The personaI, caring touch was replaced by corporate profit. Unfortunately the average pet owner doesn’t know it’s now corporate owned and they are being pushed to spend more. I switched to an independent practice. That being said, I see this in human medicine too. The young vets coming out of school are saddled with debt, they don’t want to take on more debt by purchasing a practice. They also want the mobility to not be tied to 1 area of the state or country. Working for a corporation, from their point of view, frees them from the debt, from the burden of running the practice- hiring office staff, payroll, compliance’s with regulations,e.g. X-ray safety regulations, etc. etc. I don’t like all of what I see but I don’t have the answer either
I don’t know what the answer is.
We need diverse outlets for our dog needs as most tend to be out of stock at one time or another, even Chewy. I do not like their huge support of HSUS so have been looking elsewhere for dog needs outside of food. I do not buy dog food on line but local. However, there are many unique grooming supplies I would be hard pressed to find locally. When Chewy and others were forced to charge tax there really was no more reason for us to order food on line as I can get it for the same price locally or at my vet if it is RX food. Those who order everything on line, please don’t feel the need to apologize and explain. It’s your money and there is only so much to go around so use it wisely! Just placed an on line order today, no food, no tax, no Chewy but much needed supplements and coat care supplies.
I order online because I am handicapped.Otherwise it is very difficult for me to get food, toys, and other needed things for my wonderful dog.
I love Chewy and have been using them for several years for getting my dog food and other needed items for my dogs. They are less expensive, their delivery has been very prompt (until interrupted by COVID-19, which is undersatndable), and they have been more than helpful when needed. And they are certainly more well stacked than the pet stores, which saves me time effort and money because I don’t need to visit or contact each pet store in the area.
I am unhappy with Chewy supporting HSUS. That said, I order a grain inclusive kibble from them that is not readily available locally. In fact, my local small chain seems to only carry the DCM suspect types of kibble. I have cooked for my dogs in the past and will continue to feed some home cooked meals. I could buy via Amazon, but at least Chewy specializes in pets and I’ve been told, easy returns if needed. I feel like we are already overly dependent on big online retail and it’s only getting worse. COVID has changed everything for those of us at risk.
I love having Ollie deliver my dog’s fresh, frozen dog food. My dog is 13 and has lots of energy, beautiful coat, and actually dances for her dinner