We aim to lead the industry in providing the highest-quality care to pets – before they reach our stores, while they’re in our care, and after they settle happily into their forever homes. All of our pet care health and safety practices, policies and procedures are evidence-based, and developed with the clinical expertise of our veterinary team. Learn more about our Animal Welfare Policy.
PetSmart trains more pet specialists, with more extensive training, than any other pet retailer in North America. All PetSmart associates who work with pets must complete our Pet Care Certification program before beginning to care for and interact with pets, in addition to specialized training for our grooming salons, pet training and hotels. Every PetSmart associate, regardless of their daily responsibilities, is trained in how to identify the critical signs of stress in animals. We maintain rigorous pet care protocols, care guides, and habitat and cleaning standards that our associates work every day to uphold.
HOURS OF TRAINING PROVIDED TO ASSOCIATES IN PET CARE POSITIONS: 1.5M+
After completing initial training as bathers and gaining knowledge of various dog breeds and styling, more than 3,100 associates advance to our Grooming Academy each year. This program offers up to 800 hours of training focused on pet safety, breed characteristics, and grooming techniques. Before our groomers work independently, they must bathe and groom at least 325 dogs and pass technical evaluations.
Our Vet Assured™ program promotes responsible sourcing, sets standards for care and transportation practices and policies for our suppliers, and requires screening tests for certain pets for certain suppliers’ pets before they are offered for sale.
Healthy and happy pets need complete nutrition and wellness solutions. Knowing that research in this area is critical, we established the HPAC to keep PetSmart at the forefront. Our experts provide education and guidance that advance pet nutrition and wellbeing in the proprietary brand products we offer.
