# Pets at home



## meandmrblue (17 December 2012)

Pets at home have taken over rideaway


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## sychnant (17 December 2012)

Where did you find that out? Rideaway is my fav online tackshop, Pets at Home are bloomin useless! 14 days for delivery and didn't find out that one item was out of stock until I rang up


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## meandmrblue (17 December 2012)

Read it on Internet they have definetley took him over and may open more equestrian outlets


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## rascal (20 December 2012)

Does that mean we are going to be buying tack with ringworm? Goody my daughter can catch it again, as she did from one of the small animals we bought her.


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## circuit dancer (20 December 2012)

^^^ happend to my friends.   Got her daughter 2 ginipigs n had ringworm


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## webble (21 December 2012)

Hate P@H they make the work of animal rescues twice as hard with their ignorance and stupidity


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## Love_my_Lurcher (22 December 2012)

webble said:



			Hate P@H they make the work of animal rescues twice as hard with their ignorance and stupidity
		
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Why do you say that? My local Pets at Home does a brilliant job raising awareness for pet adoption. They regularly have a greyhound charity in store with merchandise, information about dogs needing a new home, etc, and some of the dogs themselves. They also collect food for the charity. Not to mention the fact they have lots of signs near the entrance with dogs (especially Staffies) and cats that are up for adoption. Plus, they have their own charity that raises money to help animals find homes. They must be making many thousands with all the merchandise they are selling.

Just tell me how those are bad things and how it is having a detrimental impact on rescues?   

I also couldn't fault their veterinary services whatsoever when Brochan split his stopper pad open. He received excellent care.


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## DreamingIsBelieving (22 December 2012)

With regards to how P@H looks after their animals I think it largely depends on the individual store. Our local store looks after their furries better than any of the independant petshops do, but 80% of the time their fish have diseases (I've even seen dead fish in there on occation).

When I've ordered from P@H I've never had any problems, in fact I've had countless freebies when I've spent a certain amout of cash. I've been pleased with them.


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## Honeylight (23 December 2012)

Our local store has an RSPCA centre inside & lots of rescue animals on offer, rabbits etc, lots of links with local animal welfare charities.
We have also had first rate care from the vet practice with immediate referral to a big hospital when they found out my cat had a heart condition. They are also the only vets I have come across to have a Sunday clinic, which is a huge help when you are working.
They did have a bad reputation for a while, think they have been working hard to put it behind them.


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## BlizzardBudd (24 December 2012)

It's written here: http://www.petsathome.com/wcsstore/...estian multi channel specialist Ride-Away.pdf

It's a shame that the family have decided to sell it. I think that was a good selling point for them, I also hope it doesn't become too commercialised


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## NeverSayNever (7 January 2013)

well im disgusted by them !  Went to buy a rabbit and was 'duped' into taking 2 together as they were 'bonded'. These 2 were in the adoption centre with names and a little adoption card on their pen, implying they were rescues. Long story short; they were made to travel home separately by the staff and having been separated, once home began to fight.  Turns out they were merely 'old stock' that had been reduced for a quick sale and named by the staff to make them look like rescues. They had been held back by PAH because they had sniffles and were treated by their vet who passed them as 100% recovered..  one started snuffling again after 3days then the next morning had dropped dead. The other was taken straight to my vet who put him on antibiotics and wouldnt be surprised if he goes the same way. When I complained to PAH the duty manager told me 'thats the extra  responsibility and commitment you take on with one of our adoption animals' . What?! That it might keel over and die inside a week and cost me a fortune in vets fees?? I can assure you they have since reimbursed me

They were also exposed on Watch Dog recently for selling sick animals! Most of the staff are utterly clueless and I was told 3 different things when I asked for advice by 3 different members of staff.

Im really gutted they have taken over Ride Away 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/pets-at-home
http://www.petsathome.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Info_10601_watchdog_-1_10551


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## Onyxia (7 January 2013)

Well 
Although I must give credit where it is due and admit that not all of their stores are as abysmal as others, I do not think this is a positive move for us as consumers.
If they can't get small pet advice right how on earth do they hope to cope with equine bits and bobs?
At least they can't sell ponies in store 


I think I will be taking my business to Inter Equine for online shopping from now on.........


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## Luci07 (10 January 2013)

Well my experience was good. The local store in Godamling raises money for the guildford staffie rescue and do a lot to promote them..so not all are bad!


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## stencilface (10 January 2013)

They better not get rid of the rideaway near me!


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## MerrySherryRider (10 January 2013)

My experience with having a guinea pig from the adoption centre was very good. 

 I had to persuade the staff member that I needed a companion for my young boar and that yes, I did know how to introduce them etc. He wasn't convinced until he had been through their care and behaviour etc. 
 I was really impressed. He also explained that the adoption animals were ones that didn't sell within a time frame due to various reasons.

A friend loves the vet surgery, they were kind, efficent and incredibly cheap when she took her cat in for an operation.

My only complaint is those little outfits they sell for dogs. Seriously yuk.


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## Kellys Heroes (10 January 2013)

webble said:



			Hate P@H they make the work of animal rescues twice as hard with their ignorance and stupidity
		
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Why this? Don't get me wrong there are many things I disagree with PAH about, but they allow us in their store with our rescue stand to raise awareness, donations and recruit new volunteers etc and stores all over the UK allow us to do this...
K x


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## Honey08 (10 January 2013)

I don't mind Pets at Home.  My friend's daughter, who dropped out in her third year of vet school, is now an advisor for their rescue dept (linked to local RSPCA).  

It might be a good thing - there may be a selection of useful horsey stuff in their stores..


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## rascal (12 January 2013)

horserider said:



			My experience with having a guinea pig from the adoption centre was very good. 

 I had to persuade the staff member that I needed a companion for my young boar and that yes, I did know how to introduce them etc. He wasn't convinced until he had been through their care and behaviour etc. 
 I was really impressed. He also explained that the adoption animals were ones that didn't sell within a time frame due to various reasons.

A friend loves the vet surgery, they were kind, efficent and incredibly cheap when she took her cat in for an operation.

My only complaint is those little outfits they sell for dogs. Seriously yuk.
		
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We went for some gerbils, we have a 4ft fish tank so intended to get  3 or 4 female ones. We were told they fight and should be kept seperate! What tosh, they like company, weve kept them for years. Needless to say we went somewhere else. I am no expert but ive had a selection of hamsters, rats and gerbils since i was 9, i know who likes company and who doesnt! Maybe male ferbils fight i dont know, we have always had female ones.

I bought two rabbits from there after our old one died due to old age. Neither of them lived for more than a month. 
A friend at work also had one from the same shop in cannock, staffs. That also died in a very short time.


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## MerrySherryRider (12 January 2013)

I inherited two guinea pigs that orginally came from PAH, they were tough as old boots, lived free range outdoors quite happily for 6 and 7 years.
 Recently, due to a death needed another boar quickly and got one from the adoption centre at PAH. This little lad is another tough little chap living outside.
 The only weakling I've had came from a professional show judge who was a vet, that pig died after two weeks last summer.
Probably unlucky but the others have been very hardy and healthy,as were my ones from rescues.


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## Serenity087 (12 January 2013)

Where do I start??

Have never bought a pah animal that was the gender on the card.

Have a photo of Tarja for sale on the adoption thingy with other rabbits not Axl - again old stock bunched together for the sake of it?  And I think that Axl was called Nancy when I bought him was a sick joke... Very sick actually...

Have had to alert pah to blood stained animals on the shop floor and was disgusted to see their live animal enclosures so full in the run up to Christmas that you couldn't see floor.

They're to animals what pc world is to computers and its a disgrace!

Sadly my bunnies won't eat anything but pah food so I keep them on that to keep them happy... But seriously, that place makes me want to buy everything to save it!!

And they sell reptiles now... Poor little mites...


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## ladyt25 (12 January 2013)

I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing them buying Rideaway at all to be honest. The PAH store near me seems pretty good, the staff (in the main) seem knowledgeable enough (you can't know EVERYTHING about all animals as far as I am concerned and i am sure they get a load of 'know it all' customers telling them how to do their job better!). The animals in the store look healthy and happy and the cages are always clean when I have gone in.

Animals do get sick that's life. Maybe some stores don't have the same knowledge as others but that's down to individual management surely? We have bought pet rabbits over the years, my sister had two dwarf lops but both died fairly young of an unknown issue. They were ok one day, the next day lethargic and within 24 hours died even though we took them to the vets and tried what we could.The vets did tell us of a genetic condition that these rabbits have and that "this can happen".

My own guinea pigs have suffered from a skin condition each within a few months of having them. i think my sister got them from PAH for me. It was nothing to do with PAH though, they just got some mite from the hay I think - or got stressed or something (who really knows!) Anyhow, they are still going strong and must be about 3 now.

Small animals don't live that long and I am pretty sure are susceptible to illness and mites, it's just how it is. If it's not visible to the people in PAH then how would they know? If people have bought these animals that had ringworm etc, how did they not notice before taking them??


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## shellonabeach (12 January 2013)

rascal said:



			We went for some gerbils, we have a 4ft fish tank so intended to get  3 or 4 female ones. We were told they fight and should be kept seperate! What tosh, they like company, weve kept them for years. Needless to say we went somewhere else. I am no expert but ive had a selection of hamsters, rats and gerbils since i was 9, i know who likes company and who doesnt! Maybe male ferbils fight i dont know, we have always had female ones.

I bought two rabbits from there after our old one died due to old age. Neither of them lived for more than a month. 
A friend at work also had one from the same shop in cannock, staffs. That also died in a very short time.
		
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Rascal - male gerbies are less aggressive than females 

I have had various hamsters and gerbils from PAH over the last 13 yrs, some rehomed from actual rescue centres and private homes, one thing I can say is that I can tell a PAH gerbil from a mile off, they all have a distinct small size, slender body and narrow face (probably because of a load of inbreeding)

My worst case from PAH was a female gerbil she was tiny, nose had no fur and was bloody and she had half a tail (the bone was sticking out of the end) in a cage on her own.  Staff told me she was nasty and aggressive and sold her to me for a pound.  She went to a small animal specialist the next day and cost me a £30ish vet bill in meds and I remember the vet was kind enough to waive the consultation fee based on the circumstances.

I wrote to PAH about her and they refunded the vet bill and purchase price (I was determined they did not deserve to have made any money from her).  I also queried their animal husbandry because at the time a small "pocket pet" cost around £5 which was significantly less than to have said pocket pet PTS should it require it.  I never did get a straight answer to that one.

Skip as I named the gerbil was a complete sweetheart with not a nasty bone in her body, I think the PAH staff said she was nasty because she looked terrible in the store, she was brilliant with other gerbils (I paired her with another lone female), however she never grew properly, had to be kept on shredded toilet paper for bedding as had allergies and lived significantly less than all my other gerbils.

These days I won't buy anything from pet shops which sell animals, I would rather give my custom elsewhere and so I won't be giving any custom to Rideaway on that principle.


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## rascal (13 January 2013)

It was a male he was trying to sell us! He stated that gerbils fight and it would be better on its own. 
The two we have now live happily together, as did the 4 we had together in the past, but they have all been female so i wasnt sure.


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## holeymoley (16 January 2013)

Bad experience with pah. 

 I got my first rabbit from there as I basically felt sorry for it sitting in the adoption centre. Staff checked and went on previous records and were adamant it was a neutered male.  I was a first time rabbit owner so was learning and took their word for it.  I decided I wanted to get him a companion so went for a rabbit at local RSPCA centre who was a full male, but I agreed I'd get him neutered and keep them separated until he was.   Anyway the full male was quite hyper and on having my neutered male out of his hutch, my mother opened the other one to see male. He bounced out his hutch straight over to the other one and they got on like a house on fire! So on that cue, we left them to play and share a hutch together while he was waiting for his op.

 Now you can call me naive  but,  I ended up with babies!  Pah rabbit was not a neutered male, but a female!  I tell you I was livid. In the time shed given birth to the first lot, he had already in pregenated her again so I was left with loads of the ******s! Which was all cute and well but once they reached maturity I had no where for them to go. On telling pah they basically done nothing and claimed they didn't have space to take them.  So over the years I've been left to find homes for them myself , which is not easy in this climate.  I have been left with 5! Including the first 2 culprits!


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## CorvusCorax (17 January 2013)

I love the fact that P@H stopped selling choke chains for 'humane' reasons but still sell rope slip leads and collars, which can have the same, and in some cases, a more severe action (depending on how thin they are - a very thin slip has a much quicker action than a big thick clanky chain), but I guess that's OK because they are made of rope, and not chain. 

They also sell anti-bark collars and invisible fencing systems, which also give a pop on the neck. But anyhoo!!!


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## CAYLA (17 January 2013)

CaveCanem said:



			I love the fact that P@H stopped selling choke chains for 'humane' reasons but still sell rope slip leads and collars, which can have the same, and in some cases, a more severe action (depending on how thin they are - a very thin slip has a much quicker action than a big thick clanky chain), but I guess that's OK because they are made of rope, and not chain. 

They also sell anti-bark collars and invisible fencing systems, which also give a pop on the neck. But anyhoo!!!
		
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Lol^^^ so very ironic 


I would not buy anything from PAH to be honest (tell a lie) in an emergency I use the tag making machine when im homing a dog and my tags have not come in time!! , they are way to expensive and the staff at my local one I personally over heard giving hideous advice out and they try their best to sell useless items (obs thats their job) and they are not going to be there when said item does not work (so what do they care) lol! suppose thats just my local store though.

I was not aware they (adopted animals out) whats all that baout, how does it work? do you still pay? are they the official adopters?


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## holeymoley (17 January 2013)

The adoption centre is where members of the public can give them their unwanted small pets, for whatever reason, and the go up for 'sale' as such to the public but instead of paying full price for one, you give a donation.  Almost like RSPCA.


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## NeverSayNever (17 January 2013)

holeymoley said:



			The adoption centre is where members of the public can give them their unwanted small pets, for whatever reason, and the go up for 'sale' as such to the public but instead of paying full price for one, you give a donation.  Almost like RSPCA.
		
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or where they can move animals that they havent been able to sell, that have got too big to be cute saleable babies. They name them and write up an 'adoption card' to make it look like  the animal is a re-home 

It should read 'bargain bin, reduced for quick sale'


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## CorvusCorax (17 January 2013)

I also don't like how they allow their noticeboard to be used by backyard breeders to advertise their pups and 'studs', but anyhoo, I suppose most pet shops do that.


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## rascal (18 January 2013)

ladyt25 asks why people didnt notice they bought sick pets. Ringworm is something that develops over time, and these animals are supposed to be checked BEFORE they leave the store. Im not a vet, but these g pigs were at our vets within a couple of days after going very quickly downhill. Yes small animals, like anyother needs the vet but this is the second lot from that particular shop that have been ill!!  I know small animals dont live long, ive had hamsters, rats and gerbils for many years, also g pigs and rabbits but they should live longer than a few weeks, unless they are sick or old. I know enough to know how long these pets should live.


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