Bow Wow Meow

I purchased two catnip toys and some hairball treats for a total of $ 18. I was in the store for about 15 minutes and not a single employee (4 total) bothered to say «hi» or ask me if I was finding everything ok. Super cute boutique but very pricy and customer service was lacking. I’ll take my business elsewhere.

I highly recommend Bow Wow Meow for its large selection of foods, dish-​ware, pet carriers, toys, and other pet related items.
I like to buy raw cat food, for my special needs cat, so Bow Wow Meow offers the Primal Raw at a deal that if one buys a dozen bags over time, you get the next bag free. Other independent pet stores also offer the same deal.
They do offer pet grooming, which my cats don’t need.
I can’t think of any downside to this store, so I give five stars. Pet carriers are sold in different styles, which is impressive.
Staff is always welcoming and friendly.

This place is such a little gem! Very cute little pet boutique located in downtown Menlo Park.
They carry the premium brands of dog food and even have a variety of freeze dried foods and treats. They also carry eco-​friendly toys and a super cute wide range of pet outfits, leashes, and accessories.
I am a new dog owner and came into the store like a chicken with my head cut off. I was completely lost as to what to get. The two girls that assisted me were so helpful! They navigated me around the store to show me all the popular food and treat items. I came out with some freeze dried beef treats and a squeaky toy for my puppy.
What I loved most about this place aside from the customer service and willingness to exert effort and help patrons, was the fact that they offer dog food samples for picky people like me! I went away with two samples, one of them being a deluxe sample. It’s great to see stores driving trial of products through sampling. As someone who stems from the marketing and promotions industry, handing out samples is a fantastic and successful way to drive conversion. Pet food is expensive, especially the premium and ultra premium kinds. The ‘organic’ and ‘holistic’ segment of pet food category is so fragmented. I’ve worked on the Purina business before so I know paying a pretty penny on premium pet food is worth it! But I’m definitely more likely to purchase something if my pet has tried it and loved it. No one wants to buy a $ 70 bag of dog food and have their dog hate it so I appreciate the good gestures here!
I also inquired about their grooming services, which seemed kind of on the higher end. My puppy isn’t old enough to get groomed yet so I have yet to comment on their grooming services. On average my pooch probably would cost almost $ 100 to groom here and I have a pup the size of a guinea pig!
I will be coming back! I wish they had some sort of rewards program though.

If I could give 0 stars I would. I took my cat this morning to get her nail trim and it was an awful experience. They cut too close into her quick and there was so much blood we noticed once we brought her home. Her right hind paw was covered in blood and she was dripping blood on the carpet and her blanket. We had to take her to our vet for urgent care were we had to get pain medicine because they cut so deep our poor cat was in pain. I’m super upset that this has happened and they didn’t even notice when they finished trimming her nails. Needless to say we wouldn’t have had to take her to the vet if they hadn’t cut her.

I bring my dog here for nail trims pretty frequently because she acts like a complete demon when I try to do it at home. It’s worth the $ 12 just to save myself the wrestling match! They do nail trims on a walk-​in basis and I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes from start to finish. The groomers are fast, thorough, and treat my dog kindly.
I haven’t done much shopping in the store itself other than to occasionally buy treats. They have cute stuff and a good variety of high-​end dog foods, but it’s all pretty pricey. I prefer to shop for pet supplies at The Pet Place just a few blocks down the street, where the prices are better and the staff is infinitely more helpful. With a few exceptions (like the guy with the long hair who’s always nice, and the groomers who seem fine) the staff at Bow Wow Meow is pretty much consistently cranky and unhelpful. They seem annoyed when customers come into the store and often would rather skulk around avoiding eye contact than help customers clearly waiting to check out or ask a question. It’s too bad, because it’s otherwise a cute, welcoming little shop.

$ 15 to brush my dogs teeth and they were done in 60 seconds flat. Half that time was spent just trying to get the toothbrush in my dogs mouth.
That’s $ 900 an hour. What a joke!!!
No pride in workmanship.

If I could give this place zero stars or even minus I would certainly do that!
What a bunch of liars!
We dropped off a perfectly fine dog this morning for grooming and picked up a dog that can not walk anymore!
I add that he has been fine and has NEVER been seen for any issues other than regular checks by his vet.
At least have the decency to admit and tell us what exactly happened for we can have him treated accordingly at the emergency clinic…
I have never been more upset…
Do not i repeat DO NOT take your dog to this place for grooming!!! Wish I had read all the other reviews first…
1 hour later:
I have to add to my review that he has been seen by an emergency vet. Our dog needs to be seen by a neurologist for a possible acute spinal injury!!!
The vet at a Menlo Park Hospital stated that they hear nothing but horrible things about BowWowMeow. there is nothing to add…

Shortly after picking up my puppy from his first grooming session he started shaking and limping a little. I thought he was probably cold from the horrible haircut so I got him a sweater. When he didn’t stop shaking after a few days I took him to the vet to see what was going on. After x-​rays and blood work (and $ 700) the vet determined that his knee cap was dislocated. She said it is common with little dogs so I didn’t put it together that it could’ve been an injury from his grooming session.
It’s been a few months now and looking back I believe my puppy was traumatized and mistreated by the groomer at Bow Wow Meow. When I dropped him off the groomer gave me attitude and mentioned sedating my 6 month old puppy. Not sure why he jumped to this conclusion after holding my puppy for 10 seconds. Yes he may have been nervous, it was his first time being groomed, but he wasn’t doing anything to indicate he was going to be a problem. I wish I had walked out at that point, but I didn’t. My puppy’s leg is completely healed but his coat has not grown in properly and he still looks awful. I don’t know what happened to my puppy when he was in their care but I will never go back and would caution anyone thinking about taking their dog there.

Great with my 12 week old cavalier puppy. Even followed up by phone! I appreciate Garrett’s love and warmth for my dog.

We’ve had a good experience at BWM for our dogs’ grooming for a few years now. We had one incident about a year and a half ago, when my dog’s ear was accidentally cut on the edge because he moved his head while they were cleaning up his face. I happened to walk in and see them after the damage trying to stop the bleeding and clean him up. The groomer at the time was very apologetic and you could see that she felt horrible for letting that happen as it was the second time in her long career that something like this happened. We really liked this groomer (who is no longer working here), so we kept coming back.
This past weekend, we got our dogs groomed again and they did a great job with their cut and they looked so cute. However, on closer inspection, I noticed a couple Knicks on his underside and a scab under his armpit that was not there before.
I will understand if my dog moved and it was an accident, but the fact that these things were not disclosed to me when I picked him up and paid for the grooming is terrible! It’s no wonder why he always looks so traumatized after the grooming.
Make sure you inspect your dog closely after grooming! I would like to have asked them about it before I left. Also, I wonder why they have that cover on the large window now instead of letting others see them at work… Hmmm.

bow wow meow has upscale & fancy goods that are unique & hard to find – even online!
the managers susan and garrett and several workers there (sam, sarah & many others) are dedicated and have been with the company for years!
the owner ensures all products are safe, fresh, and trendy!
i have been shopping at the menlo park location for all my cat and dogs needs exclusively now for nearly four years– and discovered bow wow meow through several colleagues who introduced me to the san carlos location, thus starting my relationship with BWM in 2005.
i also bring my personal and clients dogs there for grooming & nail dremmeling.
BWM has an excellent selection of high end kibbles, wet food, and treats for both cats and dogs.
they also carry some of the BEST toys, beds, books, and special items to keep our companions comfortable & safe. they can order pretty much anything as well!
please be sure to tip the groomers generously! they do the very best they can and are on their feet all day safely trimming our best friends and giving them shampoos! :-)

At least my dog was clean. I was not pleased with her cut and brought her back to have the ears and muzzle straightened out but sadly they could not replace the hair on her tail that I specifically asked them not to remove. The pretty little plume turned into a pathetic lion tail looking thing:(After many months of growing it out I decided to go to another groomer who actually listened when I described the cut I wanted.

I get my bichon’s nails trimmed here and they’ve done a fair job in the past: one person held him, one cut his nails. It took 5 minutes and was painless. They didn’t file the nails at all afterwards (so careful of your leather seats!). However, recently I asked if they could file his nails afterwards (not drum them all the way down). I lingered in the store and heard my puppy Unilocal twice before asking them what was going on. When I asked if someone was holding him, I was told one person was cutting his nails on a table. Then, without apologizing, they rang me up for a $ 20 nail cut. I asked why it was so expensive and was told if they use the drum at all even for a 2 sec on each nail, they have to charge $ 20. They should have mentioned the charge difference up front to me.
Petco cuts nails and files afterwards for $ 6.

I brought my dog Mousse in for a nail trim and then for a grooming on another day. Both times, the people at Bow Wow Meow were friendly and got me in and out of there quickly. The price for the nail trim drop in is $ 10, which is in line with other places, and their grooming for my chocolate lab was $ 55, which I thought wasn’t a bad deal. She was fluffy and her coat was really soft when she came out. Will definetely be bringing her back!

Pros: I am a fan of their groomers. I love how they cut my dog’s hair — a 3 year old Bichon Yorkie… David (? — I am terrible with names) is awesome. Ask for him when you book if you have a small dog.
They also carry Acana and Pacifica brand dog food which is hard to find in this area.
Cons: Not a big fan of their staff. Staff is… absent minded? Or… thinking about something else? Their system is all paper based (big surprise) so they are not very organized. DO NOT ask any questions… most likely they won’t know the answer… and if they do… it takes awhile to get the answer…
Prices for EVERYTHING is at least 10 to 20% higher than every place else.
All in all… location is great… there is lots of parking…
Suggestions: Computerize your system so you remember me. I’ve been back several times and bought stuff. I can’t remember what I bought last time… I do remember if my dog liked it or not… but they can’t pull it up so it is a bit frustrating.

I was really happy with Bear’s grooming for once. This was our first time using the grooming service at BWM. Everything went smoothly, and Bear, my 9 year old malti-​poo, came out with pretty much exactly the cut I asked for. Not too short like many groomers (lazily) do. Fluffy, longer on the legs (not easy) and fluffy face, not too short on the body. Her fur was also soft, unlike the last place I took her which made her fur feel fried.
And, Bear did not look traumatized. She seemed pretty happy all in all.
I should’ve asked for a teeth cleaning –didn’t realize that was separate, but no worries, will do next time. Overall, easy, not over priced for the area, and solidly good grooming.
Thanks!

I’m not sure that I have ever been so disappointed so quickly, as I was with this business. I came in with my pug puppy and said that I was a new dog owner, hoping to get some product recommendations/​help. The girls working could seriously seem less interested. I don’t mind that, if you don’t want my money I will happily go elsewhere. The girl who I interacted with the most was much more interested in giving treats to your «in house» or «regular» dogs, whatever. If you own a pet store and are going to have dogs in your store, off leash every day, these better be some amazingly trained animals. I give 2 stars instead of 1 because she offered my dog a treat as well.
The bishon which I understand to be a regular here got into a scuffle with my dog. It was fast and upsetting for me, and my 5 month old puppy. The staff seemed uninterested in helping me and kept speaking to other customers. My dog was panicking and very unhappy. I could barely hold him and was offered no assistance. This was insulting, annoying, and made me very upset. I called afterward to mention that my dog had a bit of bleeding that I was concerned about. It turned out to be ok but frankly my animal shouldn’t have had to be bleeding before I received an apology. I also spoke with the dog’s owner who was incredibly kind, I don’t know what her affiliation is with the business but i appreciated this. I could have been a great customer here. I love supporting small businesses and it looked like you had some interesting products but I will never be back again.

I made an appointment for a haircut/​bath for my Smooth Collie. When I dropped him off, a super-​friendly woman checked him in. That was the end of the nice experience.
A really grumpy female groomer came out and barked ‘what do you want me to do to him”? I said a bath and haircut — shorter for summer.
When I picked him up, he was SHAVED down to nothing. I could see his pink skin. I asked for a shorter cut for summer — NOT the bald look. My Collie looks like a giant Jack Russell. Not only did they shave him too short — they left him with a badly trimmed mullet on his head. It looks horrible — see photos.
I had already paid for the cut ($ 100!!), and added a tip, by the time he came out. Should have waited until I saw the results.
I might have asked a few questions if the girl at the counter weren’t so snobby and the groomer not so grumpy.
This was our second, and last time coming here, unfortunately — because a lot of the other staff are very kind and they sell a lot of cool stuff.

We stopped by here the other day for the first time and found that they carried RAW food for dogs and cats. We ended up with Stella and Chewy’s Absolutely Rabbit Frozen Dinner patties.
Our babies usually get home cooked meals and treats and we thought we could do a half and half RAW and cooked food diet for them. So far it is working out quite nicely.
The store is very clean and well organized. The offer grooming in the back of the store near the freezer selection where the RAW food is kept.
The staff was very helpful and gave us a few freeze dried treats as samples.

I needed to find a new groomer and a groomer that could truly take direction on how I want my dog’s cut. I am very picky with my dog’s cut and although I’ve taken to my dog to a lot of great places, I was tired of having to repeat myself and get my dog’s cut back not the way I wanted it. I decided to give this place a try and Thank god I did.
The place is very clean and the staff is SO nice and welcoming. My groomer, Virginia is AMAZING! She really takes the time to make sure that I am happy, takes my direction and delivers on a final product that I wanted the first time all the time. I only had to tell her once how I wanted it and the results exceeded my expectations. I am very very satisfied and my pup is even happier. She used to always pee and poop everytime she goes to the other groomers but here, she never does, its like she’s really happy here or something.
Anyways, LOVE LOVE this place. Thank you!!!