You love your dog, but you don’t love dropping forty dollars on a bag of kibble every three weeks. That’s not a character flaw, that’s just the pet industry doing what it does best: charging whatever it wants because you’ll pay it. The good news is you don’t have to. Between Chewy, Petco, and PetSmart, there’s a sweet spot of discounts, price matching, and subscription perks that can cut your pet supply bill by twenty percent or more without sacrificing quality. The trick is knowing which retailer to use for which product and when to let them compete against each other for your dollars.

Let’s start with the obvious: Chewy is the online king for convenience. Their autoship program gives you five to thirty-five percent off recurring orders, and the savings stack with any promo codes they’re running. That’s already better than what any physical store offers for regular purchases. But here’s the trick that most people miss — Chewy’s autoship price is not always the lowest base price. Sometimes PetSmart’s own subscription service matches or beats it, especially during their quarterly sales events. So before you set and forget your autoship order, check the same item on PetSmart’s website and see if they have a better per-pound price or a discount code that applies to subscriptions. Ten minutes of price comparison can save you fifteen bucks per order, which adds up to nearly two hundred dollars a year for a medium-sized dog.

Where Petco and PetSmart shine is the physical store experience, but only if you play their loyalty games correctly. Both chains have free rewards programs, and Petco’s Vital Care Premier is the one that actually pays off if you buy food and treats monthly. For about twenty dollars a month, you get twenty percent off all food and treats, which is a screaming deal if you feed a high-end brand like Hill’s or Royal Canin. But here’s the no-nonsense part: you have to do the math. That twenty-dollar fee only makes sense if you spend at least one hundred dollars per month on qualifying items. If you have a cat and a small dog, that might not happen. If you have two large dogs, it’s a no-brainer. PetSmart’s equivalent is the Treats membership, which is free and gives you points, but the discount structure is nowhere near as generous. So for monthly staple purchases, Petco’s paid program wins when your volume justifies it.

Now, the real money-saving move is price matching. PetSmart and Petco both have policies where they’ll match Chewy’s price on identical items, but you have to ask. The online chat or the register clerk won’t volunteer it. Walk into any PetSmart with your phone open to the Chewy listing, and they’ll knock the price down to match. Same goes for Petco. This is huge for bulky items like litter or large bags of food where shipping costs on Chewy can wipe out the savings. You get the online discount price without waiting two days and without paying a cent for delivery. But think about your time too. If a bag of dog food costs ten dollars less on Chewy after shipping, driving twenty minutes each way to save that money is a losing proposition. Your time is worth something. That’s why the best strategy is to reserve in-store price matching for heavier items you might need same-day anyway, like a new bag of food because you ran out, or a giant box of cat litter.

The other silent killer of your pet budget is impulse buying. PetSmart and Petco are designed like candy stores for pets. You go in for one bag of treats and leave with a new rope toy, a dental chew, and a bed your dog will never sleep on. Chewy does this too with their suggested items on the checkout page, but it’s far easier to ignore. That’s why for anything non-urgent, buy online. Autoship even gives you a buffer to cancel or skip a delivery if you suddenly realize you over-bought. Physical stores don’t have a “skip this month” button for the stuff you were going to grab at the register.

One more overlooked thing: vet-prescribed food and medications. Chewy is excellent here because they have a pharmacy and will handle the prescription verification with your vet. But their prices on prescription diets are often higher than Petco’s own pharmacy or PetSmart’s in-store program. Again, price match works, but you have to be the one to bring it up. And if your pet needs a recurring medication, check whether your vet will price match an online pharmacy. Many do, because they’d rather keep your business than lose it over a fifteen-dollar markup. That tip alone can save you hundreds annually on flea prevention and heartworm meds.

So here’s your simplified, no-nonsense playbook for pet supplies. Use Chewy for autoship only after checking PetSmart’s subscription prices during a sale. Use Petco’s paid membership if your monthly food spend clears one hundred dollars. Use price matching every time you’re in a physical store, and never be embarrassed to ask. And never, ever buy impulse items in a brick-and-mortar pet store. Stick to that, and you’ll have a healthier bank account and a slightly smugger feeling every time you fill the food bowl.