Down-to-Earth Dogs

We have boarded our dog at several different places in San Diego and Down-​to-​Earth Dogs is by far our favorite. Our dog gets so excited when we get there. Emily takes great care of our little one (little in size and age), sends us pictures to let us know how she’s doing, and is communicative and flexible with whatever we need. We truly feel our dog is loved and well-​cared for when we’re not with her.

Emily is amazing! She sends picture updates of your pup to you almost every day while you are gone, which is very comforting. Our dog (pit mix) Roo LOVES going there — she absolutely loves to play with Emily’s dog Rodney, and a yellow lab named Tilly (she can be found a few reviews below this one). She slept for 2 days straight after we picked her up, and that NEVER happens! Emily’s daughter even made all of the dogs their own Christmas stockings with dog treats in them — we thought that was awesome.
I love that she is not breed restrictive like some of the other big named chains are, and it is very comforting to know that all dogs have been temperament screened beforehand.
I was hesitant to write this review, as I am afraid people will catch on to how amazing Down-​to-​Earth Dogs is and it will fill up faster!
We (and Roo!) will be back, for sure!

In need of dog training or boarding, look no further than Emily/​Down-​to-​earth dogs. She’s awesome. As a fellow trainer, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her.

Emily is a saint! She is so sweet and my dogs love her! Its nice to have a place to take my dogs when I go out of town, knowing that they will be in good hands! She is very affordable and I would recommend her to anyone!

Down to Earth Dogs is a great place to take your dog… why? Because Emily, the owner, is amazing with animals. Having had a lot of training herself, she understands dog behaviors and keeps the dogs safe while in her care. I cannot say what a great find she has been for me and Ms. Tilly!

We have a bull terrier called Amy, and she is very demanding!!! We tried several places that were suppose to be good and did not work! Amy always came back home with some kind of PTSD. Then, I found Emily online. She asked me to leave Amy for a couple hours at her place to see if it would work. Well, it worked so well that I left Amy there several times, and one time for like 2 weeks!!! Guess what??? She didn’t want to come back home!!! Emily is awesome and she always uptade you with emails and pictures!!! I just love that place and it was a bummer that moved to the east coast.

I love taking my golden retriever, Goldie, to Emily. Her facility is very open, accommodating, and central. Not only are her prices very reasonable, she is also flexible when it comes to dropping/​picking him up. Unlike many of the traditional boarding facilities, Emily actually ensures that they receive proper socialization and plenty of playtime. The dogs here are not caged nor are they confined in small areas. In addition, I often get text messages and photo updates from her everyday. Goldie always looks like he’s having a blast while he’s there. I couldn’t recommend a better place for your pup while you’re away. Thank you, Emily!

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Emily for the past 3 years. I own Synergy Dog Training here in SD, and Emily has been a fabulous resource for daycare, boarding, and socialization for my clients. I’m not a big fan of huge daycares for dogs, I find that a lot of dogs get overly stressed in those environments, regardless of how nice they are. I love being able to send my clients to Emily where I know that they will be in a home like environment and receive the most personalized care possible. All my clients rave about Emily and how well their dogs do there.
Emily has amazing skills with dogs, and her ability to read their body language and understand their unique personality/​temperament truly sets her apart from any other daycare. I have sent dogs to her with poor social skills, and after spending time at her daycare they have learned how to interact with other dogs in a more appropriate ways. This has been invaluable for my clients with dogs who have had little to no socialization, or have reactivity issues on leash. Not to say that every dog will be a good candidate for Down to Earth Dogs, or any daycare for that matter, but I strongly believe that between Emily’s fabulous skills, training background, and her unique home like set up you can’t get a better daycare/​boarding experience here in SD :)

Emily is amazing and my dogs love staying with her. I have used her dog sitting services many times and highly recommend her. She takes them to Fiesta Island and texts me pictures/​updates. I recently moved to Jamul but plan to continue using her because I know my fur babies will be well taken care of.

I cannot say enough praise about the care and service that Emily provides for our dog. We have used her as our primary dog sitter for Hoover for the past two years. Prior to finding her, we tried a few other kennels, but never really felt comfortable leaving him there. Luckily, she was recommended to us by a friend and we couldn’t ask for better care.
Hoover LOVES going to Down to Earth Dogs while we are away. She not only provides excellent care, but continues to go above and beyond what would ever be expected. Offering trips to Fiesta Island, plenty of exposure to other dogs for socialization purposes, and plenty of useful feedback/​updates on how the stay went. Emily makes it evident that she is truly invested in the care of your pet, whether at your home or hers. For example, she frequently will send texts and/​or pictures of our dog and his activities. This greatly puts your mind at ease when away. It is so comforting to find someone whom we can leave our dog with and feel comfortable and completely confident that he is receiving the best care. When Hoover is with Emily, I truly do not worry, what-​so-​ever (and I tend to worry a lot). She also has been available to suggest pet-​friendly resources.
While being diligent with care of Hoover, Emily is always so flexible with our schedule and needs. She really strives to work with you.
Without question, I would recommend Down to Earth Dogs for your dog sitting needs. We feel so lucky to have someone like Emily that we can leave our pup with.

When we needed a pet sitter/​trainer for our new American Eskimo puppy, we were happy to locate someone right in our neighborhood.
After our first meeting with Emily, we knew right away she was an excellent find! Her calm demeanor and positive training approach was just what our «high-​spirited with a mind of her own» pup needed. Emily worked with Nahla on her socialization skills in a safe, nurturing environment and we can always depend on her when we need to board our dog for a short or extended stay. Nahla loves Emily… and so do we!!!

No one loves dogs more than my husband and me and after adopting our Pit Bull (Lacey) from Mexico we wanted to make sure that she received the best care and training possible. Another dog trainer recommended Emily from Down to Earth Dogs so we figured that she had to be great. We have come to realize that Emily is more than great… she is amazing. She has helped us so much with socializing and training Lacey. Emily goes above all expectations and treats every dog as if he/​she were her own. I love that she sends pictures of Lacey playing and will occasionally take her to Fiesta Island.
Lacey always gets so excited when I drop her off and is exhausted from all of the fun when I pick her up.
We feel so fortunate that we found Emily! I feel like she is part of our family. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that her prices are a bargain!

Recently had my awesome bulldog Nikolai boarded here while i was out of town. What a great experience! I received updates and pictures everyday and the price was great. Down to Earth dogs has won all of my future business!

We used to dread boarding Noa — our 10 month old beagle mix. We got him from a shelter, and he was a very timid and scared dog. His first boarding experience was with one of the bigger pet hotels, and it was terrible (he pretty much spent the whole day in a tiny kennel with 50 other dogs barking in their kennels, no time spent outside, no picture updates for us, no feeling of «family»). Then we found Emily through Unilocal.We told her about Noa’s timid nature and our bad boarding experience. She could not have been more helpful. As soon as Noa met Emily, he looked comfortable and happy. She slowly introduced him to the rest of the pack, and was very attentive and understanding. Emily truly treats Noa like family. He gets to spend much of his day running around outside, hanging out and having fun with a small group of other dogs. It is obvious that Emily understands how a dog’s mind works; she makes Noa feel safe, loved, and appreciated. She takes the dogs for long walks, makes sure they socialize — and that the dogs treat each other well. Emily just had Noa for two weeks over Christmas, and we honestly felt so safe that he would have a good time — with the yard, the other doggies, and excursions to Fiesta Island. Emily makes sure to send several picture updates, and you can tell in the pictures that the doggies are super happy and content, usually playing with each other or getting in some serious exercise. Noa’s social skills have improved greatly since he was introduced to Down-​to-​Earth Dogs; not only does he not back off anymore when he meets other dogs — he usually is so excited to play with them that he won’t leave them alone. Could not recommend Emily and Down-​to-​Earth Dogs more!

We met Emily through our dog trainer. We have a ¹¹⁄₂ year old pit bull with a lot of energy! Emily has always been available whenever we have needed her and treats our dog like one of the family. She is very patient and loving with our dog and has given us some very good tips about dealing with her energetic nature. Emily also gives us frequent updates about our dog“s stay with her through pictures and text messages. If you’re looking for a loving and fun place for your dog, as well as a reliable caretaker then you must contact Emily, she is the best! Lisa and Chris D.

Emily took care of my dog Momo for 10 days. She was fabulous! I got updates and photos daily. Momo got walks everyday, and trips to Fiesta Island with Emily’s dogs. Momo can be a bit of a handful, and Emily was great with her. Momo came home happy and very tired!

My rescued pit bull is a lover when it comes to people, but dogs are another story. He’s dog reactive unless he’s had a proper introduction, which isn’t possible when we are on a walk and he sees another dog he wants to lunge at/​play with (or fill in the blank. Who knows?) Emily has been working with us to get Teddy more at ease with seeing another dog from afar… then closer, when it seems wise. I’ve come to trust her patience and how she basically has eyes in the back of her head when it comes to a possibly «threatening» environment. If I practice what Emily teaches me, Teddy makes steady progress that’s pretty remarkable.

I travel frequently for work and was previously boarding my dog at a vet’s office that had a kennel. Each time I would pick up my dog, she appeared stressed and unhappy. I needed a new place to board my dog, so I was referred to Emily by my dog’s trainer. What a difference! I can now travel without feeling the negative pangs of emotion that my dog was not being cared for. Emily has a massive backyard for my dog to play in, she takes care of my dog’s individual medical and training needs, and even texts me pictures of my dog while I am away. I highly recommend boarding your dog with Emily if you want you and your dog to be stress-​free while you are out of town.

Emily came highly recommended to me and I don’t hesitate to do the same for you. She’s caring and professional. She provided our dog with a home while we were on an eleven day trip. That’s a long time to leave a 1 ½ yr. rescue dog who is very anxious. Because it was such a long trip she kept us updated everyday with an email, photo or short video. We saw that he was having more fun than we were. When we came home he was a new dog. Emily’s training experience, environment, her own dogs and additional boarders all taught Leo what it’s like to behave as a dog should. He barks less, he’s not nervous, he plays less aggressively and seems to enjoy more play in general. The list is long but I think you get the point.
I’m not exaggerating, he really is a new dog. Leo will be vacationing with Emily whenever we go away. Our whole family is so happy to have a pup who’s now comfortable in his own fur.

I was referred to Emily by a client who has worked with her and had nothing but nice things to say. I only have worked with her two times but I can already notice such a difference in my dogs (Cora) behavior. In the past I had tried other techniques but clearly she wasn’t responding. Positive reinforcement is the way to go! Cora is so excited to learn now and her energy level has dropped scientifically using calming exercises she has thought me. Emily is very sweet and I can tell she loves what she does. Im very happy to have met her and excited to see new changes in Cora. I was about to give up an accept that she will always be a hyper stubborn dog :)