The Animal Keeper

I am dividing my review in half, as the two aspects of our experience were very different.
1) Kenneling — ⁵⁄₅
My husband and I were going out of town for 4 days and had been highly recommended to trust our Cavalier to this location. She’s a shy little pup, so I paid for the «tuck in» at night so she’d get a little personal attention. They told me at pickup that when it was playgroup time, she hid behind the human. I’m not surprised, but appreciated knowing she was being herself.
She was happy and well-​fed — definitely in good spirits upon pickup. I will definitely come here again for future holidays. Everyone who worked there was cheerful and nice, and the facility was very clean.
She had a cute little paw-​print fabric neckerchief on when we picked her up — it made it look like she was at camp (KYOOT!) but seemed there to hide… well, on to part 2.
2) Grooming — ¹⁄₅
Oh God. I think they took a weed-​whacker to my dog. My husband and I all-​but laughed aloud upon seeing her. Her torso was WAY too short, then it was evident they had just stopped at the neck — there was a 1″ difference in the hair length at her neck, not tapered at all — it looked ridiculous. Her ears and tail hadn’t been touched (I’d requested a light trim on both) so she had a borderline poodle look. It was heinous.
I would TOTALLY use their kenneling services again (we are already planning on it for the holidays), but would not pay for grooming, when it was the same cost as other places that have done a much better job (and know what a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel should look like!)

Our 1year old labradoodle has been going to daycare here for about 5 months now, and he absolutely loves it! As soon as we pull up to the drop off area, his tail starts wagging. They put name collars on each dog upon drop off and have a nice organized system to keep his leash and harness until we pick him up. All of the staff are warm and friendly and take the time to greet you and your dog. They even make notes of how your dog did during the day, who he played with, etc. Sometimes, I wonder if our dog wants to come home because he always makes sure to get one more hug/​snuggle in from Michelle before leaving. It’s super cute!
They do a temperament test on the first day, and gave me a tour trough the facility. They also verify all shot records, so we know our pup is safe there with the other dogs. There is always a treat bowl on the counter to try the many delicious products they sell there. Our dog has anxiety, but he seems to be very calm there. They really do seem to understand the needs of our pet, because they even sell things like chew toys, clickers for training and thunder vests. This place is a one stop shop for a happy puppy!
We also love that they have a groomer on site! During his afternoon naptime, the groomer can do a full grooming at a very reasonable price (we paid $ 75 at another place and they groomed him for $ 55 here, and did a great job). They can also just do a simple brushing after a day of playing in the pool with his friends.
Consistent schedule. Clear communication from both the daycare and the groomer. Socialized puppy with nice humans and dogs. Treats. Grooming. Awesome place overall!

Conveniently located across the street from me, I take my pup there when I head out of town some weekends. They take great care of her. I do wish there was a communal room that all the dogs could share at night instead of her having a room alone which costs me a bit more than the old place I used to take her to.

I heard good things about the Animal Keeper from a close friend and decided to give it a try with our 1.5 year old Staffy. I called and made an appointment for 3 days of boarding and was told I had to bring my pup in for a temperament test and a play session with other dogs, which was fine and understandable. I was also told I’d get a tour of the facility to make sure I was comfortable boarding him. The receptionist listed the multitude of options and additional charges over the phone (ie…$ 2.50 to administer any medication, $ 5 for this, $ 10 for that, etc…). I got the vibe that they nickel and dime everything, but that was not my issue.
I arrived for the temper test appointment 15 minutes early and they immediately took Reggie into the back without asking me any questions about him, offering me a tour, or allowing me to come with my dog to see where they were going. I was simply given a form to fill out and told it would be about 2 hours. I filled the form out, left and came back 2 hours and 15 minutes later. Over the phone I was told the test/​play date would be 90 minutes if I made an appointment, which I did.
Upon re-​arriving, the receptionist said Reggie was not ready and that «he was out playing with other dogs and had 30 minutes of playtime left». I said I’d wait and asked if I could have the tour of the facility. She walked me back to give me the tour and into what looked like a bleak shelter-​like room with cages lining both walls. In one of the cages, shivering, was Reggie… not outside playing like they told me. So either she blatantly lied to me or miscommunicated with whoever the manager was… either way I found it extremely crappy.
I found the entire experience to be highly unprofessional and what I saw of the facilities was very unimpressive. Their manager did come out and talked with me about the ‘miscommunication’ and she called me to try and explain an hour later, but I’m sorry — there is no way I will ever take my dog here again. Very poor experience.

Recently boarded our dog for 5 nights at The Animal Keeper in Encinitas and was pretty satisfied with service. For $ 31 a night to board your furry friend, it’s a reasonable price for the San Diego area. We also utilized their grooming service to give our dog, Bowser a bath. After the 3^rd night (I believe it was the 3^rd or 5^th) you do get a discount for a bath, which is nice. The facility looks big, the office seems clean and well maintained. It’s hard to know of course how the pets are cared for out back, but Bowser seemed his cheery self once I picked him up 5 days later.
I will say that I dislike their $ 2 feeding fee, should you decide to bring your own dog food. Most dog owners will naturally prefer to provide their own dog food, in case their little buddy has digestive problems with other dog food (like my dog for instance). Instead of being praised for bringing your own food, and not using their generic kibbles, you actually end up paying $ 2 per FEEDING just so your little guy can eat his own food. Why?! That alone totaled $ 12 for 5 days. But what other choice did I have. It’s either that or Bowser gets a tummy ache and possibly vomits all over…
Playtime is a little steep as well for only 20 minutes of play with an instructor. Next time, I will probably try the group play so my guy has other buddies to play with, though I believe that service is also above $ 10 per day (for maybe an hour?). Overall however, I would likely use their boarding service again since they are located near me, and getting there is very easy. Again, the actual service was fine, but the food/​playtime thing was a little let down for me.

We moved into the area last year, and I started a search for a place to board my dog and cat. After doing some research, I went to tour Animal Keeper in Encinitas. I was very impressed with the facility. It was clean and the kennels were a nice size for the dogs. The employees were friendly. Our only reservation was the high rates they charge on the ala carte menu of activities. But hey, we love our pets and want the best for them.
The first time we boarded our dog, all seemed fine, except they double charged our credit card. The second time, we were charged for a suite, when our dog was in the regular kennel. The third and fourth time were horrible in that our dog did NOT want to go inside. He kept trying to run from the employee and had his tail between his legs. We have never seen him behave that way before. Needless to say, he will never go back.
In the meantime, we also boarded our cat. Suddenly they want a note from the vet saying that our 13 year old cat is healthy enough to be boarded. So you know what that means? Now we have to pay for an office visit at the vet, on top of the boarding costs, even though she got a clean bill of health at her yearly visit six months ago and is up to date on her inoculations.
I now have found a wonderful place for our dog and will start looking for another place for our cat.

We used the AK a few times to trim our dogs nails. Usually it was a 5 minute deal, just bring our dogs in the back, get the nails done, wham bam thank you ma’am. When we called last week, the new receptionist insisted that we drop off our dogs at 9 am for the whole day to get their nails trimmed. She couldn’t get her head around the fact that trimming our dogs nails isn’t an all day affair. It’s almost like she didn’t want our business. Well thank you AK, we ended up calling Dogs N Suds and got the nails and teeth done in 10 minutes. We didn’t need an appointment, vaccination records, and didn’t have a snooty receptionist giving us attitude. Kind of like AK used to be!

Exceptional Service. Very nice. I showed up without my paperwork and they took the time to call my vet and get the info. when I was one shot short they called around to local vets to find someone who could take me immediately.
Very helpful, nice, highly recommended!

We love the AK! As a child, my parents always boarded our golden retriever there, and now that I’m married and have a golden of my own, we take him there too!
My favorite thing about AK is the day camp. Whether just for the day, or as a supplement to boarding your pet, the camp is a real blast for the dogs. They have 2 camps — Camp Big Dog and Camp Tiny Tots — so dogs are always comfortable playing and owners don’t have to worry about their little guys getting trampled by big guys. Anyway, they have 3 large, fenced yards for camp and the staff always is present to oversee the playing and also to throw balls for fetch. During summer the pups get to splash in kiddie pools which is my dog’s favorite activity. Camp is a great way to socialize and ultimately tire out your dog!
Boarding here is relatively inexpensive. They do offer «luxury suites,» but we always opt for regular boarding + camp daily. If your dog is going to be running around all day with his buddies, he really won’t care where he sleeps. Camp adds that extra «fun factor» to boarding and my dog has a great time each time he stays. The AK is also a stickler for immunization records, which I think is awesome. I wouldn’t want my dog playing with dogs who were not up to date on their vaccines.
As for the negative reviews, I think some bad experiences are to be expected when you send your dog off to associate with so many other dogs. Let’s not forget that at the end of the day, animals are still animals — they get sick sometimes, or get in fights. But I can assure you I have never had either happen to us, and I know that AK does everything in its power to prevent these kinds of things. The staff are very caring and are always looking out for each dog, and, if a dog misbehaves in the yard they are immediately separated from the group.
As for the people complaining about the «bring your own food» charges — give me a break. It’s $ 2 extra to bring your own food, and they only charge in the first place to discourage everyone from bringing their own food and making things complicated. Just picture trying to keep each dog’s food straight for every meal — it would be chaotic and would take FOREVER to get the feeding done. So, unless your dog has allergies, just let AK feed them their food… otherwise, suck it up, it’s $ 2!
Anyway, all in all, check the place out if you haven’t already. They are happy to offer tours of the boarding facility and will chat to you about any special needs you have. We recommend this place to everyone we know with doggies.

Animal Keeper is a great place to leave your pet for boarding or play time. We take our chocolate lab, Duncan, to day camp at Animal Keeper and I can tell he plays all day because he’s completely exhausted when I pick him up. Duncan gets so excited about going that he whines the whole way there, and sleeps the whole way back :) The staff is extremely friendly, and the hours for drop off and pick up are really flexible, which makes it ideal for dropping him off on the way to work and picking him up on the way back.

I have been taking my dog to the Animal keeper for over 2 years and I think they have a fantastic staff. I feel good when my dog is excited to be dropped off. I would recommend them to anyone.

My dog and I had a wonderful experience here. The customer service was great, and they are very efficient. He had a flea bath here, and he came out happy, smelling wonderful, and his coat was as smooth as ever. I definitely recommend this place.

I would not recommend. I picked up my dog from boarding and was told he had worms. My dog is 10 and has never had worms. The person next to me picking up their dog was told their dog was in a fight and was injured. They were very upset and said they had not been called. I will not return.

I seriously want to review this place and have my review actually published. This filter stuff is crap. Why do I insist? Because I really like this place and the people were so cool to my dog. I see they have some lousy reviews and I want to tell other people to get a clue– maybe my experience was just that good and I lucked out, but I don;t think so. So for the last time, here’s 5 stars!

I called to make an appointment for grooming and they left me on hold for 15 minutes. Finally, I made an appointment with a woman I met at a booth at the Encinitas Street Fair and she gave us a Card with $ 25 written on it. I took my very high-​matenence dog in for his appointment and I gave her my shampoo from home because, well, he’s high-​matenence and he has skin issues. I also mentioned to her that he’s a rescue, that he’s sensitive, and he doesn’t like his paws touched. She acted like it wasn’t a problem and told me to come back in an hour. I know it sounds like I’m very protective of my dog, but if you knew him, you would be too.
Anyway.
When I returned to collect him, the front desk person charged me $ 25, which was fine, I was mistaken as to what that $ 25 card meant. I asked how it went and she said it was impossible to clip his back nails and he didn’t like the bath. Well, I told her he’s still insecure and that he doesn’t like his paws touched, maybe if she took an extra 5 minutes to calm him down after he had the front clipped she could have finished the job. Though, he is clean and she did clean his ears well, he smells like perfume and not like the shampoo I brought in specifically for her to use.
Overall, it was cheap and so was the service.

I was referred here after our normal boarding facilty was fully booked for the holidays last year. I will never take a animal to this place again.
When told that my VERY large (210 lb) dog had food allergies and had to eat his own food (which we provided) I was informed that they charged extra for that. So not only were they double the cost of my normal boarding place, but they also charged me extra to feed my dog. More on that in a minute.
I wasn’t impressed with the location. It seems like it should be a daycare for kids, not dogs. They don’t have real grass only a small astroturf area, which wasn’t really large enough for my dog to be happy in.
When we dropped off my dog (we reserved a large suite) they put him in a small room but told us they would move him later that day when the large suite opened up. When we picked him up (my husband went back to assist), they had him in the same small room. For a normal sized dog, this wouldn’t be a problem, but my dog is 7 feet long laying down at least and the room was too small for him.
Regarding the food problem; when I called to check on him the day after we left, they told me he wasn’t eating. They asked if they could feed him canned food to get him to eat. I reiterated that he had allergies and told them in NO WAYwere they to do anything to his food. I told them to just leave it out and eventually, he would eat it. (He gets a little emo with food when he is missing us.) When we picked him up they told us that they had added water to his food to try and get him to eat it (which he didn’t) so they had to throw out the food a hour or so after putting it down. So basically my dog didn’t eat the entire time we were gone. He lost almost 10 pounds. Unacceptable.

I also have mixed feelings about this place… so honestly I am not sure if I want to give the Animal Keeper three or four stars. I used to have great experiences every time I came in, but the last time left me not really wanting to come back.
THE GOOD:
— My Mom got really sick two years ago. She was in the hospital for almost a month. Her dog goes to the Keeper occasionally, but during this period she was there quite a bit being shuffled between there and my home. At some point they asked if everything was okay, and I told them what was going on. They were SO nice, and worked out a discount for us due to the situation and the amount of time we had to keep boarding our dog there. I will never forget that.
— in the past, the front desk staff has been ridiculously upbeat and happy. Maybe not the most experienced – I think a lot of them are high school age – but pure niceness beats crabby experience in my book 90% of the time. They love (d) all the dogs and were just generally pleasant to be around.
THE BAD:
— last time we went was not so good. First, I showed up without a reservation for doggie day care because last time I called ahead (about 6 mos earlier), they SPECIFICALLY told me that they do NOT take reservations and to just come in. So I did this time, and the girl at the front gave me SERIOUS attitude about it. Then, while I completely understand the militancy RE the shots, she again was rude because I didnt have the dogs’ shots updated in the system and I didnt have their records in hand. I told her we could call my vet right then and there – which she rolled her eyes at. I dialed up my vet on my cell and handed her the phone and they confirmed that our dogs were up to date within two minutes.
Gah. She really makes me not want to go back, which is unfortunate considering how good some of the people have been to me and my family here over the years… :(

I’ve had good experiences here for two years. I have two dogs, both of whom are of very playful, but mellow temperament. They seem to really love the Animal Keeper. As soon as we pull into the lot, they get super excited upon seeing all the dogs playing in the yard.
The front desk staff is pretty friendly and they seem to genuinely love dogs, which is a must for me. I need to know my dogs are in the care of animal lovers. There’s also a 24 hour vet hospital attached, which is another must.
I always go with the suites, which are expensive, but I put both dogs in the same one so that they’ll keep each other company. There are loads of extras to add on– I think I usually get one or two, but I don’t go crazy.
They are militant about the dogs having shots. Even if your vet says they’re up to date on kennel cough, they require proof of the shot within 6 months. Also, it’s a kennel, and not every owner treats their dog for fleas, so I recommend treating your dogs for fleas before taking them there, which I learned the hard way.
I’ve left my dogs there for as brief as one night to as long as 9 nights and have yet to have a problem. They get free baths with 3 nights stay, so they are returned clean, exercised, and happy.

My dog and my mom’s dogs have been going to the Animal Keeper for over a year — they have a great facility and the staff is very friendly. I truly feel that any pet staying there is in great hands.
Although I have not attended their dog training program, word of mouth is that it is among the best in the area.
My German Shepherd, Pirate, LOVES their doggie daycare… all the dogs seem happy, healthy and much loved at The Animal Keeper.

I’ve got mixed emotions about this place. The best thing about them — they led me to Jenn’s Family Pack (Dog Trainer).
My little guy loved going here until one day out of the blue they said he was a vicious dog who bit someone.
OK. I say, «what can i do?»
I was told, «Oh don’t worry about it, we’ll put him in a kennel by himself, dogs often times get worked up when other dogs are leaving because there is so much energy in the kennels.»
We immediately stopped taking our babe to this place and found two other doggy day cares and have had NO such problems. In fact, one of the new day cares said that his temperament is so good that they use him when interviewing new campers at their facility. My dog trainer agrees that he’s of good temperament and IF he did bite someone it was most likely due a specific event.
In my opinion the staff here do not have adequate training in handling dogs. I’m not sure if my pup was mishandled or not but he has been named a stellar day camper at both Camp Bow Wow (October camper of the month) and Camp Run A Mutt.
Go elsewhere, I don’t trust these people…