Jobs/Careers with dogs?

[Lyss90]

I'm having a hard time deciding what I would like to do as for as my career, I would like to get back to school, but havent decided what I REALLY wanna be.
I know of a few things im interested in, like Culinary school.
But honestly, I would REALLY love it if I could have a job working with animals, mainly interested in working with dogs.
I know there must be alot of people on here who work with dogs as their jobs? Im trying to think of my different options. if anybody could share their expierience and cons and pros of what they do, it would be MUCH appreciated
I wanted to go to school to be a vet tech for the longest time, but last summer I tried working at an animal hospital as a kennel tech, they had me assist with some surgerys and such as well as drawing blood. also assisted the groomer a few times with severly matted neglected poodles. I quickly fount out I did not have what it takes to do that job, I fount myself sick almost everyday lol, I about fainted everytime I would see blood.
Altough I would still really enjoy working with dogs, out of the medical field.
I would love to train dogs as therapy and service dogs, but that is more of a volunteer type of thing and unfortunately I have to pay bills :/ LOL
While im not looking for job expecting to make a killing, just enough to live off of basicly, any ideas?

 

[JacksonsMom]

Unfortunately, it seems to be tough to find well-paying animal-related careers, unless of course you're a vet.

I will say though the pet sitting industry seems to have taken off. I am just a 21 year old college student who started watching dogs on the side, mostly for family friends and such. Through word of mouth and care.com, I established a few clients who use me on a regular basis.

I could do a lot more than I'm doing now but didn't want to have TOO much for myself to handle being in school still and all. But I make pretty good money for what I'm doing, IMO. I could be charging a lot more too in this area. For overnight visits, most in-home pet sitting companies are $60 per night or more. I charge about $40 per night right now. I also charge $12 for a 30 minute walk and I visit 3-4 dogs 5 days a week. But I always feel like because I'm not bonded or insured yet or a "professional" company, I charge less. But I've seriously considered making this into a real business and continuing on with it when done with college. This area in particular is pretty pet friendly and people treat their pets like family and want only the best so are willing to pay quite a bit for good care.

I really love it right now and a lot of people are telling me if I have a good thing going already and to make a business out of it and start off getting one other person to help me out, etc. Getting myself bonded and insured, etc. I do love it... I love the dogs, they've all become like my second dogs. But sometimes it's a little much. I spend all early afternoon walking other peoples dogs and often get home and then have to exercise my OWN dog. lol. Which sometimes I just don't feel like it. But my schedule is really lax right now so I'm not complaining.

So it's something to look into.

Other than that, all I can think about is being an animal control officer/investigator, vet, vet tech, receptionist at a vet (sort of has to do with animals still), working at a kennel/daycare/boarding place, or a dog trainer.

 

[milos_mommy]

Being a dog trainer is certainly not just a volunteer job. Many people train dogs for a living, and while it's certainly not going to bring in the money a medical degree would, you can make a comfortable living doing it.

I'm currently pursuing a degree in animal behavior, but I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with that yet (or if I'll even finish it). I'm doing an undergrad in psychology, and want to go to grad school for ethology.

 

[Zhucca]

I'm a supervisor at a Daycare and Boarding kennel.

Pros:
You get to work with dogs every day on a intimate basis (I've known some dogs for 3yrs - some since they were puppies) Same with their owners, I love all my customers.
It pays better than a basic retail store/fast food job.
Easy job to get, a lot of kennels won't only be looking for a buttload of experience.

Cons:
It doesn't pay that well. (You need to own one to see the cash.)
Dealing with a lot of dogs at the same time is HARD. It's not just 'playing with dogs'.
You will get pooped on, peed on, puked on.
Customers get really crazy about their babies and can be a pain to deal with.

I think if you don't want to get into the medical field, choose business. The pet industry is quite lucrative from that standpoint. You could own a daycare, boarding kennel, retail store, or combine all three together.

 

[AllieMackie]

Don't put aside working in a pet retail position, either. Some suck, for sure - I would avoid Petsmart or Petco, I worked at Petsmart and it was absolutely soul-sucking.

I work in a small independent pet nutrition store now (well, it's a franchise - Global Pet Foods - but they're all run and inventoried independantly so it doesn't feel like a franchise) and I adore it. I'm finding it even more challenging than I expected - my bosses have high standards when it comes to pet and pet nutrition education, and I'm always taking seminars, making notes, and figuring out what diet is best for x ailment and y allergy.

I don't intend to make it my lifelong career, but I'm happy here at least for a few years, and I get an amazing discount on everything I buy from the store, plus a free bag of food every month for Finn - it's more than halved my pet supply costs.

Dunno if you have a shop like that nearby, but it's always worth a look, even for while you're still young and figuring out what to do - it's still pet-related experience on a resume, so if you want to enter a pet-related career down the road it can only help you out.

ETA: Not to mention, if you show initiative, they may let you in on the backend side of the industry - purchasing, distributors, competition and the like. That's where I am right now, as my boss has decided to eventually promote me to purchasing manager for the store. I love my job more than ever now that I see how the guts all work, it's a great education and experience that I may use for myself in the future to properly open a pet-related business of my own.

 

[k9krazee]

My Aunt makes a living by teaching agility classes in her backyard and grooming dogs out of her home. It can be done.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I'm a full-time service dog trainer working for a training organization. Yes, the pay sucks (and we're one of the better-paying organizations, but don't tell my boss that! we're also in one of the more expensive cities to live in), but you can make a living.

What I would suggest would be to think about what kind of people you want to work with. Because all dogs are ultimately people's pets, so all dog jobs involve people. And all trainers say that people are what makes the job so difficult.

As a pet dog trainer, you're teaching people how to train their dogs, you're NOT training their dogs. That job involves a lot of teaching skill and people skills. And it's often frustrating because you see the dog struggling and know you could do it so much better yourself.

As a service dog trainer, I don't work with people as much, I do a lot of one-on-one training with my dogs. But I do have to work with volunteers, conduct tour groups, do presentations, etc. And it's more like a "real" job, in that I have to show progress reports to my supervisor and am held accountable for my dog' results.

Personally, I decided not to work for a vet because nearly 100% of interractions with the dogs are when the dogs are hurt or stressed. And too many owners don't treat their dogs well, I figured I'd get frustrated by the people.

 

[milos_mommy]

I should add that I did what zhucca is doing now...I was a dog handler at a dog daycare/cage-free boarding facility.

The pay wasn't great....but the owners of the place made A LOT. It was a bigger company (I think they had about 40 employees, including trainers and walkers and joggers) and I don't envy the stress that comes with running a business...but the guys who owned it built it up from a dog-walking company they started in college.

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

I'm a supervisor at a Daycare and Boarding kennel.

Pros:
You get to work with dogs every day on a intimate basis (I've known some dogs for 3yrs - some since they were puppies) Same with their owners, I love all my customers.
It pays better than a basic retail store/fast food job.
Easy job to get, a lot of kennels won't only be looking for a buttload of experience.

Cons:
It doesn't pay that well. (You need to own one to see the cash.)
Dealing with a lot of dogs at the same time is HARD. It's not just 'playing with dogs'.
You will get pooped on, peed on, puked on.
Customers get really crazy about their babies and can be a pain to deal with.

I think if you don't want to get into the medical field, choose business. The pet industry is quite lucrative from that standpoint. You could own a daycare, boarding kennel, retail store, or combine all three together.

Those should be reminded all the time.

LOL I love my job as a daycare/trainer but it's hard and while the pay can be very good it can also suck. I work as a contract worker and some days I get 8-12 dogs and walk away with 200-300 dollars but some days I only get 4-5 dogs and only walk away with 100 dollars. Neither are terrible but when you are working from 7 am (usually up by 5 am and at work by 630am) until 6 pm working with several dogs that scream, bark, aggress, poop, pee, (especially awful on the treadmill!) etc, 100 a day is a painful pay.


I'm currently planning to gain my vet tech degree and move into a specialty of animal rehab (physical) and I would someday ideally open a place very similar to where I work only "better" (that's always the goal right?).

 

[Grab]

I'm a vet tech and I don't think I make $100 a day (and that's with 9+ hour shifts)..I need a new job, lol

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

I'm a vet tech and I don't think I make $100 a day (and that's with 9+ hour shifts)..I need a new job, lol

LOL My goal is specialty, and I'm in no fantasy world, I know the vet tech work (even specialty) alone won't be overly well paying but I have found in my research and watching my boss, etc, the real money tends to come when you combine a few of the options out there, such as a retail store, rehab center, training, etc.

 

[Mina]

I'm not advocating for the profession, but:

Good show handlers can make good money.
Top handlers can make very good money (100K+++).

It can be a very difficult, nomadic lifestyle but,
if you enjoy it, the $$$"s are certainly available.

:thumbsupsmileyanim:

 

[elegy]

I'm currently planning to gain my vet tech degree and move into a specialty of animal rehab (physical) and I would someday ideally open a place very similar to where I work only "better" (that's always the goal right?).

That'd be pretty awesome.

 

[BostonBanker]

Because all dogs are ultimately people's pets, so all dog jobs involve people. And all trainers say that people are what makes the job so difficult.

:hail: I always hear people say "I want to get into dogs/horses/whatever because I love animals so much more than people!". As the woman I train with says "The dogs aren't the ones who can sign checks". You need *amazing* people skills to do anything that is going to involve pet dogs, because at the end of the day, you work for their owners.

I spent two years or so working as a pet dog trainer (small local business, teaching beginner/intermediate pet manners and beginner agility) and several years managing horse barns before I realized I didn't have strong enough skills in that area. I can't always be polite and nice when I think someone is doing something that could hurt their animal, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. I can't always smile and nod when someone is telling me something that is making my head say "You are the biggest idiot I've met". You need to be able to do those things, or you are going to turn off clients and make them shut you out when you offer good advice that could help their animals.

I also worked animal control for a couple of years. The money was decent, or would have been if my boss at the time didn't hold the contract and suck 70% or so off of it. Not full time though, and no insurance or anything. I think every town/city has different requirements for the job though. You don't have to be as nice, because you have an entire police department standing at your back but you also need to be willing to be pretty upfront and forceful. I hated writing tickets, I hated going to court.

As much as I spent most of my life saying I was going to go work with animals for a living (have an animal science degree with the full pre-vet curriculum), I realized that what makes me happier is to have a job I enjoy and do well at, and that pays enough that I can go home and really enjoy my own animals.

 

[oakash]

Neither are terrible but when you are working from 7 am (usually up by 5 am and at work by 630am) until 6 pm working with several dogs that scream, bark, aggress, poop, pee, (especially awful on the treadmill!) etc, 100 a day is a painful pay.

See, I'm weird, and that sounds amazing to me. I am an extremely active person, and I'm happiest when I'm moving. I couldn't stand being behind a desk, or even just standing. Walking dogs, just being with dogs sounds like my idea day. At my rescue, my favorite dogs to walk were the ones that didn't know what a leash was, because I could teach them, and it required me to move more.

 

[Lyss90]

Oh, its not in the way that I wanna work with animals because I dont like people.. I love working with people, I may be a bit shy, but I get terribly bored when I dont have other people to talk to lol. I would just really like to have a job doing something I actually enjoy, and animals have always been a huge part of my life, and Im just a happier person when im around them. Not all my friends understand my "obsession" with animals
So, it would also be nice to get to meet other animal lovers lol.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I realized that what makes me happier is to have a job I enjoy and do well at, and that pays enough that I can go home and really enjoy my own animals.

I think this is where I'm at. Luckily, like I said, my schedule is not a difficult one right now and there is plenty of time to spend with Jackson but I imagine if I were doing something FULL time with other dogs, it would get tiring, and I really enjoy just spending time with my OWN dog and not everyone elses.

 

[GoingNowhere]

don't discount research and development.

I don't know too much about the field, but for every animal product, someone had to come up with it. There are inevitably people in the pet food industry that work on designing new foods and marketing their products. Then you have the sales reps on the other end of that.

If you're interested in animal agriculture, I'm sure there are plenty of jobs there too. Of course, you have to be okay with the notion that those animals are alive to be turned into food.

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

Don't put aside working in a pet retail position, either. Some suck, for sure - I would avoid Petsmart or Petco, I worked at Petsmart and it was absolutely soul-sucking.

I work in a small independent pet nutrition store now (well, it's a franchise - Global Pet Foods - but they're all run and inventoried independantly so it doesn't feel like a franchise) and I adore it. I'm finding it even more challenging than I expected - my bosses have high standards when it comes to pet and pet nutrition education, and I'm always taking seminars, making notes, and figuring out what diet is best for x ailment and y allergy.

I don't intend to make it my lifelong career, but I'm happy here at least for a few years, and I get an amazing discount on everything I buy from the store, plus a free bag of food every month for Finn - it's more than halved my pet supply costs.

Dunno if you have a shop like that nearby, but it's always worth a look, even for while you're still young and figuring out what to do - it's still pet-related experience on a resume, so if you want to enter a pet-related career down the road it can only help you out.

ETA: Not to mention, if you show initiative, they may let you in on the backend side of the industry - purchasing, distributors, competition and the like. That's where I am right now, as my boss has decided to eventually promote me to purchasing manager for the store. I love my job more than ever now that I see how the guts all work, it's a great education and experience that I may use for myself in the future to properly open a pet-related business of my own.

This! I work at a pet food store and I absolutely love it. We have an emphasis on natural/holistic foods, and carry a huge range of awesome products. I love being able to educate customers on the best way to care for their pets, and I love being around and working with pet products.

Plus, I get free food every month, and an awesome discount on anything else I need.

I'm also going to school to be a vet tech. I'm not sure where I'll end up eventually, but I know it will be with animals. By completing my vet tech degree, I'm leaving every door open.

 

[Zhucca]

Those should be reminded all the time.

LOL I love my job as a daycare/trainer but it's hard and while the pay can be very good it can also suck. I work as a contract worker and some days I get 8-12 dogs and walk away with 200-300 dollars but some days I only get 4-5 dogs and only walk away with 100 dollars. Neither are terrible but when you are working from 7 am (usually up by 5 am and at work by 630am) until 6 pm working with several dogs that scream, bark, aggress, poop, pee, (especially awful on the treadmill!) etc, 100 a day is a painful pay.


I'm currently planning to gain my vet tech degree and move into a specialty of animal rehab (physical) and I would someday ideally open a place very similar to where I work only "better" (that's always the goal right?).

My gosh, people just don't really understand until they've worked in a daycare or a kennel how tough it is. It's draining. The way my job operates is in the daycare we have a 1:15 handler to dog ratio. Our max is 60 dogs as we only have 4 employees. We usually average about 50. Our resort can handle up to 165 dogs. Plus we have swimming, grooming and retail. (Holistic pet store)

Luckily I can look through all the bad behaviours I deal with in a day and still love my job. Then those days come where all the dogs are hell bent on fighting, barking (preferably right in your ear, as high pitched as possible), and scratching the crap out of you. I go home saying "I HATE DOGS!" then wake up and forget all about it.

I know I could open a similar business and be successful but I'm thinking more medical at this time. Good luck on your degree, Adrianne.