Animal Care and Service Workers as Career
Love for animals and your desire to play with pets can give you a fulfilling career in Animal Care and related services in different areas. Many people mistake animal care career limited to pet groomer but you’ll be surprised to know that you can work in many different settings and areas- commercial sports trainer, boarding kennels, pet stores, animal shelters, rescue leagues, veterinary hospitals and clinics, stables, laboratories, aquariums and natural aquatic habitats, and zoological parks.
Animal Care and Service Workers have excellent job opportunities along with satisfying career. Job titles and duties vary by employment settings; some of them are listed below:
- Non-farm animal caretakers
- Animal trainers
- Groomers
- Kennel attendants
- Pet sitters
Role of Animal Care and Service Workers
- Feed and groom animals
- Assess animals
- Identify different methods to teach animals
- Clean equipment and the living spaces of animals
- Monitor animals and record information such as their diet, physical condition, and behavior
- Examine animals for signs of illness or injury
- Exercise animals
- Bath animals, trim nails, clip hair, and attend to other grooming needs
- Train animals to obey or to do specific behaviors
Skills of Animal Care and Service Workers
Compassion: All workers must be compassionate and treat the animals with kindness.
Customer-service skills: Animal care and service workers should understand pet owners’ needs so they can provide services that leave the owners satisfied.
Detail oriented: Workers must be detail oriented because they are often responsible for keeping animals on a strict diet, maintaining records, and monitoring changes in animals’ behavior.
Patience: Animal caretakers and Animal trainers need to be patient when teaching or dealing with animals that do not respond to commands.
Problem-solving skills: Animal trainers must have problem-solving skills when teaching an animal obedience and other behaviors.
Stamina: Stamina is important for animal care and service workers because their work often involves kneeling, crawling, bending, and, occasionally, lifting heavy supplies, such as bags of food.
Some related job titles of Animal Trainers
Trainer, Dog Trainer, Horse Trainer, Guide Dog Instructor, Guide Dog Trainer, Agility Instructor, Cutting Horse Trainer, Dog and Cat Behavior Specialist, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor, Licensed Guide Dog Instructor
Some related job titles of Non-farm Animal Caretakers
Groomer, Dog Groomer, Aquarist, Kennel Attendant, Kennel Technician, Pet Groomer, Animal Care Giver (ACG), Kennel Manager, Pet Stylist, Animal Care Technician
Qualification required to become Animal Trainer
Typically employers look for high school qualification with several years of experience in Animal handling. Job prospects for eligible Animal Trainers lies not only in homes and offices but also in Kennels, pet care homes, and zoos etc. Also with years of experience you can start your animal consulting business.