Careers in Dog Care

If you love animals, but have a particular affinity for dogs then you might be considering a career in dog care. There is no better time than the present to enter the field of dog care as they are more popular than ever before. Despite economic woes people are still spending money on their dogs whether it is through Veterinary care or grooming and training. While most people do not go into animal care for the money it does seem to be an industry where there is steady to rapid growth and security. Most people go into working with dogs because they love it. Whatever your motivation, here are several of the most popular careers in dog care:

1. Groomer: Groomers have the task of making dogs look and feel their best through shampoos, trims and clippings. Groomers have the ability to make a mongrel into a pedigreed pooch. They benefits of the job include income through tips and salary, the ability to do the job from home and bonding and petting dogs for a living. Drawbacks include long hours on your feet and the possibility of biting clients.

2. Dog Sitter: Professional sitters provide more advanced care of dogs than the average dog walker and often care for the dogs in their homes when the owner travels. Professional sitters are adept at keeping dogs on their daily routine, providing medication as scheduled and really providing for the well-being of the dog while his owner is away. Benefits include the ability to work outside of an office environment, freedom to service multiple clients at a time and the ability to make life better for a dog when he needs it the most. Drawbacks include working on holidays and the many other house sitting service requirements in addition to dog care.

3. Kennel Operator: Owners, operators or employees of a kennel know how much fun it can be caring for dogs when their owners are away. Kennels provide day care services, overnight services and long term stay services. Benefits include getting to know different dogs, providing care for them and being their interim family. Drawbacks include excessive barking, cleaning up countless messes and becoming too attached to the dogs in your care when their stay is complete. It is also very difficult to find the time to provide individual care to all of the dogs staying in the kennel on any given day.

4. Veterinarian: Veterinarians have the awesome responsibility of providing routine and emergency medical care for healthy, sick and injured dogs alike. Benefits include high salaries and the power and knowledge to save the lives of innocent animals. This can be an extremely rewarding experience, but difficult to handle for some. Drawbacks include extensive schooling and the heartbreak that comes with the loss of life. Veterinarians often have to euthanize dogs they can not save or worse yet, euthanize dogs that people no longer want or can afford to care for.

5. Trainer or Behaviorist: These dog care professionals make a living training dogs basic to advanced obedience skills and socializing or earn their keep teaching people how to train their own dogs. Benefits include rehabilitating unruly dogs, saving the lives of dogs who would otherwise be euthanized and teaching other people how to bond with their dogs. Drawbacks include dog bites and owners who do not agree with your methods.

In addition to paid careers in dog care there are a variety of positions that are based on volunteering. If you have some spare time and are willing to help dogs with it then you should consider volunteering with your local Humane Society or local Animal Control office.