# What are some jobs that a teen can get working with dogs



## THE_biggest_canine_lover (Dec 26, 2010)

So my curriculum vitae, in my opinion a lot better then other teenagers. So hopefully age won't be too much of a factor when it comes to hiring, and I was wondering what jobs I could work at that involves working with other dogs

EDIT: Also please note I don't want to have a job that is a waste of my time and efforts and it's mainly because someone doesn't want to do it... For example cleaning dog feces out of cages


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

There are legal issues with minors working with animals. Usually in the U.S., you have to be at least 16. I don't know what the legal situation is like in Australia. You can ask at all the animal-based businesses in your area for more guidance.

If you want to work with animals, usually you have to start at the bottom. If you refuse to clean cages, considering it a waste of your time and effort (cages must be cleaned, and somebody has to do it), well, it could be hard to get hired. Animal work is messy and difficult, and they want to know that you're up for it.


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## THE_biggest_canine_lover (Dec 26, 2010)

So your saying the only way for me to get a good job working with dogs and actually helping them is to clean up their crap first?


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

THE_biggest_canine_lover said:


> So your saying the only way for me to get a good job working with dogs and actually helping them is to clean up their crap first?


Possibly. It depends who's doing the hiring. But usually, yes. What kind of working with dogs and helping them do you have in mind?


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## THE_biggest_canine_lover (Dec 26, 2010)

Really any type of working with dogs and helping would be nice in whichever way I can if possible. As long as I am working with dogs in whatever way possible (not for bad obviously). So I don't know the specific type of work I would want to do with dogs, because I am not sure what there is thats why I created this thread, hoping people could give me options


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## yappypappymom (Oct 22, 2009)

Now, this was a very long tim ago for me, but, - heck yes - I was in HS, & I also worked at Dr. Pet in the mall. I was the kennel attendant there. I happened to love my job at that time, &...I got paid for it too. I got to play w/the pups, clean their cages, wash them up, feed them...when I was 16, I thought this was the coolest thing ever!!


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## THE_biggest_canine_lover (Dec 26, 2010)

Well I love all animals, dogs being most. So any job with dogs would be a good, fun or rewarding job for me, especially since I feel a really strong connection with dogs.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

Being a teenager looking for your first job, you have to expect to start at the bottom. That's how it works, even if you don't work with dogs. Most people start out with crappy jobs that adults don't want, and adults have the experience and education to get the good jobs. No one is going to hire a teenager to do an adult's job.

There is nothing wrong with starting at the bottom. Consider it getting your foot in the door. You could even start by volunteering, just to get the experience. If you start out by cleaning the cages, and show that you have commitment to work hard, even when it's just a 'crappy' job at the bottom, people will notice and you will work your way up.


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

Have you considered a stable hand? Don't know if you enjoy horses and chances are with no experience you would be picking up crap there too but maybe you could work under a trainer and they would train you how to train horses. I did that and it was a blast. If you find a trainer in your area that is really really good the experience can be amazing. I was lucky to have a few in my area that were Olympic Gold medalists and world champion trainers. Usually the crap pickup is a small part of the job, you might also be needed to groom, lunge or just exercise ride. Just a thought.

I am not sure of what you are looking for but without experience you generally start at the bottom and work your way up. Picking up poop might not be glamorous but it is a necessary part of animal care and shouldn't be looked down at. The other option would be boarding kennels, grooming salons (might start as a bather) etc... Whichever job you chose always remember that if there was nobody at the bottom, the top couldn't do what it/they were doing either. Every rung on the ladder is important and you can gain so much from landing on each one as you climb it.


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## THE_biggest_canine_lover (Dec 26, 2010)

lil_fuzzy said:


> Being a teenager looking for your first job, you have to expect to start at the bottom.





Inga said:


> I am not sure of what you are looking for but without experience you generally start at the bottom and work your way up.


As I said my curriculum vitae is a lot better then most teenagers and I have had a couple of jobs for 2 years which I could get good recommendations from.


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## GypsyJazmine (Nov 27, 2009)

You are going about this with the wrong attitude...You should be happy taking ANY job that gets your foot in the door...I can't think of a single animal position where you are not going to have to clean up after the animals...Good luck with that.


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## Shandwill (Jul 23, 2010)

GypsyJazmine said:


> You are going about this with the wrong attitude...You should be happy taking ANY job that gets your foot in the door...I can't think of a single animal position where you are not going to have to clean up after the animals...Good luck with that.


Agreed! If you truly "feel a strong connection with dogs," you will want to help them and care for them in any way needed. Just out of curiousity, do you have a dog? If so, who cleans up after it?
Even top trainers, behaviorists, etc. clean up after their own dogs, it's just part of the commitment of working with/caring for dogs. Best of luck!


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

Unless you're working at a puppy mill type of setting, I don't see how your entire day could consist of cleaning cages/dog runs. Usually kennel attendants are expected to keep cages clean, but it's not all they do. When I was a kennel attendant in high school I cleaned out runs, did laundry, walked the dogs, fed the dogs, and played with the dogs. If our grooming department got swamped, I would occasionally bathe dogs too. Honestly, I spent more time walking dogs than anything and I had the best time and got to know a lot about dogs. The absolute BEST part of the job was that my dog was welcome to come to work with me and I wouldn't trade some of the memories I made with her there for the world.


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## THE_biggest_canine_lover (Dec 26, 2010)

Shandwill said:


> Agreed! If you truly "feel a strong connection with dogs," you will want to help them and care for them in any way needed. Just out of curiousity





GypsyJazmine said:


> You are going about this with the wrong attitude...You should be happy taking ANY job that gets your foot in the door...I can't think of a single animal position where you are not going to have to clean up after the animals...Good luck with that.


Cleaning up after dogs, doesn't help any dogs all it does is help the people who are to lazy to clean it up. I don't feel I am helping dogs by cleaning up after them and thats the reason I don't want to... I didn't mean that I didn't want a job that involved cleaning up after them, I meant I didn't want a job that solely depended on me cleaning up after them and that was the only thing I would be doing, because the veterinarian told me if I wanted to work there it would be cleaning out the kennels, fun? No, in my eyes doing the work their to lazy to do 




Lindbert said:


> Unless you're working at a puppy mill type of setting, I don't see how your entire day could consist of cleaning cages/dog runs. Usually kennel attendants are expected to keep cages clean, but it's not all they do. When I was a kennel attendant in high school I cleaned out runs, did laundry, walked the dogs, fed the dogs, and played with the dogs. If our grooming department got swamped, I would occasionally bathe dogs too. Honestly, I spent more time walking dogs than anything and I had the best time and got to know a lot about dogs. The absolute BEST part of the job was that my dog was welcome to come to work with me and I wouldn't trade some of the memories I made with her there for the world.


That I would not mind, taking them out for walks/runs, feeding them, playing with them, bathing them and then cleaning up after them.


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

I think you would be better off looking for a job at a boarding facility or daycare over a vet's office in that case. I worked here (http://halohouseanimalresort.com/) from the ages of 14 through 17. Because of that experience, I was able to get a job as a vet tech when I turned 18. If it weren't for that job, I never would have gone to college and eventually vet school.


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## THE_biggest_canine_lover (Dec 26, 2010)

Ok thank you, I will check out boarding facilities and daycare centers near me. I don't think where you worked would be in Australia, would it?


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## Lindbert (Dec 12, 2010)

Unfortunately, it is in New Jersey.. lol

You'll get the most hands-on dog experience if you find a place that actually lets the dogs play together during the day. Other boarding facilities where the dogs stay in their own cages all day are depressing and you'll find yourself cleaning up and doing laundry way more. 

I believe Oz Wagtails is based in Australia but I am not sure which part. The owner of Halo House was one of the first to implement doggie daycare in our area and she consulted with them for the basic idea behind her facility because they are one of the first and best facilities in the world.


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## Pynzie (Jan 15, 2010)

Damn, I'm going to be 22 and I was ecstatic to get a volunteer position working with the vets at a shelter. One of them said I'd better be prepared to get my hands dirty and that actually made me more excited! Haha. I'm thankful to finally be getting involved. I can't wait to get my hands dirty! It's true what everyone has said, sometimes you have to start at the bottom. But yeah, if you want to have other responsibilities you might be able to get something at another place. Keep looking around.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

I'm a teenager, and I have worked three dog-related jobs. Two were (and are) cleaning kennels. This is probably what you're going to start doing at a shelter, boarding kennel, or grooming facility (unless you're a bather) because it requires the least training, and you don't have any other knowledge at that point to aid in finding a job. 

Cleaning kennels is NOT doing someone else's work because they are too lazy. You're hired specifically to feed, medicate, and clean up after the dogs to keep their quality of life as good as it can be. You will clean cages completely once a day (likely) so that they stay healthy (helping them) and then you will rotate them going outside and clean up after dogs that go in their cage. You may not feel it is rewarding, but even such grunt work is very rewarding when you see all the dogs being saved, and you work with dogs while doing all of this to help them find new homes. 

Most dog-related businesses will not hire anyone under the age of 18 for liability reasons if a dog were to bite you. 

Gotta start somewhere.


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## ladyshadowhollyjc (Oct 28, 2008)

Honestly, from my experience the kind of attitude you are displaying is one that people who typically wash-out of this field have.

You have to learn behavior from animals. The best place to learn that is kennel work. It's not just cleaning up poop, which is am extremely important part of this field. The vet doesn't hire you to pick up crap because he's too lazy too.... you are part of a team and you all work together. to do what is best for the animals. Nothing you do in this field will be entirely limited to cleaning up after the animals.

Do you have any experience handling animals at all? If not, start asking friends, family, and neighbors if you could pet sit for them when they are away. Go down to your local shelter. Ask what they need volunteers to do the most, and do it (by the way, part of getting your foot in the door is just doing ANYTHING you can). Try to be around as many animals as you can.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

ladyshadowhollyjc said:


> You have to learn behavior from animals. The best place to learn that is kennel work.


Yep, I absolutely agree. Today at my shelter job "cleaning up poop for lazy people" I got to watch a pregnant setter give birth to 5 beautiful, healthy puppies. You're not going to get that experience anywhere else.


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## Active Dog (Jan 18, 2010)

Yep when I interned at a vet clinic (not paid as a intern, I was paid to clean up poop and such), I got to see a pug get a c-section, operations, see a few things removed from intestines, a toe amputation from a great dane, dentals, learning how to hold animals to get their blood drawn, how to give medication, how to keep things clean when a parvo puppy came in. The list just goes on and on. There is really an unlimited amount of knowledge you can learn while working at a vet clinic. Sure you have to clean up crap but I can't tell you how much I learned in return. And like you I have had years of job experience as a teenager (intern experience) but that didn't help at all when it came to getting a job. It took me 8 months to find a job as a cashier....as an adult....


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

Active Dog said:


> Yep when I interned at a vet clinic (not paid as a intern, I was paid to clean up poop and such), I got to see a pug get a c-section, operations, see a few things removed from intestines, a toe amputation from a great dane, dentals, learning how to hold animals to get their blood drawn, how to give medication, how to keep things clean when a parvo puppy came in. The list just goes on and on. There is really an unlimited amount of knowledge you can learn while working at a vet clinic. Sure you have to clean up crap but I can't tell you how much I learned in return. And like you I have had years of job experience as a teenager (intern experience) but that didn't help at all when it came to getting a job. It took me 8 months to find a job as a cashier....as an adult....


You can learn most of this stuff working at a shelter too, so you're not limited. Check a few places!


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