Those Who Work With Dogs

Shantara

Shantara

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What do you do and how did you get into it?

I'm desperate to start working with dogs, but I don't know how to start! It doesn't help that I don't know exactly what I want to do.
Anything you can tell me will be a huge help!

Picture of my dog Tamriel, because she is beautiful <3TamLeavesCircle.jpg
 
Lovely pic :)

I'm going to play devil's avocado here ;)
I would think very carefully about it as it's not all it is cracked up to be and you will probably end up spending less time with your own dog as a result. It's a very busy market and your insurance would need to be watertight.
Roles such as police, security and service/assistance dog handling/training are already heavily subscribed.
There are also things like grooming, boarding and daycare - but that means you can't really take holidays at the normal times!
Then there are things like food franchises and equipment selling.
Animal agencies exist where your dog can be used on film or TV, but again this is very difficult to get a foot in the door and the dog has to be of a certain temperament and be used to a lot of noise, bright lights, people and hanging around all day.
If you were thinking of any sort of training, then get your credentials sorted first. I am acquainted with people who gain the very basic entry level qualifications with their dog and then quit their job, get a van covered in decals, a customised hoodie and off they go, they're a dog trainer. For me, if I was going to go to a trainer, I would like to have seen them handle/title their dog in something, not just have an online diploma and nice YouTube videos.
For me dogs are a hobby and no one I know who has gone into a dog-related business has made me think 'I want to do that'.
In my opinion, if you want to make money out of dogs and I mean, actual profits, then some sacrifices have to be made in terms of ethics/principles and that is something I would struggle with.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Oh and another thing....you won't be working so much with dogs as working with people, either their owners/clients or those you work alongside - so you also need to have good communication/people skills as well to be successful.
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I knew there was a reason I shouldn't work in HR..... :p

My ex always said that if I won the lottery I would buy a livery yard of my own, or a kennels - he was totally wrong, horses and dogs are what I do to relax, not as a job :) They are my 'switch off' mechanism, and I'd hate for them to be associated with potential hassle/work stress :)
 
Police-dead amn’s shoes, hens’ teeth etc.

A mate is a dog walker, as are 4 other people I know. Only my mate seems to know what she’s doing and is given youngsters to train up then send home. She has famous clients but where she lives is key (on the cheap edge of a very expensive area) She has diversified into raw food, found a supplier and has revolutionised her clients’ feeding routines. It can bring in silly money. She recently went in a client’s helicopter on a nice day out hunting. She works bloody hard and deserves what she earns, but it’s hard work.

What sort of work are you thinking of, Chan?
 
I’m a dog walker and home border.

I do really enjoy it, but am pretty selective about what dogs I have / walk. That being said I’m busy 6 days a week.

My partner and I ‘retired’ 5 years ago and I sort of fell in to dog walking locally when asked by a few people if I could help exercise their dogs. That progressed to home boarding (for the same reasons). I’m insured and licensed etc.

I walk an average of 8 miles a day and am usually knackered by the end of the day. But the benefits are fresh air, exercise and wonderful canine company.

In your shoes though, Chan, I’d look for a more professional path which will give you options for the future.
 
Thanks for the input... I was actually hoping for something more positive, but nevermind! 😅
I'm really not sure what I want to do, I think that's my biggest problem. All my friends in the dog industry absolutely love it! I know a couple of behaviourists, some walkers, agility and scent work people.
I think if I could pick any, I'd like to be a detection dog handler, the training fits in well with my own dogs current training of scent work and man-trailing. Or, something which I hadn't considered until I bumped into a lady who'd done it - working for a sled dog team!
I've worked with horses on and off for 5yrs or so, (so not a stranger to walking and being outside!) but I am actually much more dog savvy than I am with horses.
But you're right about working with people more than dogs, I can train dogs, but I can barely speak to people as my confidence is so low.
 
I work as a veterinary nurse in a charity hospital, so not just dogs. I got in to it by applying to be a kennel assistant. After a year my employers sent me to college to train. I love my job. But it is stressful and poorly paid. I actually prefer working with the cats as they are quieter in the kennels 😅 also it’s a lot more dealing with people than I initially thought. Which I hated as I am very much an introvert. But have got used to it now.

My friends think I cuddle puppies all day, but I very rarely get to do that. Most days I’m running about like a crazy person doing 20 tasks at once, trying to keep sick patients alive 😬
 
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Chan I think you need to be careful what area you go into if you can’t deal with people because otherwise you might be taken for a mug.

I was astounded recently. I use a local walker/homeboarder and she passed me walking dog in her car. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and at the end she said ‘and thank you for always paying so promptly’ I was like WTF??? It ends up it’s not the odd non-payer around, but lots who should know better and she often has to chase for weeks to get paid 😟
 
I think I maybe said the wrong thing, I can deal with people (being a head groom at a livery yard and an artist, also being in retail on and off for about a decade) I have to deal with people a lot, I think what I meant was I find it difficult, near impossible, to teach. I freeze up completely and can't talk.
I can tell my parents, I've practiced on them, but even when it's friends I can't do it!
I'm working with a lovely lady to get my confidence up, but it will take a while
 
the trainer I used has a nice business running now but its taken 15 years of gradually building it up, using village halls and friend's land and constant training and certification for herself to get there. Both her and her husband are in their 50s so already had the house etc and a certain amount of financial freedom and they've just leased new premises for training with a shop attached. She runs all kinds of classes,1-1 training, workshops, coffee mornings and specialises in scent work.


as for working with sled dogs, you mean abroad somewhere? you'd be working as a kennel maid basically while someone else gets the actual fun.
 
If you want to train detection dogs properly you need all sorts of licenses to obtain and work with the substances you need to train on. You also need to know a lot about biology, drives and behaviours and be able to select the right dog for the job, not just the ones you like. It's not just click when a dog sits beside a pot. They need to be environmentally bombproof (an airport/lorry park/warehouse/hospital/a forest in the dark/busy train station) as well as absolutely mad for their reward and be able to work all day and ignore dropped ice-creams and stinky nappies ;)
Depending on what the dog is trained to find, mistakes can mean, at best lost jobs/contracts, at worst, the difference between life and death.
Again it's a saturated (and tough) market and you'll be working with no-nonsense types. There's a lot of wastage, as with most animal related industries, a lot of dogs get binned.
I saw a thing recently about dogs trained to detect dead red squirrels - so that dog would have to distinguish between alive and dead...red and grey....squirrels and other animals....in the field....with lots of distractions....it's actually quite complex.
It would be a hugely rewarding career but very hard. Most in the industry have already worked extensively in some sort of service career.

If scent training is your thing and your dog is good at mantrailing you could offer to go along to or volunteer at a search and rescue/community rescue group and see where that takes you?

Everyone will tell you they love their job in the industry, they won't get clients if they are always complaining ;)
 
Relating to CT's comment, I know it is possible to get well paid work as a walker/live-in dog nanny for ultra high net worth clients (sometimes very well paid!) but just to warn that the lifestyle is distinctly odd and doesn't really work if you have your own dogs. You'd have to live in London, be prepared to travel at the drop of a hat, be on call 24/7 and put up with a lot of bull from entitled rich folk. ;) It's also hard to get 'in' with that set unless you already have connections.

Sled dog kennels abroad often take on handlers in the season but it's more on a bed and board basis for experience than an actual job. I'm not saying it wouldn't be absolutely awesome to go out there and do a 6 month stint, but it doesn't necessarily translate into a job back in the UK.
 
Have you got a rehoming centre near you? You could start volunteering and see if you like it. If you were a dog handler you'd do the cleaning out but most of your day would be walking dogs and training. There's also the positions in the offices which are obviously less hands on but still very important roles. I've managed a centre before and loved the job, I left due to having to live on site but that wasn't necessary for anyone else.
 
I work in rescue, & also volunteer for dog rescue. I agree that volunteering with a rescue centre would be a good place to start & meet contacts if you fancy going down this sort of route. Security/dog handling, even within places like the police can be very difficult to get into. I have a sled dog team, but it's not the kind of thing people generally employ help for in the UK (although not unheard of). If you fancy getting some hands on experience, go along to some races, get to know some mushers, & ask if you can help handle their team for a season. There are big mushers in places like Alaska who sometimes advertise seasonal work, which would be an amazing experience, & i've known a few people go & do it. If was young, free, & single, without horses, & a mortgage, i'd love to do it, but like BC says, i'm not sure what you'd do with the experience as there's not really much prospect of a career from it.
 
I once followed a van that had sled dogs painted on the side of it until I could take the phone number off it (it was pre-mobile days!) and phoned and asked if I could come and watch the dogs train one weekend. I did it most weekends through the season for the next three years (which involved leaving with the dogs at 6am)-also competed a little bit and memorably, got very lost in Thetford forest one sunday morning and had all the mushers out looking for us for three hours :eek:. Great fun and a good group of people. Am sure there would be someone somewhere who would do similar if you were up for it.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
I once followed a van that had sled dogs painted on the side of it until I could take the phone number off it (it was pre-mobile days!) and phoned and asked if I could come and watch the dogs train one weekend. I did it most weekends through the season for the next three years (which involved leaving with the dogs at 6am)-also competed a little bit and memorably, got very lost in Thetford forest one sunday morning and had all the mushers out looking for us for three hours :eek:. Great fun and a good group of people. Am sure there would be someone somewhere who would do similar if you were up for it.
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Mushy folk are general a friendly bunch. I've had folk ask to handle for us for a season & i'm always happy to have help so long as they are good with dogs, willing to learn, & listen. Pity Chan is bit far away! :-)
 
I do genuinely love my job and have some fantastic days cuddling puppies (and the odd kitten) and sending things home all fixed- but the stress, politics and hours are right up there but the pay isn’t. It’s pitifully low for support staff. The amount of hostility both in and towards the profession is pretty draining.
My plans B and C maybe would be hydrotherapy or physio. They both need big spend outs for the courses but seem to be growing markets with less death and public hate!
 
I'm an ecologist, so not dog related, but a fairly recent innovation is using dogs to detect things like water vole/otter based on scentl, which I think is really interesting for the future. I'm sure theres even more legislation and licencing shenanigans to jump through and around though.
 
Chan said:
Thanks for the input... I was actually hoping for something more positive, but nevermind! 😅
I'm really not sure what I want to do, I think that's my biggest problem. All my friends in the dog industry absolutely love it! I know a couple of behaviourists, some walkers, agility and scent work people.
I think if I could pick any, I'd like to be a detection dog handler, the training fits in well with my own dogs current training of scent work and man-trailing. Or, something which I hadn't considered until I bumped into a lady who'd done it - working for a sled dog team!
I've worked with horses on and off for 5yrs or so, (so not a stranger to walking and being outside!) but I am actually much more dog savvy than I am with horses.
But you're right about working with people more than dogs, I can train dogs, but I can barely speak to people as my confidence is so low.
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Speak to Stu Phillips at BWY Canine (he is on FB) and he might be able to give you some tips. He runs a specialist detection dog company.
 
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