Those Who Work With Dogs

I'm at uni, but had a summer job - and now weekends - working with gun dogs. I really enjoy it; the dogs are great, I work alone, and the pay is very good.

Long hours though.
 
Working with sheepdogs is great but you have to be as involved with sheep as with dogs. I am really lucky in that I can pick and choose the jobs I do - and prefer the dog work (gathering, shifting sheep around etc) than the actual hands on shepherding tasks but it is all hands to the deck at busy times.

Downsides are money isn't that great, long hours and it is more of a vocation than a job. You have to be passionate about it to do it well.
 
CorvusCorax said:
Roles such as police, security and service/assistance dog handling/training are already heavily subscribed.
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Cinnamontoast said:
Police-dead amn’s shoes, hens’ teeth etc.
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Chan said:
Thanks for the input... I was actually hoping for something more positive, but nevermind!
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I will be more positive then... I always wanted to work with horses and was told there was no pay. I decided that a mounted Police Officer had good pay, but was told that they did not take females, and it was dead man's shoes. I was told to pick something else.

I did not. I got qualifications through the BHS, joined the Police, did anything that could bolster my chance of being in Mounted (they did have 3 females by then out of 20 odd) and applied.

I did 20 years in mounted, 15 of which I was head trainer - dream job. In that time I heard loads of kids at school visits be told that they could never be in my job. Well, if you don't apply then you certainly won't. If I had not got into mounted then I still was in a career.

So, if you want to do a particular job I would go for it. Take any qualification, join at whatever level you have to and go for it. Someone has to do those jobs and the pool of people who WANT to do the job may be huge, but the pool of people who have put themselves in the position to do the job will be a heck of a lot smaller.

In the Police they have people working in the kennels, well paid for that type of work. They have trainers, also well paid for the work. I am sure there is some place for training detention dogs too. I guess I would say if you know what you want then go flat out for it.
 
Red-1 said:
I will be more positive then... I always wanted to work with horses and was told there was no pay. I decided that a mounted Police Officer had good pay, but was told that they did not take females, and it was dead man's shoes. I was told to pick something else.

I did not. I got qualifications through the BHS, joined the Police, did anything that could bolster my chance of being in Mounted (they did have 3 females by then out of 20 odd) and applied.

I did 20 years in mounted, 15 of which I was head trainer - dream job. In that time I heard loads of kids at school visits be told that they could never be in my job. Well, if you don't apply then you certainly won't. If I had not got into mounted then I still was in a career.

So, if you want to do a particular job I would go for it. Take any qualification, join at whatever level you have to and go for it. Someone has to do those jobs and the pool of people who WANT to do the job may be huge, but the pool of people who have put themselves in the position to do the job will be a heck of a lot smaller.

In the Police they have people working in the kennels, well paid for that type of work. They have trainers, also well paid for the work. I am sure there is some place for training detention dogs too. I guess I would say if you know what you want then go flat out for it.
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How fantastic! My dream job was police dog handler for a long time but despite applying twice a health issue prevented it sadly.
 
Red-1 that is brilliant - I remember when I worked for Thames Valley Police there was always huge competition to get into the mounted section! Massive kudos and well done to you for seeing your career aim and achieving it 😊
 
Not read the thread. I worked as a vet nurse from leaving college, then as a dog walker for a few years. Currently too ill to work.
It's not easy to get into vet nursing, and it is very poorly paid for the level of education and skills you need to acquire. Dog walking is hard physical slog with no back up for when you are ill or for holidays. IMHO you will never make decent money in either career, although shockingly and somewhat depressingly I earned more as a dog walker than I ever had as an RVN :(
 
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