Dog Handler / Care Attendant

Love dogs? Great. But this is NOT a “play with puppies all day” job.

There are puppies. There are also 80 pound dogs, poop, pee, slobber, barking, cleaning, laundry, bad weather, muddy paws, crates and dogs who occasionally make questionable life choices.

We’re looking for someone who genuinely wants to WORK with dogs, not just cuddle them.

RcK9 is a structured dog care and boarding facility focused on safe socialization, enrichment, good behavior, appropriate play and individualized care. Our handlers need to be observant, dependable, willing to learn and comfortable actually managing dogs.

What You'll Do

Safely supervise and manage groups of dogs
Read canine body language and interrupt inappropriate behavior before it becomes a problem
Lead structured play, enrichment and socialization activities
Reinforce basic training and good manners throughout the day
Help dogs develop appropriate social skills, manners and crate skills
Care for daycare and boarding dogs
Feed, rotate, crate, leash and move dogs safely throughout the facility
Communicate professionally and positively with clients
Clean. A lot. Floors, crates, kennels, dishes, equipment, poop, pee and whatever mysterious substance a dog has somehow managed to create
Follow RcK9's safety procedures and handling protocols

What We Need From You

18+
Reliable transportation
Dependable and able to show up ON TIME
Comfortable handling dogs of all breeds, sizes and energy levels
Able to stay calm when things get loud, busy or chaotic
Highly observant with a strong awareness of safety
Willing to take direction, learn and follow established procedures
Friendly and professional with clients
Able to communicate clearly by text and email with decent spelling and grammar
Dog daycare, boarding, training, veterinary, or other hands on animal experience is a plus, but we will also train the right person

The Physical Reality

This is an ACTIVE, PHYSICAL job.

You must be able to:

Spend most of your shift standing and walking
Bend, crouch, kneel, lift, reach and move throughout the day
Lift 50+ pounds
Work indoors and outdoors in New England weather
Handle large, strong, excited dogs safely
Work around dog hair, dander, slobber, cleaning products and bodily fluids

Schedule

Care and boarding don't stop because it's Saturday.

Applicants MUST have availability for some weekends, holidays, early mornings, and/or evenings.

One More Time for the People in the Back...

This is not a job where you sit on the floor and play with puppies for eight hours.

Working with dogs is incredibly rewarding but it is also dirty, physical, loud, demanding and requires constant attention.

If you're looking for an easy job because “dogs are cute,” this probably isn't it.

If you love dogs and enjoy learning behavior, working hard, staying busy, keeping animals safe and going home covered in dog hair wondering what exactly is on your shirt...

We should probably talk.

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