Dog Handler

Benefits:

Employee discounts

Free food & snacks

Opportunity for advancement

Training & development

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.