A Day in the Life of my Job

The most common response I get from people who knew I was a Dog Handler was "Oh, you get to play with dogs all day that sounds like so much fun." So Yes, I do get to be around dogs all day and it is great for the most part, but it is not all fun and games. Obviously, the occasional cuddles and TLC that I get to give the dogs is rewarding. But again with all animals, there are messes that come with it. That can come in many forms mopping up pee, picking up poop, cleaning up throw up. The best is when you get to clean dogs off (Bath wise) due to being peed on or rolling in poop. It happens more than you think. But, the biggest challenge of my job is keeping everyone happy and safe. When you go into each shift you are managing a minimum of 10 dogs at a time. Every dog is so unique in their behavior and play style. You have to learn each dog's personality and their threshold. There is so much planning and strategy that goes into making up our groups. I currently being a manager go in each day to a different group of dogs each day no 2 days are the same. Because, owners sometimes do not have the same schedule for their dogs and sometimes dogs cancel. So in better words it a puzzle on placement. I have to look at who we have each day and know who does and does not get along and place accordingly. There is also, usually an order of process at let out. There are some dogs that are crate or gate reactive that need to go into group last. So you usually start with the dogs that are easy-going and build on the energy level and then to those special cases. These dogs are great in group, but those little things can cause issues, so we do a lot of preventive to help keep everyone safe and having a great time out of the play group floor. But once, in group we are monitor does behavior and learn when dogs need breaks to calm themselves down and to not go above a certain threshold. Once, they do we bring them back into group and they go back to having a great time. But in the end, it is a rewarding job watching the dogs go home happy, tired, and rewarding day. Knowing those owners will have a nice tired pup tonight is there favorite part. Especially, watching when they make buddies at daycare, when they are there together will sometimes just hang with each other is super cool to see those bonds. But, also to see how excited some get when they get in or having owners saying they know when it's daycare day. It makes us feel good that we are making such a positive experience for them and how much they love it.