Snake River Animal Shelter is hiring a Dog Trainer to join our Idaho K9 Academy team. The ideal candidate would have at least three months of previous training experience but it’s not required. We are willing to train someone without experience who is passionate about dogs, hardworking, positive minded, and willing to be trained.
We are looking for a dog trainer who will work collaboratively with our team to meet the needs of our customers. The position will work under our Idaho K9 Academy Training Manager. Because this is a hands-on position that is physically and emotionally demanding, you must be able to handle all sizes and breeds of dogs.
This position may include any/all of the following:
- Working directly with dogs with different levels of obedience
- Building a training program for each client
- Standing or moving for extended periods
- Completing some administrative tasks
- Instructing both owners and dogs
- Working both inside and outside
- Getting clothing dirty
- One-on-one training with dogs and clients
- Group training of dogs and their owners
- Evaluating and training of dogs with aggression issues
- Basic obedience training
- Training of shelter animals to increase adaptability
- Cleaning and basic care of dogs in a kennel environment
- Other duties as needed
Skills:
Dog trainers need a specialized set of skills and personality qualities to effectively perform the job, including:
Dog trainers need a specialized set of skills and personality qualities to effectively perform the job, including:
- Patience: Training dogs often requires repetitive tasks. Being patient with dogs as they learn is necessary to ensure they practice the right behaviors. In some cases, trainers need to try several different methods of training, depending on the dog and the type of behavior they need to learn. Each dog and each client will learn at a different rate and may have differing levels of ability. You will have to repeat tasks and not get frustrated with slow progress as well as recognize when a different training method might be needed.
- Communication: Identifying nonverbal animal cues can help a trainer overcome challenges when creating training programs. Ability to communicate with the owner and to understand their expectations is important.
- Confidence: Confident people make dogs more responsive to them. You should not emphasize your skills too much, but just be confident about what you do, and let new and prospective clients know you will get the job done.
- Problem-solving: Dog trainers should be able to solve a variety of problems, whether it is a behavioral issue or an inability to perform a task. It is the role of the dog trainer to identify the problem then find a solution to overcome it.
- Realistic: We strive to be able to help all dogs with training issues but it is also important to recognize when a dog may not be suited to a task or training method, especially in service work. We need to be realistic with our clients and about what we will be able to achieve and what they can expect.
- Passion: If you do not possess a passion for dogs, this is not the right path for you.
Compensation:
This is an entry level position and you will be learning under an experienced dog trainer while developing your skills. As such the base pay rate is $12-$15 per hour.
This is an entry level position and you will be learning under an experienced dog trainer while developing your skills. As such the base pay rate is $12-$15 per hour.
Snake River Animal Shelter is a fun, cooperative work environment that expects professionalism and a good attitude from all employees. We do not have health care or retirement benefits as a small nonprofit organization but we do offer other benefits for your own cats and dogs plus Paid Time Off (PTO).
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: $12.00 – $15.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Paid time off
Schedule:
- 10 hour shift
- Day shift
- Monday to Friday
- Weekend availability
– Must be at least 18-years-old.
– Must be a high school graduate or received a GED.
– Must be available to work on Saturdays.
TO APPLY: Send a resume to directorIDK9@gmail.com