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Animal keeper vs dog sitter

The differences between animal keepers and dog sitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both an animal keeper and a dog sitter. Additionally, an animal keeper has an average salary of $30,829, which is higher than the $25,532 average annual salary of a dog sitter.

The top three skills for an animal keeper include animal husbandry, zoo animals and animal exhibits. The most important skills for a dog sitter are PET, customer service, and dog care.

Animal keeper vs dog sitter overview

Animal KeeperDog Sitter
Yearly salary$30,829$25,532
Hourly rate$14.82$12.28
Growth rate28%28%
Number of jobs5,97167,682
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age3232
Years of experience33

Animal keeper vs dog sitter salary

Animal keepers and dog sitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Animal KeeperDog Sitter
Average salary$30,829$25,532
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $45,000Between $10,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City-Warwick, RI
Highest paying state-Connecticut
Best paying company-CARE
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between animal keeper and dog sitter education

There are a few differences between an animal keeper and a dog sitter in terms of educational background:

Animal KeeperDog Sitter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common majorBiologyPsychology
Most common collegeCornell UniversityTexas A&M University - Commerce

Animal keeper vs dog sitter demographics

Here are the differences between animal keepers' and dog sitters' demographics:

Animal KeeperDog Sitter
Average age3232
Gender ratioMale, 26.4% Female, 73.6%Male, 22.0% Female, 78.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between animal keeper and dog sitter duties and responsibilities

Animal keeper example responsibilities.

  • Manage complicated water filtration systems, and implement nutrition plans for a variety of snake species.
  • Prepare diets according to USDA guidelines to help maintain foodsupplies and animal weights.
  • Aid in vaccinations, wind treatment, artificial insemination procedures, castrations, tagging and tattoos.
  • Assist in producing illustrations and animation material to develop tutoring videos for math and physics.
  • Help with incoming pets as well as with the adoption of the pet by their forever home families.

Dog sitter example responsibilities.

  • Manage all breeding, whelping, raising of puppies, grooming and showing of dogs for owners in the AKC.
  • Groom, trim, and clip animals' coats.
  • Provide smaller services such as cleaning ears, clipping nails, and small scissoring around eyes and paws.
  • Bath a variety of dog breeds, and provide basic grooming sanitary needs such as clipping nails and cleaning ears.
  • Maintain professional relationship with pet owners and communicate through email and phone regarding daily pet behavior.
  • Manage all breeding, whelping, raising of puppies, grooming and showing of dogs for owners in the AKC.

Animal keeper vs dog sitter skills

Common animal keeper skills
  • Animal Husbandry, 17%
  • Zoo Animals, 11%
  • Animal Exhibits, 10%
  • Exotic Animals, 6%
  • Animal Handling, 5%
  • AZA, 4%
Common dog sitter skills
  • PET, 66%
  • Customer Service, 20%
  • Dog Care, 10%
  • Fresh Water, 1%
  • Clients Homes, 0%
  • Child Care, 0%

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