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Kennel attendant vs dog walker

The differences between kennel attendants and dog walkers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a kennel attendant and a dog walker. Additionally, a dog walker has an average salary of $30,893, which is higher than the $26,373 average annual salary of a kennel attendant.

The top three skills for a kennel attendant include PET, animal handling and facility laundry. The most important skills for a dog walker are PET, walkers, and clients homes.

Kennel attendant vs dog walker overview

Kennel AttendantDog Walker
Yearly salary$26,373$30,893
Hourly rate$12.68$14.85
Growth rate28%28%
Number of jobs72,2395,474
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age3232
Years of experience33

What does a kennel attendant do?

A kennel attendant is responsible for the daily care of boarded dogs and kennel maintenance. Some of the duties that you will perform will include cleaning cages, scheduling boarding appointments, and monitoring the behavior of these dogs. In addition, it is your responsibility to clean spilled food and animal waste and to dispose of trash on time. Other duties include walking animals if required, ensuring that the animals are always comfortable, and evacuating them when an emergency arises.

What does a dog walker do?

A dog walker provides dog walking services to pet owners at scheduled times, ensuring their safety. They first meet with pet owners to discuss their preferred schedule and use this opportunity to learn more about the dog and understand its needs. There are instances where a dog walker may walk multiple dogs, consider weather conditions, pick-up and dispose of waste properly, and feed dogs with water or food. Moreover, a dog walker regularly updates pet owners with the duration or location of walks, including the dog's behavior.

Kennel attendant vs dog walker salary

Kennel attendants and dog walkers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Kennel AttendantDog Walker
Average salary$26,373$30,893
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $34,000Between $21,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Oregon
Best paying company-CARE
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between kennel attendant and dog walker education

There are a few differences between a kennel attendant and a dog walker in terms of educational background:

Kennel AttendantDog Walker
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common majorMedical Assisting ServicesPsychology
Most common collegeVermont Technical CollegeUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst

Kennel attendant vs dog walker demographics

Here are the differences between kennel attendants' and dog walkers' demographics:

Kennel AttendantDog Walker
Average age3232
Gender ratioMale, 20.8% Female, 79.2%Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 2.6% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between kennel attendant and dog walker duties and responsibilities

Kennel attendant example responsibilities.

  • Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
  • Train to give dogs baths, brushing out coats, scissoring, and toenails.
  • Perform animal grooming duties such as washing, brushing, clipping, and trimming coats, etc.
  • Experience in the use of specialize equipment such as cage washers, autoclaves and animal transport vehicles.
  • Assist owner in preforming body clips and bathing/drying dogs and cats, preform all grooming tasks including clipper skills except scissoring.
  • Operate cage/bottle washers, autoclaves and bedding dispensing/disposal equipment.
  • Show more

Dog walker example responsibilities.

  • Manage all breeding, whelping, raising of puppies, grooming and showing of dogs for owners in the AKC.
  • Head groomer, use of dremel, clippers, dryers, hemostats.
  • Provide in-home grooming services such as bathing, nail trimming, and clipping for all breeds and sizes of dogs.
  • Provide general bathing and preventative services, such as nail clipping and ear cleaning to maintain and improve clients health.
  • Assist pet owners by transporting animals to grooming and veterinary appointments.
  • Assure proper annotation of administrative MWD utilization and training records used for legal reviews.
  • Show more

Kennel attendant vs dog walker skills

Common kennel attendant skills
  • PET, 39%
  • Animal Handling, 10%
  • Facility Laundry, 8%
  • Animal Hospital, 5%
  • Animal Restraint, 4%
  • Administer Medications, 4%
Common dog walker skills
  • PET, 50%
  • Walkers, 44%
  • Clients Homes, 2%
  • Fresh Water, 1%
  • Minute Walk, 1%
  • Customer Service, 0%

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