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Kennel attendant vs pet care specialist

The differences between kennel attendants and pet care specialists 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 pet care specialist. Additionally, a pet care specialist has an average salary of $31,162, 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 pet care specialist are PET, health issues, and customer service.

Kennel attendant vs pet care specialist overview

Kennel AttendantPet Care Specialist
Yearly salary$26,373$31,162
Hourly rate$12.68$14.98
Growth rate28%28%
Number of jobs72,239117,277
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
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 pet care specialist do?

Pet care specialists are professionals who are responsible for maintaining the health and safety of pets by providing them their basic needs. These specialists are required to educate pet owners about proper pet care and maintenance while creating personalized customer service to maintain customer loyalty. They must help and assist customers with their needs by providing professional and courteous customer service. Pet care specialists must also order useful items for the store while conducting in-store audits on their inventory.

Kennel attendant vs pet care specialist salary

Kennel attendants and pet care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Kennel AttendantPet Care Specialist
Average salary$26,373$31,162
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $34,000Between $20,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between kennel attendant and pet care specialist education

There are a few differences between a kennel attendant and a pet care specialist in terms of educational background:

Kennel AttendantPet Care Specialist
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common majorMedical Assisting ServicesBiology
Most common collegeVermont Technical CollegeNorthwestern University

Kennel attendant vs pet care specialist demographics

Here are the differences between kennel attendants' and pet care specialists' demographics:

Kennel AttendantPet Care Specialist
Average age3232
Gender ratioMale, 20.8% Female, 79.2%Male, 25.5% Female, 74.5%
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, 18.2% Asian, 2.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between kennel attendant and pet care specialist 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.
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Pet care specialist example responsibilities.

  • Achieve detailed grooming including skin, ear, nail care, coat clips and dental care.
  • Interact on a professional level with other pet food company representatives and honor their interaction with customers.
  • Handle cash and perform all transactions at customer checkout -inform customers on exceptional pet care while offering excellent customer service
  • Perform euthanasia once lab exercises are complete.
  • Complete and certify to administer euthanasia.
  • Assist in answering customer questions regarding grooming, scheduling grooming appointments and maintaining salon cleanliness and safety.
  • Show more

Kennel attendant vs pet care specialist skills

Common kennel attendant skills
  • PET, 39%
  • Animal Handling, 10%
  • Facility Laundry, 8%
  • Animal Hospital, 5%
  • Animal Restraint, 4%
  • Administer Medications, 4%
Common pet care specialist skills
  • PET, 64%
  • Health Issues, 27%
  • Customer Service, 3%
  • Work Ethic, 1%
  • CPR, 1%
  • Walkers, 0%

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