How To Become A Kennel Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a kennel manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a kennel manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $12.69 an hour? That's $26,391 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 19% and produce 20,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreKennel ManagerUS Average

Salary

2.1

Avg. Salary $26,391

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.40%

Asian 1.05%

Black or African American 3.33%

Hispanic or Latino 31.70%

Unknown 3.85%

White 58.67%

Gender

female 74.27%

male 25.73%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a kennel manager

Explore kennel manager education requirements

Most common kennel manager degrees

Bachelor's

34.1 %

High School Diploma

31.6 %

Associate

23.1 %

Start to develop specific kennel manager skills

Skills	Percentages
PET	25.30%
Customer Service	21.12%
Front Desk	8.17%
Scheduling Appointments	8.02%
Administer Medications	4.56%

Complete relevant kennel manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New kennel managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a kennel manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real kennel manager resumes.

Research kennel manager duties and responsibilities

Manage procedural implementation for transition of office to HIPPA regulatory compliance and Medicare PQRI guidelines.
Ensure strict compliance with HIPAA, IRB, NIH and study-relate protocols.
Assist vet and vet tech during consultations, surgeries, blood draws, iv and catheter insertions.
Perform grooming duties such as washing, brushing, clipping, and trimming coats, cutting nails, and cleaning ears.

Prepare your kennel manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your kennel manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a kennel manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable kennel manager resume templates

Build a professional kennel manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your kennel manager resume.