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

What is a kennel technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Chase Runyan

Kennel Technicians see to the care and maintenance of animals like dogs and cats who are commonly housed in kennels. They could also tend to other domestic animals like birds. Your responsibilities include feeding the animals in your care, walking them, administering medications where necessary, bathing and grooming them, and seeing to the maintenance and tidiness of the kernels.

You might decide to work in a pet boarding facility or at a veterinarian's office. This would require you to work with veterinarians and veterinary technicians in seeing to the overall health of the animals. You might be required to keep track of the animals' behavior on a chart which will later be analyzed by the specialist.

A high school diploma should usually suffice for the role of a kennel technician. You need to have a natural flair for animals and possess great physical stamina, communication, and interpersonal skills as you might be required to interact with pet owners and other staff. The average annual salary for this position is $20,819 at the rate of $10 an hour.

What's a day at work look like for a Kennel Technician?

Dr. Chase Runyan

Associate Professor, Department Chair, Director of MIR/Research Scientist, Angelo State University

Because agriculture industries are so diverse in their nature, it is nearly impossible to gauge what a work day might look like.

ScoreKennel TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.1

Avg. Salary $26,664

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.2

Growth Rate 19%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

0.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.14%

Asian 3.22%

Black or African American 2.71%

Hispanic or Latino 17.91%

Unknown 6.85%

White 69.18%

Gender

female 76.02%

male 23.98%

Age - 27

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 - 27

Stress Level

7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.6

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a kennel technician

Explore kennel technician education requirements

Most common kennel technician degrees

High School Diploma

38.9 %

Bachelor's

28.3 %

Associate

20.1 %

Start to develop specific kennel technician skills

Skills	Percentages
PET	27.04%
Facility Laundry	10.36%
Administer Medications	9.71%
Scheduling Appointments	5.48%
Animal Handling	4.32%

Complete relevant kennel technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New kennel technicians 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 technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real kennel technician resumes.

Gain additional kennel technician certifications

Kennel technician certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific kennel technician certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for kennel technicians include Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

More About Certifications

Research kennel technician duties and responsibilities

Manage, and safely operate the MWD explosive program.
Place iv catheters in dogs and cats.
Maintain and update website and FaceBook page.
Restrain animals for various procedures such as blood draws and catheter placement.

Prepare your kennel technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your kennel technician 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 technician 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 Technician Resume templates

Build a professional Kennel Technician 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 Technician resume.