pet sitter

dog daycare attendant

handler

daycare

general manager

The Dog Stop

When I accepted the position as K9 Handler, I thought it would be a team effort and running the buisness as a team. I learned that it was a place where the management did not care if you got injured. The management would trust people to run the store all weekend but then when needed to make calls for safety reasons you were responded with "only management can make that call". You were told to stay in your lane but then asked to do things that were not in the job description. They are more concerned about the money than the dogs. This showed as the store was over booked. If a dog could, it sat. The ratio is supposed to be 1 handler to every 8 dogs but that is impossible if you have one or two handlers and 90some dogs in the building. Dogs who were problems were allowed to return and their owners not notified. Concerning circumstances and medical issues were treated as a second thought. Dogs would miss medications/feedings. The building is gross no matter how much it was cleaned due to repairs needed to facility. Handlers would come home smelling of urine and feces and lack of cleaning supplies-gloves for big messes, etc. If you asked management something they would 9/10times respond with I don't know. The management would make the handlers do all the hard work while they had easier tasks only to pile up more tasks on the handlers. They wanted you to be a "yes man". It was more like military than a team setting. Morale was super low and at meetings concerns were made and management made no effort for progression. The management would also close off request time off during holidays but then schedule theirselves off. This did not set a good example. If there was an emergency, contacting the acting gm was not an easy task. The pros would be it is nice to work with some fellow coworkers who would try to work as a team to get through the day and spend time with the dogs. Cons would definately be lack of protocol, lack of management, lack of managers trust in the handlers, handler safety as well as animal safety, and unprofessionalism. This job is part time and underpaid for the amount of work and dealing with lives. 

This job started out as a good, fun experience and something that I loved then turned into something that was completely stressful and it consumed my life. Hardest part of the job was not being trained correctly for my position so I had to learn all on my own and through trial and error to figure out what worked. The boss never was in or was ever helpful, he relied on you to figure it out for yourself. If you had a question, he never answered or just laughed it off. Managers came and left all the time, so he was the constant person to go to other then the longest employee they had. Probably because he had no idea himself. He only knew the dogs that spent the most money. The most enjoyable part was making my lasting relationships with customers, they really trusted me with their pets! Getting to know and love the dogs and knowing everything about them is one thing I will miss working there. The workplace as a whole needs to figure itself out. Only one person had leadership there, the new manager tried it but wasn't succeeding well so he had to make threats about cutting hours for people to listen. The one person that everyone did listen to was always stressed out but everyone respected her. Working at this business showed me what to do and what not to do when it comes to managing a company. You can do so much for a company but at the end, to the boss, you are just replaceable even if you're the best employee. (This was a known thing to everyone including customers) Very underpaid for what some employees do daily, especially compared to some other competitive businesses in the area.

I experienced several challenges related to the management style of the owners. Unfortunately, their focus on financial gain often took precedence over the well-being of both the dogs and the staff. Despite their stated policies of not accepting aggressive or unspayed/unneutered dogs, these dogs were sometimes admitted into the daycare, leading to avoidable incidents, such as fights and injuries. One notable instance involved a dog requiring a vet visit after sustaining a puncture wound, yet the dog who caused it was still allowed into daycare groups.

The owners often expected high performance from staff but were unwilling to actively engage in the necessary work themselves. They hired employees without relevant experience and offered minimal training, despite having no professional background in dog care. This lack of support led to staff being ill-equipped to handle the challenges of the job.

The work environment was also impacted by frequent understaffing, as many employees left due to the emotional and mental toll caused by the owners' management style. Staff members felt uncomfortable approaching the owners directly because of their unpredictable reactions, which often left employees feeling unsupported and frustrated. This led many to go through managers, further straining communication.

While the work itself was rewarding, the lack of adequate training, support, and the challenging environment created by the owners made the job more difficult and, at times, unsafe.

Don't get me wrong, if you're a dog lover then being surrounded by dozens of different dogs is great and heart warming. I wish I could say the same for The Dog Stop. I didn't work here for very long but maybe it was for the best. I was brought on to be a full time manager, only to be told that it would be a good while until I received full time after starting. They tried to rush train me to learn a lot in a short time frame with limited training and hours. When you're training someone to be in management you need to make that person work full time and do as much hands on as possible which they didn't do. One manager was fine but the other was not professional and doesn't know how to communicate. If there's an issue she would talk to you via text instead of face to face like a real manager would do. The owner seemed really genuine but I only got to work with him once.

After 6 shifts worked in 2 weeks I was told that 'now isn't the right time' over text and they weren't moving forward with training me for management and eventually took me off the schedule without saying a word. Tried asking what else I could do/wasn't doing and they said I was doing good but apparently not..

If you have bills to pay for I wouldn't recommend this as the pay is super low for a managerial position plus there's no benefits aside free daycare if you have a dog and discounted merchandise but that's it.

Good if you want management experience and can deal with poor training and communication. If you only want to be a dog handler, don't expect to work more than 15 hours a week.

I quit on the Spot 

This location has been open no more than 3 Weeks, and I have been humiliated a handful of times! They lied to me about the pay and hours I would be getting upon hire! They will schedule you 3-5 hours a day when other people will get a full 7 hours. Originally, I was hired for dog care manager but was "demoted" to handler because they felt I could not handle it and made a fool out of me in the group meeting, they knew how upset I was with this and how they made me feel but they DID NOT CARE.  I have 3 1/2 years of experience so I know how to do my job very well. They expect you to know everything in a snap of a finger and leave you to fend for yourself and do not help you when they SEE you struggling, but specific employees will get help with anything they need (Favoritism). Receptionist will come into your play area because they have "nothing to do" and will tell you how you are supposed to be doing things, basically make you feel as if you don't know how to handle the group of dogs you have. Receptionist will try to over-power B.O.H staff.

There is absolutely no excuse as to why I was humiliated by staff/corporate this early, let alone at all. They talk about team work and communication but this is the most stuck-up and rude company I have ever worked for. Happily to say , I will never work for this company again and will not recommend anyone asking of this company to work here.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Interacting with the dogs was the best part. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful thing is being forced to work with dogs that are mouthy and jumpy when in the rooms. Most shifts are 2 handlers and a front desk person. I feel the need for more handlers per shift is needed considering the amount of dogs they have coming in. Their excuse is they are understaffed, but then I feel they need to limit the amount of dogs that come in or they need to turn away all the ones that aren’t well behaved. I have scars on my arms because the managers wouldn’t turn “mouthy” dogs away. I would always come home with bruises all over my arms and legs. There is definitely a lack of training on the managers part. Seems like they are super eager to hire new people because they are understaffed but aren’t trying to figure out why people are leaving. New employees are never trained properly and some managers excuses were because they don’t have time to. 
It was an awesome job when I started out, but went down hill very fast, which was really disappointing. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The environment at my location was very dirty and the building is falling apart. The culture is very toxic as most older staff members act friendly but talk behind peoples backs.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Take dogs out, feed them, and put them in groups, occasionally taking them outside.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Interacting with the dogs. The employees seem to remember all of the dogs and can tell you names as well as likes/dislikes even for dogs who have not come to The Dog Spot in a while

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The variation in occupancy from day to day. There were days with only around 10 dogs and others closer to 50. Although obvious things like holidays can be scheduled around, sometimes a random Sunday in February is staffed for a normal day and ends up being a 50 dog day. Sometimes other employees can be called in, but sometimes you just end up staying late for an hour or two.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fast paced but people are happy to help if things get overwhelming.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Opening and closing definitely require a lot of work to make up for the dogs being alone overnight. Midday is more cleaning/organizing.

Describe the scheduling system at the company 
I can only speak for the East End location, but the schedule always seemed to turn out alright. Siera kept days/shifts  pretty consistent week to week which has definitely not the case at some previous job. Vacation was also super easy to request through the scheduling app

Working at The Dog Stop was an incredibly challenging experience. The management was consistently passive-aggressive and displayed a lack of respect for healthy work-life boundaries. It often felt like they didn’t take employee well-being into consideration, creating a stressful and unbalanced work environment.

One of the most concerning aspects was the hiring practices. It seemed that management consistently hired individuals who were struggling with severe mental health issues or other personal challenges, without providing them with the necessary support or guidance. As a result, the workplace environment felt chaotic and unstable, making it difficult to maintain a professional and productive atmosphere.

If you are considering working here, be prepared to encounter a wide range of unpredictable and problematic behaviors from coworkers AND management. It’s important to be aware that the environment can feel overwhelming and unprofessional at times. I would advise potential new hires to carefully consider whether this kind of environment is something they can handle.

The job itself was amazing! Working with pups and their parents, the team was fabulous for the most part. However, management has zero leadership skills, is petty, passive aggressive and refuses to hold themselves accountable when given feedback. They’ve promoted employees and given them zero training yet expect them to succeed. They’ve lied to customers, and their employees and never takes responsibility for mistakes that occur. whenever an issue would arise with management, a discussion would ensue to which everything somehow became my fault. As I said, Feedback is not taken well, you will be spoken to harshly, rudely, and be told that your experience “didn’t happen” or isn’t true.  
I was actually told that they are allowed to yell at me because they are the boss and I am just an employee. 
You’ll be on edge your entire shift, like someone’s going to come in and tell you you’re not doing anything you’re supposed to be. There is no one to contact about the environment management produces, as she is “the boss.” 



It’s honestly saddening more than anything to work this job. The dogs were my absolute favorite part but management ruins the entire job. They talk behind almost every employees back and are mean and inconsiderate of others. Many occasions were employees expect to work either alone or with one other person in the back while there were up to 100 dogs in care. The dogs were simply unable to get the care they deserve because of the lack of staff and manager help. Most times managers would put up this fake front of pretending to be nice. Yet, when the time came around to actually help staff they were nowhere to be found. In the first month when I started I loved the job and told everyone how amazing it was. That quickly began to change as they expected unrealistic things from me and other employees and were not correctly training new employees leading more dogs to get in fights and most things in the establishment to not be ran correctly. The whole thing is honestly just messy and I can confidently say that after working here I would never send a dog I know or own here. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pet sitter 13 salaries reported	$12.77 per hour
Dog daycare attendant 1 salary reported	$55,000 per year
Handler 4 salaries reported	$10.75 per hour
Daycare 4 salaries reported	$11.00 per hour
General manager 3 salaries reported	$49,180 per year

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