pet sitter

custodian

dog daycare attendant

front desk agent

pet bather

Wag Atlanta

I've worked for nearly a decade in various pet daycare and boarding facilities around the Atlanta area, and Wag Atlanta and its team make a pretty clear argument for being the most impressive and rewarding to work with.

The huge facility size, staff count, and volume of clientele can feel deceptively small due to the level of structure and organization the owners and management have established. Cleaning and animal care routines are clear and well established, making the admittedly daunting in appearance workload feel like a breeze most days (most of the kennels have built-in drains!). It's easy to tell that the current "machine" is built off of years of evolution and adaptation, and management are always continuing to improve the business (which is important given such a heavy traffic business right near the airport!). Dog daycare and boarding can be a tiring and grueling job, and there are plenty of days that'll keep you on your feet for multiple hours straight, but the business is structured in a way that is quick to learn and easy to master.

For anyone familiar with locally owned pet resorts, the owners of Wag Atlanta are a different breed! I've never worked for people that are so hands-on and invested in the quality and care of their business, no matter how small the detail. They are present, responsive, and receptive; and recognize good work! Bonus: It's entirely women-owned, and the staff and management consist of a diverse group of genders and ethnicities! Staff culture tends to be very fun, friendly, and team-oriented. Everyone wants to enjoy their work as much as they can, with little patience for drama and other nonsense. The management team is pretty substantial, and there is always someone available to help with any potential issue, work-related or otherwise.

A truly refreshing part of working here is how the large client base and level of business allows them to be considerably more  "picky" when it comes to staff and clients alike, in the best way. Situations like putting up with difficult employees just to keep the "warm body" or bending over backwards for difficult clients just to keep their business are virtually unheard of here. The business, owners, management, and staff culture are all focused on treating each other with respect, and genuine care for the pets (no dogs that are too sick or have dangerous behaviors here!).

The long and short of it: Wag Atlanta is a daycare and boarding facility for daycare and boarding "people"! If you love coming to work and *really* caring for dogs (I'm talking about running for bathroom breaks and diagnosing whether that's a worm or a grain of rice sticking out of that poo pile, not petting dogs and speaking in baby voices), then this place is infinitely rewarding!

Wag is constantly short staffed with not a well enough pay to balance it out, especially for the dog handlers themselves. Animal care specialists (AS) get paid 12/hr (depending on experience) to get constantly nagged at by receptionists about speed while only having 3-4 staff members working. A full shift is 6-7 AS at a time. Management is extremely unorganized and they never speak to each other about  the plans nor how to plan the day making it hard for the AS to properly do their job. Between the constant scratching and bruising from dogs along with all of the diarrhea you have to pick up, it is just not worth $12/hr. The assistant managers are also extremely lazy. They put all of their work on one specific assistant manager (there’s 4 total) plus the AS staff and sit in the main room working on personal things like family trips while everyone else does the work for them. They won’t even clean a dog’s den if they walk past it. Just let it sit until an AS comes and do it for them. Definitely not worth the energy and no matter how much effort you put, you will not be compensated properly. They also pick favorites as far as staffing goes and will keep people that put the dogs in harms way but will fire others for calling off for being in pain.

I will always miss Wag Atlanta. The people (management included) and the dogs there helped me grow as a person and I love them for that, but the management was also always a bit deceitful and manipulative. They don’t really allow you to perceive them as people and instead stay pretty far removed from you tucked away in the office and I only got to know them because I was there so long. It was actually a fairly good place to work (not super well paid but relatively well run) until the pandemic hit, then the deceit and manipulation went into overdrive. They furloughed most of the people they had when the pandemic started, then fired them, and turnover since then has been insane (was not great before then either, but there was a solid core team). They’ve handled safety regulations for covid really poorly and that played a significant role in why I left, although the larger part was definitely that I felt like I was being lied to and overworked by my managers, who I actually cared about as people. Like I said, I will always love the people at Wag Atlanta and my experience there has definitely inspired me to change my life, but I am so happy I left. 

Working at Wag Atlanta has been a unique experience, to say the least. From the moment you're employed, there's a sense that you're under constant observation, like being in a fishbowl. This environment can be kinda stifling, depending on your perspective. One of the primary concerns I've had was about the welfare of some animals in our care. Despite raising several issues with management, the response has typically been noncommittal, with assurances of "we will look into it" but little in the way of concrete action or follow-up. Training at Wag Atlanta is another area that leaves much to be desired. The lack of consistency in the training process is evident, leading to a disconnect between the expectations set by management and the reality on the ground. This gap often results in confusion and inefficiencies that could easily be avoided with a more structured and cohesive training program. Overall, while Wag Atlanta has the potential to be a great place to work, especially for animal lovers, there are significant areas that need improvement. 

Overnight position. 10 hour shift 30 min paid break. 13 dollars an hour. Mangers would watch cameras from the overnight shift and then message you when you’re at home sleeping why you did something like leave through a certain door or sit down when you weren’t clocked out. Gossip was rampant as most employees felt resent towards management. Management was condescending and very very unforgiving. You will be worked like a dog and everyone will ask you if you can do more. I wouldn’t recommend this job to anyone. I’ve worked at three other daycare facilities and all are paying more and asking less. Not to mention you don’t have to deal with being watched and condescended or have to listen to content gossip or get beat up by the customers poorly behaved dogs or be asked why you’re sitting down for five seconds from a manager sitting down watching you on a camera. A full overnight shift was 3-4 people with 200+ sometimes 400 dogs… love yourself and do not work here.

Wag is awesome, if you're the hard working type. I think some times people take the job because they think all we do is "pet dogs". While it is true that we do get to pet dogs a lot, there is SO much more we do. We are the main care force for the dogs and it is hard work, but it is beyond rewarding! I will say, if you're the "it's just a job" type, you probably won't do well here. Everyone that works here very much cares about their job so if you come in and try to just punch the clock, it's obvious. The staff are all very nice and friendly. I love that Wag is very diverse and lets you express yourself. You can have dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings. I also love that I can bring my dog to work with me, he loves it! Management is understanding and flexible to the best of their ability. There are also a lot of advancement 

Working at Wag my day starts with checking over all the dogs, putting down breakfast, putting my staff on task, giving medications, and administering vaccines. Over the past 3.5 years I've learned dog behavior, how to safely handle a dog fight,basic dog care, dog CPR and First Aid, and how to properly watch dogs in a group setting. Management is great about listening to ideas and taking action upon them. They're very flexible with working around your schedule. The hardest part of my job would have to be the stress during holidays. If the staff isn't on the same page it can feel very overwhelming especially if it's our busy season. The most enjoyable part of my job is of course the dogs. Being able to help a nervous dog become happy and thriving while they stay with us is the most rewarding feeling with my job.

If you’re serious about the pet care industry and want to advance your skills pick another spot cause this isn’t it. The owners are awesome and super hardworking and so is management when the owners are around…otherwise they are lazy, inattentive, and completely unqualified. They wonder why they can’t keep employees and blame the work by saying “it’s not for everyone”. They have no idea how to properly handle dogs and some of the employees seemed to take personal enjoyment from yelling at or “punishing” the more hyper active dogs. The place could be really nice with the right leadership but until then I would avoid it and everyone I meet I tell “if you’re looking for quality and care do not go to there.” And that applies to all future employees too. 

The best thing I would say is that management tends to be lenient with their employees. When serious emergencies occur they are understanding, but things such as the cameras in the facility are there to watch the employees than the dogs. Employees are given random tasks when they(management) notice there is nothing to do and often do a lot of things within the facility that does not deal with being an Animal Care Specialist such as scrubbing doors, constant mopping and sweeping, washing dishes, spraying door handles, or even laundry. Though they do their best to keep the facility clean, it would not harm them to let employees relax during slow hours.

You’re watched constantly. Training is horrible they train you for a day then disappear. Not even a day they leave you unattended on your first day or switch you over to others who are not trainers to do it. Management watches constantly over the cameras. A lot of micromanagement and favoritism goes on here. You have no freedom here. One mistake and you’re out weather you’re new or old. Constantly seen people leave on the first day. No one wants to work here save your self the trouble when you literally get hired right after you interview. these people are a joke and could care less about you. Everyone’s replaceable to them when they just sit in a hot muggy office all day. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pet sitter 6 salaries reported	$14.50 per hour
Custodian 10 salaries reported	$12.73 per hour
Dog daycare attendant 6 salaries reported	$13.00 per hour
Front desk agent 28 salaries reported	$13.25 per hour
Pet bather 6 salaries reported	$12.25 per hour

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