Private Estate | Volusia County, Florida
Ongoing Position | Schedule Flexible
Compensation: $70,000 - $120,000 - 2 weeks paid vacation - Yearend bonus
Position Overview
A private coastal estate in Volusia County, Florida, is seeking an exceptionally experienced Estate Canine Specialist to assume responsibility for the ongoing behavioral management, training, containment protocols, feeding, and overall coordination of care for three mature Great Pyrenees—a father, mother, and their daughter.
The three dogs live and operate together as an established family pack on a large private property. As mature Great Pyrenees, they are naturally independent, territorial guardian dogs whose behavior and group dynamics require an experienced and confident professional accustomed to working with large guardian breeds.
The family is specifically seeking an individual with significant professional experience involving livestock guardian breeds, protection dogs, police or military K9s, or estate-security canines.
This is not a traditional pet-training, dog-walking, or general obedience position. The successful candidate will become the primary professional responsible for maintaining consistency across the dogs' training, behavioral expectations, feeding, containment, and interaction with individuals entering the estate.
The Dogs
The household has three Great Pyrenees consisting of a father, mother, and daughter. They have been raised together and function as a mature pack.
The dogs are territorial while on their home property, consistent with their role as guardian animals. Importantly, they have not demonstrated aggression toward people away from the property. The family's objective is to establish the appropriate professional structure, boundaries, and protocols necessary to safely and successfully manage their natural guarding instincts within the estate environment.
The dogs have now reached maturity, and the household recognizes that this developmental stage requires a higher level of specialized expertise. The successful candidate should understand the temperament, independence, territorial instincts, and pack dynamics associated with mature Great Pyrenees and similar livestock guardian breeds.
Primary Responsibilities:
Behavior, Training & Pack Management
The Estate Canine Specialist will provide ongoing behavioral development and management of the three dogs, with particular attention to how the father, mother, and daughter interact and operate collectively.
Responsibilities will include boundary and threshold discipline, reliable recall and release under distraction, controlled introductions to unfamiliar individuals, appropriate response to visitors and service personnel, and ongoing management of group dynamics.
This is developmental and maintenance work with an established mature pack rather than foundation training for young or inexperienced dogs.
Containment & Estate Access Protocol
The specialist will develop, document, maintain, and enforce a comprehensive canine containment and property-access protocol.
This will include procedures surrounding:
-Visitor arrivals and departures
-Gate and property-entry discipline
-Securing the dogs indoors when appropriate
-Introduction of unfamiliar individuals
-Vendor, contractor, and service-provider access
-Emergency or unexpected arrivals
-Communication procedures for household staff
The specialist will educate household staff and other individuals working on the property regarding these protocols and periodically monitor compliance to ensure consistency.
Feeding & Daily Care
Because consistency and authority are particularly important when working with an established guardian pack, feeding will remain the responsibility of the Estate Canine Specialist and will not be delegated to other household staff.
The specialist will prepare and deliver the dogs' daily feeding according to an established written nutritional specification, monitor their condition and appetite, and identify any adjustments that may be beneficial.
The family views feeding, behavioral management, and training as interconnected responsibilities and therefore wants these functions maintained under one knowledgeable professional.
Veterinary & Health Coordination
The Estate Canine Specialist will coordinate veterinary appointments and routine care, maintain organized health and veterinary records, monitor the dogs for changes in condition or behavior, and help ensure continuity of care.
Any meaningful behavioral change, incident, or near-miss should be communicated directly and promptly to the Principal.
Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate will have substantial hands-on experience working with large working dogs and understand that Great Pyrenees and other livestock guardian breeds require a fundamentally different management approach from traditional companion dogs.
Relevant professional backgrounds may include protection-dog training and handling, police or military K9 programs, estate-security canine programs, livestock guardian breed management, or extensive professional experience managing multiple large working dogs within a private property environment.
Experience developing and enforcing formal canine containment, visitor-access, or property-security protocols is strongly preferred.The candidate must also be comfortable working within a staffed private estate and confidently directing household employees, vendors, contractors, and other service providers regarding established canine safety procedures.
General pet-training certifications, dog-walking experience, or companion-dog obedience experience alone will not meet the level of expertise required for this position.
First 30 Days
During the initial 30 days, the specialist will be expected to spend significant time observing and understanding the three Great Pyrenees both individually and as a family pack.
The specialist will assess existing behaviors, relationships, triggers, boundaries, feeding routines, property access, and interactions with household staff and visitors.
A key initial deliverable will be the creation of a written Visitor Interaction and On-Property Canine Containment Protocol, followed by a training session for relevant household staff and service providers to ensure the procedures are understood and consistently followed.
Reporting & Confidentiality
The Estate Canine Specialist will report directly to the Principal regarding the dogs' behavior, training, care, and any incidents or concerns.
The Estate Manager will serve as the point of contact for scheduling and administrative coordination.
Given the private nature of the residence, complete discretion and confidentiality are essential. The successful candidate will be required to execute the family's standard confidentiality and property-access agreement before beginning work.
Schedule & Compensation
The schedule is intentionally flexible and will be established with the successful candidate based upon the needs of the three Great Pyrenees rather than a predetermined traditional shift pattern.
Compensation is open and highly competitive, commensurate with the individual's experience and level of expertise.
The family is focused on identifying the right long-term professional and is prepared to be flexible for an exceptional candidate with meaningful Great Pyrenees, livestock guardian, protection, K9, or estate-security canine experience.
Pay: $70,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
