Position Overview
The Assistant Trainer / Care Team Member is a full-time, benefits-eligible position responsible for providing safe, efficient, and highly attentive care to dogs staying at our Milton facility while also supporting the training team and participating in structured training activities as assigned.
This is an experienced animal-care position. Candidates must have prior professional kennel, boarding, daycare, veterinary, shelter, or comparable high-volume dog-care experience. This is not an entry-level role for someone whose only experience is caring for personal pets.
Team members must be capable of independently managing the routine care needs of up to 15 dogs during assigned portions of a shift. This includes safely completing potty rotations, feeding, water checks, medications, cleaning, enrichment, documentation, and kennel transitions while maintaining accurate awareness of every dog in their care.
Employees must be comfortable safely handling dogs of all sizes, breeds, energy levels, and presenting behavioral needs accepted by the facility. This includes dogs who may be fearful, reactive, highly aroused, strong on leash, resistant to handling, environmentally sensitive, or otherwise require careful adherence to specific management protocols.
Animal care, cleanliness, safety, and accurate execution are the foundation of this position. Training responsibilities do not replace or take priority over essential care duties unless specifically directed by leadership.
Position Details
Location: Milton, Georgia
Employment Type: Full-Time, Hourly
Expected Schedule: Approximately 35 hours per week, including weekends and some holidays
Reports To: Facility Manager
Training Direction Provided By: Lead Trainers and Director of Operations
Compensation and Benefits
This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position. Eligible employees may receive:
- Paid time off
- Employer-supported health insurance
- Optional dental and vision insurance
- Optional life insurance
- Eligibility to participate in the company’s 401(k) plan
- Employee training and professional-development opportunities
- Opportunities for advancement based on performance, competency, and available positions
Specific benefit eligibility, enrollment periods, employee contributions, and plan terms are governed by company policy and the applicable benefit-plan documents.
Essential Animal-Care Responsibilities
- Independently manage the routine care needs of up to 15 dogs during assigned portions of a shift.
- Maintain continuous awareness of each dog’s location, care status, handling requirements, feeding instructions, medications, belongings, and kennel assignment.
- Plan and complete efficient potty, feeding, cleaning, medication, enrichment, and rest rotations without compromising safety or quality of care.
- Provide safe, attentive, and compassionate care to dogs with a wide range of sizes, breeds, temperaments, and behavioral presentations.
- Safely handle dogs who may pull, jump, bark, lunge, freeze, avoid handling, guard space, display fear, or become highly aroused during transitions.
- Follow all individual handling restrictions and management instructions exactly.
- Recognize canine body language and adjust handling before a situation escalates.
- Use appropriate barriers, leashes, gates, equipment, and room-management procedures to prevent escapes, conflicts, and unsafe interactions.
- Complete scheduled feedings, water checks, medications, potty breaks, enrichment, and rest periods accurately and on time.
- Ensure every dog has continuous access to clean water unless otherwise directed for a documented medical reason.
- Monitor dogs for changes in appetite, elimination, behavior, mobility, energy level, stress, or physical condition.
- Immediately report health, safety, behavioral, or facility concerns to the Facility Manager or appropriate trainer.
- Confirm that every dog is returned to the correct kennel or room with the correct bedding, belongings, water, and identification.
- Safely manage approved playgroups and individual activity according to company protocols.
- Assist with client drop-offs and pick-ups when assigned.
Required Qualifications
- At least 18 years old.
- Prior professional experience working in a kennel, boarding facility, dog daycare, veterinary clinic, animal shelter, training facility, or comparable high-volume canine-care environment.
- Demonstrated ability to safely and efficiently manage the care needs of multiple dogs without constant supervision.
- Ability to independently care for up to 15 dogs during assigned portions of a shift.
- Experience completing feeding, watering, cleaning, potty, medication, enrichment, and documentation routines for a group of dogs.
- Comfort handling dogs of all sizes, breeds, strength levels, energy levels, and behavioral presentations accepted by the facility.
- Ability to safely handle fearful, reactive, highly aroused, strong, resistant, or environmentally sensitive dogs while following established management instructions.
- Working knowledge of canine body language, stress signals, safe leash handling, kennel transitions, and bite-prevention practices.
- Reliable transportation and consistent attendance.
- Ability to work approximately 35 hours per week.
- Availability for weekends, early mornings, evenings, and holidays as scheduled.
- Ability to follow detailed written and verbal instructions without skipping steps or making unauthorized changes.
- Strong attention to detail and willingness to complete physically demanding cleaning work.
- Ability to remain calm, organized, and professional while managing a high-volume workload.
- Willingness to receive direct feedback and adjust performance promptly.
- Ability to work independently while also contributing to a team.
- Basic comfort using mobile applications, scheduling systems, checklists, and digital documentation.
Preferred Qualifications
- Two or more years of professional kennel, boarding, daycare, veterinary, shelter, or dog-training experience.
- Experience working in a facility housing 10 or more dogs at one time.
- Experience handling dogs with fear, reactivity, overarousal, or other behavioral management needs.
- Familiarity with reward-based dog training, learning theory, and LIMA-based practices.
- Experience administering oral or topical medications.
- Pet first aid or CPR certification.
- Interest in developing professional dog-training and advanced handling skills.
Physical and Handling Requirements
This position requires the ability to:
- Stand and walk for most of the workday.
- Repeatedly bend, kneel, squat, reach, lift, clean, and move between indoor and outdoor care areas.
- Lift and carry at least 50 pounds.
- Safely control dogs who may pull, jump, lunge, resist movement, or change direction suddenly.
- Maintain secure leash control while opening doors, operating gates, transferring dogs, and navigating shared spaces.
- Respond quickly and appropriately during dog-handling or facility emergencies.
- Work independently through a full care rotation involving up to 15 dogs.
- Work indoors and outdoors in varying temperatures and weather conditions.
- Tolerate exposure to barking, cleaning products, animal hair, saliva, urine, feces, and other normal conditions associated with animal-care work.
- Perform repetitive cleaning, laundry, feeding, and facility-maintenance tasks.
Pay: $18.00 - $21.00 per hour
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Opportunities for advancement
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Experience:
- working with 10+ dogs at a time: 1 year (Required)
Work Location: In person
