Work With Dogs, Get Outside & Get Paid — Two Ways to Work With SDB
Sit Down & Beyond | Portland, OR Flexible Schedule | Portland + Surrounding Area
Sit Down & Beyond is hiring for two different roles:
1. Vacation Boarding — board SDB dogs in your home while their humans travel 2. Off-Leash Adventure Trainer — pick up small groups of dogs and take them hiking
You can be interested in one or both.
These positions don’t require you to already be a certified dog trainer. Professional dog experience is strongly preferred, training experience is a plus, and if you’re working toward becoming a professional trainer, we especially want to hear from you.
Role 1: Vacation BoardingBasically, we’d like your house to become a really excellent dog sleepover.
Our dogs don’t disappear into a giant boarding facility when their humans leave town. They board in the homes of trusted members of our team, where they get household routines, individual attention, walks, enrichment, naps, adventures, and someone noticing when they’re acting even a little bit weird.
Most of our Vacation Boarding dogs aren’t strangers to SDB. They’re usually dogs who have previously completed a Board & Train with us and are coming back for regular boarding with people who understand their training, routines, and expectations.
We’re looking for people with real professional dog-care experience who can safely and thoughtfully board dogs in their own homes.
Already a dog trainer? Fantastic.
Working toward becoming one? Even better.
Not a trainer, but you’ve spent years professionally caring for dogs and can read canine body language better than most people can read their coworkers to filth?
We want to hear from you too.
What you’ll actually do
Vacation Boarding dogs stay in your home while their humans travel.
You’ll:
- Maintain each dog’s established routines
- Feed and administer routine medications as instructed
- Provide appropriate exercise and enrichment
- Take dogs hiking and on Sniffspot adventures — SDB pays for the Sniffspots
- Reinforce existing training and household manners
- Carefully manage dog-dog interactions
- Transport dogs when necessary
- Send photos, videos, and updates
- Communicate quickly if something seems off
- Follow SDB safety, handling, and care protocols
We need dog people. Actual dog people.
Excellent dog care is more than really, really liking dogs.
You notice when a dog stops eating.
You notice when play changes from fun to okay, we’re done now.
You understand why the scared dog hiding behind your legs probably doesn’t need six strangers crouching down and reaching toward his face.
You understand gates, doors, leashes, crates, management, and why he’s never done that before isn’t a safety plan.
We’re looking for people who are observant, reliable, communicative, and capable of making good decisions without someone standing over their shoulder.
Your home matters.
We’ll talk through your home, household members, resident animals, physical setup, schedule, property restrictions, and what kinds of dogs would actually be appropriate for your environment.
You don’t need a giant house or ten acres.
You do need an environment where dogs can be safely and comfortably managed.
Matching matters.
We’re not throwing a 95-pound teenage shepherd into your studio apartment with your elderly Chihuahua and wishing everyone luck.
Vacation Boarding Compensation
$50–$100/night, per dog depending on how annoying the dog is.
Some dogs eat dinner, go for a walk, curl up on the couch, and generally make excellent temporary roommates.
Others have… more opinions.
Compensation is based on the individual dog’s care requirements, management needs, behavior, and overall difficulty level.
You’ll know the dog’s needs and compensation before agreeing to take the boarding.
You tell us when you’re available, and we’ll match dogs based on your availability, home environment, experience, and the individual dog.
Role 2: Off-Leash Adventure TrainerYour office has trees. Your coworkers pee on things.
Our Off-Leash Adventure Trainers run small-group dog adventures throughout Portland and the surrounding area.
This isn’t a dog-walking job where you shuffle six dogs around a neighborhood block while staring at your phone.
Our adventure programs are built around giving dogs the skills and freedom to safely experience more of the world.
That means trails. Forests. Mud. Creeks. Recall. Sniffing. Training. Group management. Pickups. Drop-offs. Photos.
It’s a very glamorous industry.
What you’ll actually do
You’ll be responsible for a small group of dogs for the day—from picking them up in the morning to returning tired, happy dogs to their humans that afternoon.
You’ll:
- Pick dogs up from their homes throughout the Portland area
- Safely transport dogs to hiking trails, occasionally Sniffspots, and other adventure locations
- Hike several miles with small groups of dogs
- Manage group dynamics and make good decisions about which dogs should interact and how
- Reinforce recall, leash skills, neutrality, and previously learned training
- Use long lines and other safety equipment appropriately
- Monitor canine body language, arousal, stress, and fatigue
- Give dogs breaks before they need them
- Provide opportunities to sniff, explore, play, and generally do dog shit
- Take genuinely good photos and videos throughout the day
- Write useful updates for clients
- Keep your vehicle and SDB equipment clean, safe, and organized
- Communicate with the training team when you notice something we should know about
- Return every dog safely home at the end of the day
The goal isn’t just to exhaust dogs.
We’re giving them structured freedom—the chance to run, sniff, explore, socialize, practice their skills, and become dogs who can handle increasingly bigger adventures.
You should probably apply if…
You already spend your free time hiking.
You’re the person your friends ask to watch their dog because somehow their dog listens to you.
You notice body language.
You’re comfortable handling large dogs.
You can manage multiple dogs without getting flustered.
You remain calm when everybody else—including the dogs—is being an idiot.
You’re obsessively responsible about doors, gates, leashes, equipment, and car safety.
You’re comfortable driving around Portland.
You don’t need someone checking whether you’ve done your job.
And spending your workday in the woods with dogs sounds considerably better than spending it under fluorescent lights.
Yes, the job is physical.
You need to be able to hike several miles while managing dogs and carrying whatever equipment the day requires.
You need to be comfortable getting dirty.
Portland weather is also Portland weather.
Some days will be gorgeous. Some days will be wet. The dogs will still need an adventure.
The driving part
This job involves a lot of driving.
You’ll be picking dogs up from their homes, transporting them safely to adventure locations, and returning them at the end of the day.
You need:
- A valid driver’s license
- A safe driving record
- Reliable transportation
- A vehicle that can safely accommodate multiple dogs
- Comfort driving throughout the Portland area and to surrounding trail systems
Your car doesn’t need to be beautiful. It does need to be safe, reliable, and appropriate for transporting dogs.
Adventure Trainer Compensation & Growth
This position starts with a 6-month probationary period at $18/hour + $20/day for gas.
At the end of six months, assuming:
- No one has been lost, maimed, or dead
- You’re reliable and doing the job well
- The dogs are thriving
- And the humans have actual compliments—not just an absence of complaints
We’ll bump you to $20/hour + $30/day for gas.
This is not a full-time position to start.
But it absolutely can become one.
We’re looking for someone who wants to stick around, get really good at this, take on more responsibility, and grow with SDB. If you want more hours and you’ve proven that we can trust you with them, there’s room for this position to grow into full-time work.
Experience we’re interested in
Neither role requires professional dog-training credentials, but professional experience with dogs is strongly preferred.
That might include:
- Professional dog walking
- Dog daycare
- Pet sitting
- Boarding
- Dog training
- Veterinary or shelter work
- Rescue work
- Managing groups of dogs
For the Adventure Trainer position, outdoor experience matters too. Hiking, backpacking, trail running, outdoor recreation, or anything else demonstrating that you’re genuinely comfortable spending your workday outside is valuable.
Working toward becoming a professional dog trainer?
Huge plus.
There may be opportunities to grow into increasingly training-focused work as your skills and education develop.
Training philosophy
Sit Down & Beyond is a science-based, positive-reinforcement training company.
We don’t use e-collars, prong collars, intimidation, dominance-based techniques, or intentionally use pain or fear to change behavior.
We don’t expect you to arrive knowing every training protocol we use.
You are expected to learn them, follow them, and ask questions when you don’t understand something.
We want people who are curious and coachable—not people who need to pretend they already know everything.
We’ll teach you our systems.
We cannot teach you to give a shit.
Who the hell is Sit Down & Beyond?
We’re a Portland dog-training company built around the idea that good training and good care should give dogs more life, not simply make them easier to manage.
We work with puppies, pet dogs, fearful dogs, reactive dogs, weird dogs, brilliant dogs, and dogs whose primary hobby appears to be making terrible decisions.
We’re the kids who smoke cigarettes under the bleachers and go to rave parties on the weekend while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
We’re serious about safety.
We’re serious about animal welfare.
We’re serious about doing excellent work.
We’re considerably less serious about ourselves.
Whether you’d rather have a dog sleeping on your couch while its humans are in Cabo or spend Tuesday afternoon ankle-deep in a creek with four of them, we’d like to hear from you.
Pay: $100.00 - $5,000.00 per month
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Fuel reimbursement
Work Location: On the road
