Top 12 Kennel Assistant Skills to Put on Your Resume
Landing a kennel assistant role takes grit, gentleness, and sharp habits. Employers want proof you can keep animals healthy, calm, and safe while the facility runs without a hitch. Stack your resume with the right skills and you’ll stand out fast.
Kennel Assistant Skills
- Animal Handling
- Pet First-Aid
- Cleaning Protocols
- Customer Service
- Record Keeping
- Feeding Techniques
- Exercise Routines
- Medication Administration
- Grooming Basics
- Animal Behavior
- Microsoft Office
- Time Management
1. Animal Handling
Animal handling covers the safe, low-stress ways to approach, move, restrain, and care for pets. In a kennel, that means reading body language, keeping animals comfortable, and protecting everyone—animal and human—through calm, confident actions.
Why It's Important
Good handling prevents injuries, reduces fear, and builds trust. It makes daily tasks smoother and keeps the environment humane.
How to Improve Animal Handling Skills
Focus on these essentials:
Read body language: Ears, tail, eyes, weight shift—small signals tell you everything. Pause if stress ramps up.
Go slow, be predictable: Approach sideways, crouch if needed, and let the animal come to you. No rushing.
Use low-stress techniques: Towels, treats, gentle leashes, and quiet rooms lower arousal and resistance.
Practice safe restraint: The right grip for the right task. Keep the spine supported, avoid neck pressure, and never force through panic.
Learn from pros: Shadow experienced staff, rehearse scenarios, and debrief after tough moments.
Small, consistent improvements turn chaos into calm.
How to Display Animal Handling Skills on Your Resume
2. Pet First-Aid
Pet first-aid is immediate care for injured or suddenly ill animals until a veterinarian steps in. Think wound care, safe transport, CPR for dogs and cats, choking response, and recognizing distress.
Why It's Important
Fast, correct action can stabilize a pet, prevent complications, and buy crucial minutes in emergencies.
How to Improve Pet First-Aid Skills
Get certified: Take a recognized pet first-aid/CPR course and renew it regularly (often every 2–3 years).
Drill the basics: Practice bandaging, muzzling, safe lifting, and CPR on training models.
Keep a stocked kit: Non-stick pads, vet wrap, saline, digital thermometer, styptic, tweezers, gloves, muzzle, and emergency contacts.
Know the red flags: Bloat signs, heatstroke, allergic reactions, seizures, toxin exposure. Act quickly and escalate to a vet.
Log incidents: Document what happened, what you did, and outcomes to refine response protocols.
How to Display Pet First-Aid Skills on Your Resume
3. Cleaning Protocols
Cleaning protocols are the step-by-step routines that keep kennels sanitary, odor-light, and disease-resistant. Waste removal, detergent wash, targeted disinfection, dry time, and fresh bedding—all in the right order.
Why It's Important
Proper cleaning breaks disease cycles, lowers stress, and protects animals and staff. It’s health care in mop form.
How to Improve Cleaning Protocols Skills
Choose pet-safe products: Use veterinary-grade cleaners and disinfectants appropriate for parvovirus and other common pathogens.
Follow contact times: Surfaces must stay wet long enough for the disinfectant to work. Rushing ruins results.
Work clean to dirty: Start with healthy or low-risk areas, then move to quarantine/isolation last to avoid cross-contamination.
Protect yourself: Gloves, eye protection when needed, and handwashing after each zone.
Ventilate and dry: Damp spaces invite trouble. Airflow matters.
Train and audit: Clear checklists, labeled bottles, and routine spot-checks keep standards consistent.
How to Display Cleaning Protocols Skills on Your Resume
4. Customer Service
In a kennel, customer service means clear updates, empathy for anxious owners, and reliable follow-through. You care for pets and reassure people—two sides of the same coin.
Why It's Important
Trust fuels repeat bookings. Good communication calms nerves and prevents misunderstandings.
How to Improve Customer Service Skills
Communicate proactively: Daily updates with specifics—eating, meds, stools, playtime, mood.
Listen first: Note preferences, triggers, and routines. Reflect back what you heard.
Offer solutions: When issues pop up, present options and next steps instead of just the problem.
Ask for feedback: Quick surveys or check-in questions uncover frictions before they grow.
Stay calm under pressure: Escalations shrink when your voice stays steady and factual.
How to Display Customer Service Skills on Your Resume
5. Record Keeping
Record keeping tracks each animal’s health, feeding, behavior, meds, and notes from intake to pickup. Clean data, fast retrieval, zero guesswork.
Why It's Important
Accurate records enable tailored care, quick decisions, legal compliance, and seamless owner communication.
How to Improve Record Keeping Skills
Go digital: Use reliable kennel or shelter software for profiles, vaccines, meds, and scheduling.
Update in real time: Log after each task, not “later.” Memory fades; data shouldn’t.
Standardize entries: Templates for feeding, meds, stool notes, behavior observations, and incident reports.
Secure and back up: Role-based access, strong passwords, and routine backups protect owner and medical info.
Audit monthly: Spot gaps, correct inconsistencies, and refine forms.
How to Display Record Keeping Skills on Your Resume
6. Feeding Techniques
Feeding techniques ensure each animal gets the right food, amount, and timing for their age, size, and health. Clean bowls, fresh water, and observation—every meal tells a story.
Why It's Important
Correct feeding prevents GI issues, obesity, food guarding, and missed warning signs when an appetite suddenly dips.
How to Improve Feeding Techniques Skills
Measure precisely: Use a scale or proper measuring cup. Guessing compounds over days.
Follow diet notes: Allergies, medicated foods, slow feeders, soaked kibble—details matter.
Sanitize daily: Wash and dry bowls between meals to reduce pathogens and biofilm.
Keep a schedule: Consistent timing supports digestion and calmer mealtimes.
Watch and record: Speed, interest, leftovers, vomiting, or diarrhea—log it for early intervention.
Hydration always: Fresh water, topped up and cleaned often. More in heat or after heavy play.
How to Display Feeding Techniques Skills on Your Resume
7. Exercise Routines
Exercise routines are structured activities tailored to each dog’s age, energy level, breed traits, and health. Walks, play, enrichment, and rest—balanced like a good diet.
Why It's Important
Right-sized exercise reduces anxiety, curbs destructive habits, and keeps bodies limber and minds satisfied.
How to Improve Exercise Routines Skills
Match activity to the dog: Seniors need gentle movement and sniffing time; high-drive dogs thrive with fetch, flirt poles, or agility-lite.
Mix mental with physical: Puzzle feeders, scent games, basic obedience reps during walks. Tired brain, happy dog.
Plan safely: Check weather, paw safety, heat risk, and surface conditions. Build in water breaks and shade.
Group wisely: Only compatible playmates. Clear introductions, size matching, and close supervision.
Log outcomes: Duration, intensity, behavior changes afterward. Adjust tomorrow based on today.
How to Display Exercise Routines Skills on Your Resume
8. Medication Administration
Medication administration means giving the right animal the right drug, dose, route, and timing—every time—and documenting it.
Why It's Important
Meds only work when given correctly. Consistency keeps animals stable and stops errors from snowballing.
How to Improve Medication Administration Skills
Use the “five rights”: Right patient, drug, dose, route, time. Confirm out loud and with records.
Label clearly: Pet name, medication, strength, dose, schedule, and special instructions.
Set reminders: Alarms and software prompts prevent missed or double doses.
Document immediately: Time, amount, who administered, and any reactions.
Know forms and techniques: Pills, liquids, transdermals—use safe handling and gentle restraint with treats when possible.
Escalate concerns: Vomiting, lethargy, hives, or refusal? Notify a supervisor or veterinarian without delay.
How to Display Medication Administration Skills on Your Resume
9. Grooming Basics
Grooming basics include brushing, bathing, drying, nail trims, and ear cleaning. Done gently, done often, and done right.
Why It's Important
Clean coats and trimmed nails prevent matting, infections, pain, and slips. Animals feel better and behave better.
How to Improve Grooming Basics Skills
Brush by coat type: Slickers for long coats, rubber curry for short coats, demat tools used sparingly and kindly.
Smart bathing: Lukewarm water, pet-safe shampoo, protect eyes and ears, rinse thoroughly, dry fully to prevent hotspots.
Nail trimming: Take tiny slices, watch for the quick, keep styptic nearby, and reward after each paw.
Ear care: Use vet-recommended cleaner, cotton rounds (not swabs deep in the canal), and stop if the dog shows pain.
Calm handling: Slow movements, treats, breaks, and a nonslip surface transform the experience.
How to Display Grooming Basics Skills on Your Resume
10. Animal Behavior
Animal behavior is the playbook behind what pets do and why. Signals, thresholds, triggers, and learning history—all the invisible stuff that changes handling from guesswork to good work.
Why It's Important
Understanding behavior keeps everyone safe, reduces fear, and speeds up care. You predict problems before they spark.
How to Improve Animal Behavior Skills
Study body language: Whale eye, lip licking, yawns, tail set, panting patterns—listen with your eyes.
Use positive reinforcement: Reward the behavior you want. Avoid punishment that spikes anxiety.
Keep routines steady: Predictable schedules soothe nervous animals and cut down on reactivity.
Socialize thoughtfully: Gradual, controlled exposures with plenty of space and escape routes.
Enrich daily: Chews, scent work, training games, and puzzle feeders to drain mental energy.
Rule out medical causes: Sudden behavior changes may be pain or illness. Flag for veterinary review.
How to Display Animal Behavior Skills on Your Resume
11. Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office—Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint—keeps the admin side tidy. From feeding charts to vaccine logs to owner emails.
Why It's Important
Efficient scheduling, crisp records, and clear communication save time and prevent mix-ups.
How to Improve Microsoft Office Skills
Excel: Build feeding trackers, med logs, and inventory sheets with data validation and basic formulas.
Word: Create intake forms, SOPs, and care instructions with clean templates and styles.
Outlook: Use folders, rules, and calendar invites to keep appointments and updates organized.
PowerPoint: Simple, visual staff training slides for protocols and safety refreshers.
How to Display Microsoft Office Skills on Your Resume
12. Time Management
Time management is the quiet engine of a smooth kennel. Priorities locked in, tasks sequenced, buffers built, no animal overlooked.
Why It's Important
Animals get fed and medicated on time, spaces stay clean, and owners get answers—without frantic scrambling.
How to Improve Time Management Skills
Prioritize by health impact: Meds and urgent care first, then feeding, cleaning, enrichment, and admin.
Batch tasks: Prep meds together, wash bowls in runs, group similar cleaning zones.
Use checklists and timers: Visual boards and alarms keep the day honest.
Build buffer time: Expect surprises—accidents, vet calls, intake delays—and plan space for them.
Handoff well: Clear shift notes prevent missed meds and double work.
Declutter the workflow: Put tools where you use them. Label, restock, repeat.
How to Display Time Management Skills on Your Resume
