Top 12 Kennel Attendant Skills to Put on Your Resume
Landing a job as a kennel attendant takes more than warm fuzzies for pets. You need to prove steadiness, clean hands, sharp eyes, and calm control when things get messy or loud. On your resume, spotlight the skills that actually keep animals healthy, safe, and content—and show you can handle a busy, real-world kennel without missing a beat.
Kennel Attendant Skills
- Animal Care
- Feeding Techniques
- Sanitation Protocols
- Medication Administration
- Pet First Aid (Certification)
- Customer Service
- Record Keeping
- Grooming Basics
- Animal Behavior
- Exercise Programs
- Shelter Software (e.g., ShelterLuv)
- Emergency Response
1. Animal Care
Animal care means meeting every creature’s basic needs—fresh water, proper food, clean bedding, safe housing—while tending to comfort, socialization, and stress reduction. It’s the rhythm of daily care done right and done reliably.
Why It's Important
Good care prevents disease, lowers stress, and supports healthier behavior. In a kennel, small lapses ripple fast. Consistent, thoughtful routines keep animals stable and staff safer.
How to Improve Animal Care Skills
Keep learning: Refresh knowledge on body language, common illnesses, vaccination schedules, parasite prevention, and low-stress handling.
Make cleanliness non-negotiable: Daily spot cleaning, proper disinfection, fresh bedding, dry floors, and good airflow.
Enrich the day: Chews, puzzle feeders, scent work, structured social time, and quiet zones for decompression.
Observe and document: Appetite changes, stool quality, energy shifts, coughing, limping—log it promptly and share.
Handle with empathy: Move slow, speak softly, respect space bubbles, and tailor care to temperament.
How to Display Animal Care Skills on Your Resume
2. Feeding Techniques
Feeding techniques cover portion accuracy, diet adherence, safe storage, clean bowls, and active monitoring at mealtimes. Not just feeding—managing nutrition.
Why It's Important
Right food, right amount, right schedule. Good feeding supports weight, digestion, coat, and mood—and flags health issues early when intake changes.
How to Improve Feeding Techniques Skills
Measure precisely: Use scales or marked cups; note calorie-dense foods and treats in totals.
Honor individual needs: Allergies, sensitivities, puppy/senior diets, slow-feeders for gulpers, and separate feeding for resource guarders.
Lock down hygiene: Wash bowls after every meal, sanitize prep areas, rotate stock, and label opened bags with dates.
Monitor and record: Who ate, how much, speed, and any vomiting, diarrhea, or refusal—report deviations quickly.
Keep a tight routine: Consistent meal times calm stomachs and behavior.
How to Display Feeding Techniques Skills on Your Resume
3. Sanitation Protocols
Sanitation protocols structure how kennels, runs, bowls, and tools get cleaned and disinfected. It’s the barrier between “fine” and outbreak.
Why It's Important
Clean spaces cut transmission of viruses, bacteria, and parasites, protect staff, and keep animals more relaxed and healthy.
How to Improve Sanitation Protocols Skills
Use the right products: Choose disinfectants labeled effective against common kennel pathogens (e.g., parvo, bordetella). Respect contact times.
Separate clean from dirty: Color-code tools. Different sets for isolation, intake, and general population.
Suit up: Gloves, aprons, eye protection when appropriate. Hand hygiene every time.
Follow a schedule: Daily spot cleaning, deep cleans on rotation, checklists signed and time-stamped.
Mind airflow and moisture: Dry bedding, quick-dry floors, and good ventilation to limit mold and odors.
Waste control: Prompt pickup, sealed disposal, and frequent bin sanitation.
Isolate quickly: Separate symptomatic animals; clean last; change PPE between areas.
How to Display Sanitation Protocols Skills on Your Resume
4. Medication Administration
Medication administration means giving the right drug, dose, route, and timing exactly as prescribed—and documenting it without fail.
Why It's Important
Precision keeps animals safe, relieves pain, treats disease, and prevents dangerous errors. Consistency builds trust with vets and owners.
How to Improve Medication Administration Skills
Live the “Five Rights”: Right animal, medication, dose, route, time. Double-check every dose; use a second set of eyes for high-risk meds.
Prepare smart: Organize pill packs, label syringes clearly, and pre-read instructions for food/fasting or storage needs.
Use low-stress techniques: Pill pockets, gentle restraint, and positive reinforcement to reduce refusal and fear.
Document instantly: Time, dose, initials, reactions. No delays, no gaps.
Store safely: Separate refrigerated meds, track expirations, and follow controlled-substance rules and logs if applicable.
How to Display Medication Administration Skills on Your Resume
5. Pet First Aid (Certification)
Pet First Aid certification teaches rapid response for injuries and sudden illness—CPR, choking relief, wound care, stabilization—until a veterinarian takes over.
Why It's Important
Emergencies don’t wait. Trained attendants cut response time, reduce complications, and often save lives.
How to Improve PetFirstAid (Certification) Skills
Choose hands-on courses: Practice CPR, bandaging, and muzzling; simulate emergencies with scenarios.
Refresh regularly: Renew on schedule, and drill skills between courses to keep muscle memory sharp.
Customize kits: Build species-appropriate first-aid kits for your facility, including gloves, muzzles, bandages, styptic, and emergency contact lists.
Know when to escalate: Clear criteria for vet transport, owner notification, and incident documentation.
Align with protocols: Match first-aid steps to your kennel’s emergency SOPs for seamless action.
How to Display PetFirstAid (Certification) Skills on Your Resume
6. Customer Service
Customer service blends clear updates, empathy, and crisp follow-through for both owners and their pets. It’s care plus communication.
Why It's Important
Owners trust you with family. Good service builds comfort, repeat bookings, and referrals—while reducing misunderstandings.
How to Improve Customer Service Skills
Set expectations early: Intake forms, feeding/medication plans, behavior notes, and emergency contacts—confirm everything.
Communicate proactively: Brief daily updates, photos when appropriate, and fast responses to concerns.
Personalize care: Note preferences—favorite toys, anxieties, leash style—then use them.
Handle concerns well: Listen first, explain clearly, apologize when warranted, and outline next steps.
Collect feedback: Short exit surveys or casual check-ins to spot improvements.
How to Display Customer Service Skills on Your Resume
7. Record Keeping
Record keeping captures the who-what-when: feeds, meds, behavior notes, incidents, cleaning, and vet visits. If it happened, it’s written.
Why It's Important
Accurate records ensure continuity of care, legal compliance, and fast decision-making when something changes.
How to Improve Record Keeping Skills
Go standardized: Use consistent forms, checkboxes, and terminology so everyone records the same way.
Update in real time: Log immediately to avoid gaps and memory errors.
Organize by animal: Centralize profiles with medical history, diet, behavior flags, and owner preferences.
Back up data: Routine backups, secure access, and version control for edits. Protect privacy.
Audit regularly: Spot-check charts for completeness and accuracy; correct trends before they spread.
How to Display Record Keeping Skills on Your Resume
8. Grooming Basics
Grooming basics keep animals comfortable and healthy: bathing, brushing, nail trims, ear cleaning, and simple coat care.
Why It's Important
Good grooming prevents matting, skin issues, and infections, while making animals feel better—and look cared for.
How to Improve Grooming Basics Skills
Match tools to coats: Slickers, rakes, curry brushes—use the right one and brush gently to skin level.
Trim nails safely: Small cuts, frequent checks, styptic on hand. Reward calm, stop if stressed.
Clean ears carefully: Wipe what you can see; avoid deep probing. Note redness, odor, or discharge.
Bathe smart: Pet-safe shampoo, lukewarm water, full rinse, full dry. Protect eyes and ears.
Mind skin and teeth: Flag hot spots, flaking, fleas; brush teeth when allowed with pet-safe paste.
Stay gentle: Low-stress handling and breaks for anxious animals.
How to Display Grooming Basics Skills on Your Resume
9. Animal Behavior
Animal behavior covers how pets communicate needs, fear, play, and stress. Reading it well changes outcomes.
Why It's Important
When you understand signals, you prevent bites, reduce anxiety, and design better daily routines.
How to Improve Animal Behavior Skills
Study body language: Eyes, ears, tail, posture, mouth. Note thresholds and triggers.
Use positive methods: Reward-based training, LIMA principles, and short sessions for success.
Plan enrichment: Scent games, chew rotation, training bursts, and calm rest spaces.
Socialize safely: Pair well-matched dogs, supervise closely, and end on a good note.
Debrief incidents: Document what happened, what helped, and adjust care plans.
How to Display Animal Behavior Skills on Your Resume
10. Exercise Programs
Exercise programs structure movement and mental work: walks, play, training reps, agility basics, and decompression time.
Why It's Important
Balanced activity reduces stress behaviors, maintains fitness, and improves rest. Tired but not overdone—that sweet spot.
How to Improve Exercise Programs Skills
Tailor by dog: Age, breed, health, and temperament drive intensity and duration.
Mix it up: Sniff walks, fetch, tug rules, obstacle work, and brain games to prevent boredom.
Build routine with flexibility: Set schedules but adapt for weather, heat risk, and individual energy.
Train within play: Short obedience bursts during activity for impulse control and confidence.
Monitor recovery: Panting, stiffness, reluctance—dial back if needed; rest days matter.
Group play rules: Clear criteria for who plays, staff ratios, breakups practiced, and cool-downs enforced.
How to Display Exercise Programs Skills on Your Resume
11. Shelter Software (e.g., ShelterLuv)
Shelter software centralizes intake, medical records, scheduling, notes, and tasks. For attendants, it streamlines the day and reduces mistakes.
Why It's Important
Accurate, accessible data speeds care, improves handoffs, and keeps animals from falling through the cracks.
How to Improve Shelter Software (e.g., ShelterLuv) Skills
Train with purpose: Learn core workflows—intake, daily care logs, meds, tasks, and reporting.
Customize views: Dashboards, saved filters, and role-based lists to surface what you need fast.
Use templates: Standard notes, feeding plans, and med schedules to reduce errors and speed entry.
Leverage mobile: Update in the aisle—photos, notes, checklists—so records stay real-time.
Keep data clean: Consistent naming, accurate statuses, and routine audits to fix duplicates or gaps.
Run reports: Track trends—intake, length of stay, incidents, meds—then improve processes.
How to Display Shelter Software (e.g., ShelterLuv) Skills on Your Resume
12. Emergency Response
Emergency response is rapid, calm action for injuries, illness, escapes, or facility hazards—stabilize, communicate, document.
Why It's Important
Prepared teams protect animals and people, curb risk, and get life-saving care started quickly.
How to Improve Emergency Response Skills
Drill often: Practice CPR, choking response, bleeding control, evacuation routes, and lockdowns.
Stage go-bags: First-aid supplies, leashes, slip leads, crates, ID tags, flashlights, and contact lists—ready to move.
Clarify roles: Who leads, who handles animals, who calls owners and vets, who logs events.
Triage smart: Prioritize by severity; isolate contagious cases immediately.
Communicate clearly: Quick updates to owners, supervisors, and vet partners; document incidents fully.
Review after: Debrief what worked and what didn’t; update SOPs accordingly.
How to Display Emergency Response Skills on Your Resume
