Top 12 Kennel Technician Skills to Put on Your Resume
Breaking into a kennel technician role takes steady hands, quick thinking, and a heart tuned to animal welfare. Put the right skills out front on your resume and your odds jump. This job blends technical know-how with patient, humane care—routine tasks, yes, but never routine animals.
Kennel Technician Skills
- Animal Handling
- Veterinary Software (e.g., Avimark, Cornerstone)
- Sanitation Protocols
- Medication Administration
- First Aid
- Grooming Techniques
- Customer Service
- Record Keeping
- Animal Nutrition
- Behavior Observation
- Exercise Programs
- Emergency Response
1. Animal Handling
Animal handling, for a Kennel Technician, means guiding, moving, restraining, and caring for animals safely and kindly in a busy kennel environment.
Why It's Important
Good handling keeps people and animals safe, reduces fear and stress, and makes every other task—feeding, cleaning, treatments—run smoother. Calm animals recover faster, learn faster, and trust more.
How to Improve Animal Handling Skills
Build your handling chops step by step:
Study body language: Ears, eyes, tail, weight shifts—read the early whispers before they turn into shouts.
Practice low-stress techniques: Gentle restraint, towel wraps, muzzles used thoughtfully, fear-reducing setups.
Stay neutral and steady: Quiet voice, deliberate movements, predictable routines.
Pair handling with rewards: Treats, breaks, and praise make handling a good deal for the animal.
Know your tools: Slip leads, double leashes, cat carriers, barrier use, protective gear.
Log and learn: Note triggers, successful approaches, and cautions per animal.
Seek coaching: Shadow experienced handlers; ask for specific feedback on technique.
Repetition with care turns skills into instinct.
How to Display Animal Handling Skills on Your Resume
2. Veterinary Software (e.g., Avimark, Cornerstone)
Veterinary software keeps records, schedules, treatment plans, billing, and kennel occupancy organized. For a Kennel Technician, it’s the hub for daily tasks and clean documentation.
Why It's Important
Accurate records prevent mistakes, speed up care, and keep the whole team aligned. Scheduling, meds, feeding notes—nothing gets lost in the shuffle.
How to Improve Veterinary Software (e.g., Avimark, Cornerstone) Skills
Boost your proficiency, not just your logins:
Take structured training: Learn core workflows—intake, boarding notes, treatments, discharge.
Create templates: Standard notes for feeding plans, meds, incident reports, cleaning tasks.
Use shortcuts: Hotkeys, quick-add items, saved views; shave minutes that add up.
Document consistently: Same fields, same order, every time; avoid freeform chaos.
Keep data clean: Correct names, dosages, allergies, and alerts; audit weekly.
Stay mobile-ready: If available, learn on-device entries for real-time updates on the floor.
Cross-train: Understand how your entries feed the vet and front-desk workflows.
Speed and accuracy beat speed alone.
How to Display Veterinary Software (e.g., Avimark, Cornerstone) Skills on Your Resume
3. Sanitation Protocols
Sanitation protocols are the daily and deep-clean routines that keep kennels, bowls, tools, and common areas disinfected, with safe waste handling and disease control baked in.
Why It's Important
Clean spaces curb outbreaks, protect immune-compromised animals, and safeguard staff. A healthy kennel smells right, looks right, and runs right.
How to Improve Sanitation Protocols Skills
Build a tight, repeatable system:
Follow cleaning order: From least to most soiled; top to bottom; front to back.
Use the right disinfectant: Animal-safe product, correct dilution, full contact time—no shortcuts.
Wear PPE: Gloves, eye protection, and dedicated footwear; change as needed.
Ventilate well: Keep air moving; reduce humidity; check filters regularly.
Isolate promptly: Separate symptomatic animals; handle last; dedicated tools.
Sanitize shared gear: Leashes, toys, grooming tools, laundry—disinfect between animals.
Log the work: Checklists with time, product used, and initials; audit routinely.
Consistency crushes contamination.
How to Display Sanitation Protocols Skills on Your Resume
4. Medication Administration
Medication administration means giving the right drug, dose, route, and timing, safely and accurately, as prescribed—while monitoring effects and documenting everything.
Why It's Important
Precision prevents harm and speeds recovery. One wrong step can derail care; one right habit can save a life.
How to Improve Medication Administration Skills
Make safety automatic:
Learn the “five rights”: Right patient, drug, dose, route, time—verify every time.
Double-check high-risk meds: Sedatives, insulin, cardiac meds—second set of eyes.
Label clearly: Animal name, drug, dose, frequency, start/stop dates; avoid look-alike mix-ups.
Store correctly: Temperature, light, and humidity controls; separate internals vs. externals.
Refine technique: Pill pockets, gentle pilling, eye/ear drops, injections; low-stress handling.
Watch for reactions: Note appetite, energy, stool, skin changes; report fast.
Document in real time: No memory guesses; enter immediately.
Slow is smooth; smooth becomes fast.
How to Display Medication Administration Skills on Your Resume
5. First Aid
First aid is immediate, basic care for injured or ill animals until a veterinarian takes over.
Why It's Important
Swift, correct action reduces complications and buys vital time. In a kennel, minutes matter.
How to Improve First Aid Skills
Get ready before it’s urgent:
Earn certification: Pet first aid and CPR; refresh periodically.
Drill the basics: ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation), bleeding control, shock signs, safe transport.
Maintain a loaded kit: Muzzle, gauze, styptic, saline, bandage materials, thermometers, gloves—checked monthly.
Practice handling: Low-stress restraint for painful or panicked animals.
Write clear protocols: Who does what, in what order; post them where people look.
Debrief after incidents: What worked, what didn’t, what changes now.
Calm habits beat chaos.
How to Display First Aid Skills on Your Resume
6. Grooming Techniques
Grooming covers bathing, brushing, nail trims, ear care, coat clipping, and skin checks to keep animals clean, comfortable, and healthy.
Why It's Important
Good grooming prevents matting, infections, and discomfort—and often reveals health issues early.
How to Improve Grooming Techniques Skills
Sharpen skill and sensitivity:
Read stress signals: Adjust pace and handling; give breaks; reward calm moments.
Match tools to coats: Slickers, rakes, combs, clipper blades; avoid skin irritation.
Disinfect between uses: Tools, tubs, tables; stop skin problems from hopping hosts.
Nail and ear protocols: Quick-awareness, styptic at the ready; gentle, moisture-aware ear cleaning.
De-matting safely: Conditioners, split-and-comb methods; shave only when necessary.
Drying done right: Temperature control, noise reduction, never leave animals unattended.
Record preferences: Sensitive spots, blade lengths, shampoos that work.
Comfort first; style follows.
How to Display Grooming Techniques Skills on Your Resume
7. Customer Service
Customer service means guiding pet owners with clarity and care, answering questions, and delivering transparent updates while their animals stay with you.
Why It's Important
Trust keeps clients returning—and recommending you. Clear service builds calm owners and calmer pets.
How to Improve Customer Service Skills
Polish the human side of animal care:
Set expectations early: Intake forms, vaccination needs, feeding, meds, fees, pickup times.
Communicate often: Short updates, photos when appropriate, immediate calls for concerns.
Listen deeply: Repeat back key details; capture special requests accurately.
Resolve issues quickly: Own problems, offer options, follow through.
Be consistent: Same tone, same process, same standards across staff.
Ask for feedback: Simple surveys or at-desk prompts; act on patterns you see.
Professional doesn’t mean cold; warmth wins.
How to Display Customer Service Skills on Your Resume
8. Record Keeping
Record keeping means precise, timely notes for feeding, meds, behavior, incidents, and preferences—tied to the right animal, every time.
Why It's Important
Good records protect animals, inform decisions, meet legal standards, and let the next shift pick up without guessing.
How to Improve Record Keeping Skills
Make your data bulletproof:
Standardize forms: Intake, feeding, meds, behavior, cleaning logs—uniform fields and order.
Go digital where possible: Real-time entries, searchable history, fewer lost notes.
Use unique identifiers: Full name, photo, color tag, kennel number—cross-check.
Time-stamp everything: Who did it, what happened, when, and what next.
Audit routinely: Weekly spot checks; fix gaps now, not later.
Back up data: Secure storage and regular backups; test restores.
Protect privacy: Limit access to need-to-know staff; log permissions.
If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen.
How to Display Record Keeping Skills on Your Resume
9. Animal Nutrition
Animal nutrition is providing species- and life-stage-appropriate diets (dogs, cats, and more), with the right calories, macro- and micronutrients, and safe feeding practices.
Why It's Important
Food affects energy, coat quality, gut health, behavior, and recovery. The wrong diet drags everything down.
How to Improve Animal Nutrition Skills
Feed smart, not just full:
Assess needs: Age, weight, condition score, activity level, medical notes.
Choose balanced diets: Complete and appropriate for species and life stage; note allergies and sensitivities.
Portion precisely: Scales over scoops; adjust with vet guidance as weight shifts.
Transition slowly: Mix over several days to protect the gut.
Hydration always: Fresh water, clean bowls; consider wet food for extra moisture when appropriate.
Use enrichment: Slow feeders, puzzle toys, scatter feeding for stress relief and mental work.
Track outcomes: Appetite, stool quality, coat, energy; tweak when patterns change.
Nutrition is care you can measure.
How to Display Animal Nutrition Skills on Your Resume
10. Behavior Observation
Behavior observation means watching closely—posture, vocalizations, interactions—and documenting what you see so patterns and problems don’t slip by.
Why It's Important
Early detection of stress, pain, or illness keeps animals and staff safe and guides better care plans.
How to Improve Behavior Observation Skills
See more, sooner:
Create simple ethograms: Common behaviors and what they might signal; use them consistently.
Capture baselines on intake: Compare later changes to the animal’s normal.
Use ABC notes: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence—clear and repeatable.
Be systematic: Scheduled rounds with focused observations rather than casual glances.
Reduce bias: Describe, don’t judge—“pacing for 3 minutes,” not “anxious.”
Huddle with the team: Share observations; align on interventions.
What’s measured gets managed.
How to Display Behavior Observation Skills on Your Resume
11. Exercise Programs
Exercise programs are planned activities—walks, play, enrichment, and training—that match each animal’s needs and abilities.
Why It's Important
Movement trims stress, curbs problem behaviors, and supports healthy weight and joints. Tired, fulfilled animals rest better.
How to Improve Exercise Programs Skills
Make movement meaningful:
Assess first: Breed, age, medical limits; get vet clearance for special cases.
Mix activities: Leash walks, fetch, scent games, puzzle work, simple agility.
Mind the weather: Heat, cold, surfaces; adjust duration and intensity.
Group play with care: Temperament tests, size matching, active supervision, clear rules.
Track sessions: Duration, intensity, behavior after; tune the plan.
Warm up and cool down: Short start, gentle finish; prevent strains.
Consistency beats occasional marathons.
How to Display Exercise Programs Skills on Your Resume
12. Emergency Response
Emergency response is decisive action when illness, injury, or disaster hits—stabilize, communicate, and move to definitive care.
Why It's Important
Prepared teams act faster and safer. Animals get help sooner; confusion stays out of the way.
How to Improve Emergency Response Skills
Prepare like it will happen today:
Post clear protocols: Medical crises, escapes, bites, fire, weather—step-by-step.
Run drills: Practice evacuations, triage stations, and communication handoffs.
Stock go-bags: First aid, leashes, carriers, labels, flashlights, batteries, contact lists.
Assign roles: Who leads, who calls, who documents, who handles animals.
Quarantine fast: Separate suspected infectious cases; dedicated equipment and routes.
Review after events: What to change, what to reinforce; update protocols promptly.
Readiness is a habit, not a binder.
How to Display Emergency Response Skills on Your Resume
