Daycare Attendant

BASIC FUNCTION

• The basic functions of the Daycare Attendants are to care for the pets staying at the Orrville Pet Spa and Resort, complete daily cleaning according to the Standard Operating Procedures of the Orrville Pet Spa & Resort. This position does require that the Attendant communicates any concerns or updates to other attendants, shifts, and supervisor/management.
• The Daycare Attendant reports to and is accountable to the Guest Services Team Lead, Daycare Team Lead as well as Management.
• This position is fast-paced and physical in nature, requiring continuous movement for the duration of each shift. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILIES

• Keep the safety and health of animal guests as the top priority and provide compassionate care to all guests.
• Report any signs of distress or indications of a medical problem.
• The ability and compassion to handle pets that may be scared, aggressive, or wiggly according to self–control guidelines listed below.
• Ability to keep self-control by maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in difficult situations. This type of self- control includes, but not limited to, yelling or cursing at pets, physical abuse (hitting, slapping, swatting, punching, kicking, or knocking off balance), using excessive force to manipulate movement of pets (jerking on leash/collar, grabbing or twisting) any part of body or applying pressure in a rough manner.
• Understands and agrees to practice all behaviors and principles of OPSR 
• Performs daily work as listed on Standard Operating Procedures. 
• Performs weekly and monthly chores as listed.
• Understands how to administer medications, specifically, Insulin shots, dosage in solid or liquid form, oral medications, eye medications, ear medications, and miscellaneous medications.
• Participates in disinfecting the facility on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis.
• Communicated any concerns or updates in the appropriate way- verbal and/or written.
• Records daily actions with initials (ex. MRF), this can include but is not limited to: Kennel Checklist, Medications, Weekly Chore List, Monthly Chore List, Activity Sheet, Charts, and Daycare Checklist.
• Monitors animals carefully and ensures that pets are safe, comfortable and under control always.      
• Collect any samples requested by the doctor or technician.
• Maintain food and supply storage areas.
• Understand infectious diseases and how to control and prevent their spread.
• Prepare report cards for clients.
• Completes any miscellaneous tasks designated by Daycare Team Leader, Supervisor or Management. 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• To perform the job successfully, an individual must be able to complete all areas outlined for this position in a satisfactory manner. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities necessary to meet the minimum job requirements of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.
  • Experience
    • Limited experience with animal care
    • High school diploma or equivalent, or in process of obtaining
    • Experience in caring for animals, proper restraint techniques
  • Age
    • Must be at least 16 years old
  • Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities
    • Experienced animal handling 
    • Handling cleaners and disinfectants safely and in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures. 
    • Recognize and discuss dog breed traits, stages of puppy development, basic dog body language, good human and dog greetings, stress signals and aggressive displays. 
    • Understanding appropriate play, recognizing and intervening when dog arousal escalates, resource guarding, excessive dog stress and stalking behaviors.
    • Recognize behaviors surrounding the warnings and if required, redirect or intervene with the appropriate dog.
    • Communication- verbal and written, having incident reports on lower-level inappropriate behaviors to allow management to be proactive with dogs and owners. Reports that include detailed behavior descriptions are important so        productive discussions with dog owners result in win/win solutions.
  • Play Management Skills
    • Leader Posture & Movement-Foundation of great daycare
    • Leader Posture- Dogs respond to human body language so must demonstrate this quality.
    • Body blocking- most effective way to separate dogs.
    • Movement- Standing and moving when dogs are playing and moving, heading immediately toward activity. Be proactive during key events like dogs arriving to playgroup, toward fence/wall when strangers pass, or moved to new play area.
    • Dividing time- natural flow of off leash play and other games or activities using leadership tools.
    • Must develop the habit of using the standard obedience cues to communicate with dogs in the group (wait, off, come, sit, stay, back, etc)
    • Appropriate play understood- must be proactive and intervene early when dogs display inappropriate play behaviors.
    • Behavior Management Tools- designated tools must be used appropriately and effectively (come, redirecting, splitting, time-outs). 
    • Gate management- all dogs must be managed at gates/doors and only enter when they are calm. This management must always be consistent.
    • Obedience skills- dog leadership must be reinforced daily and goals to be set higher to challenge staff to improve skills (Come, group sit, gate boundary, loose leash walking, praise ratio) 
    • Handling cleaners and disinfectants safely and in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures. 

• Personal Characteristics
  • Dependability: honors commitments even under adverse circumstances.
  • Initiative: proceeds on a task without requiring detailed instructions.
  • Persistence: demonstrates tenacity at solving problems.
  • Responsible: readily accepts responsibility for solving problems and handling unusual situations.
  •  Stress tolerance: able to make sound decisions, lead effectively and maintain calm under highly stressful and unexpected situations.
  • Flexibility: confident in applying own skills and abilities to new situations.
  • Client Service: deals effectively and courteously with clients regarding status of animals or any issues.
  • Teamwork: shares tasks/ideas with others on the work team, identifies where help is needed and regularly works with others on the team to ensure productivity.
  • Strive for benevolent leadership-not dominance or fear over the dogs, verbally communicate with dogs creating a bond, based on trust, kindness and positive physical touch. 

• Physical
  • The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
  • The employee must have full range of body movements including use of hands, fingers, bending, reaching and crouching.
  • The employee must have use of all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
  • The employee must have the ability to lift/walk/control/handle dogs with a minimum of 5 pounds and a maximum of 200 pounds regularly. 
  • Endure standing and walking on hard floor surfaces for extended periods.
  • Type information for patient records and business use
  • Able to sustain continuous physical movement for the duration of each shift.
• Working Conditions
  • This position will require the employee to be indoors and outdoors, despite weather conditions, on a regular basis throughout the shift. The indoors are a climate controlled, smoke free environment. 
  • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate but can be higher in other areas.