Not everyone has the right personality or skills to succeed in a career in animal care. Are you wondering if you’d be qualified to work in one of these roles – perhaps as a veterinarian, veterinary nurse, pet groomer, breeder or in a similar job? If you fit the following criteria, you’d probably excel at an animal care career:
You Have Familiarity With Animals and Animal Husbandry
There’s a broad variety of different animal care careers you could choose. Some animal care specialisations could focus narrowly on one species of animal, while others could be much broader in scope. In general, you will need to have a thorough understanding of the habits and requirements of the specific animal species you’ll be working with. Different animals have different enclosure requirements, nutritional needs and protocols for safe contact and handling.
Some animal care jobs require animal husbandry experience or education. If you don’t already have relevant experience, animal care courses can provide the knowledge you’ll need for success. A knowledge of animal biology will also be important for some animal care positions; this would be a particularly important body of knowledge to acquire if you hope to become a veterinarian or veterinary nurse.
You Possess a Nurturing Disposition
Before employers or clients will trust you with their precious animals, you’ll typically need to demonstrate that you possess patience, empathy and a nurturing disposition. These characteristics are particularly necessary if you’ll be caring for sick or injured animals as part of your job description, because these animals can be particularly trying to deal with.
You Have Listening and Communication Ability
Whether you decide to seek employment from an existing animal care business or you’d prefer to start your own business, either way, communication will be a key facet of your day-to-day duties. Listening to others will be crucial; and responding to them appropriately will also be important.
You’ve Honed Your Organisational Skills
As an animal caretaker, you will likely be responsible for dealing with sizable numbers of animals. Each of them will have different requirements. You’ll have to be able to differentiate between them and give each animal the specific sort of care that it needs. This will require you to maintain a high level of organisation. A good memory is also helpful, but efficient organisation is a critically important key.
You Possess Analytical and Critical Thinking Abilities
Animals each have their own quirks. They can be destructive. They can be cunning. Sometimes, in your role as animal caretaker, you might have to outwit them. You’ll also likely be tasked with solving problems they create or get involved with. All of this requires an ability to think critically and respond swiftly to whatever situation happens to be at hand.
These basic skills form the most important core of the animal caretaker’s skill set. Of course, there are many other skills beyond just these that could potentially be useful to an animal caretaker; but, if you possess all or most of the skills mentioned above, you’d probably make a good animal caretaker.