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Our Team and Our Roles

The seven staff roles at Partners Dogs, what each one owns day to day, and where one role's work hands off to the next.

Overview

Every dog's day at Partners Dogs passes through seven distinct staff roles, and knowing where your role's work stops and the next one's starts is what keeps a rotation, a class, or a checkout running on time. This article is the map: custodians, Animal Care Technicians, Daycare Attendants, Trainers, Instructors, Senior Instructors, and Office Staff, in the order a dog is most likely to meet them.

Staff Roles

Custodians

Custodians keep the building itself in shape: cleaning kennels, common areas, and bowls, plus whatever other cleaning tasks come up over the course of the morning.

Animal Care Technicians (ACT)

ACTs own the daily physical care of every dog staying with us: feeding, potty rotation, bathing, cleaning, and the rest of it. Those tasks live on a checklist in the kennel system and again on the kennel door itself for the final check at the end of a rotation. Once an ACT's assigned care tasks for the day are handled, the rest of their shift shifts to supporting other team members, which includes assisting with training or shadowing a senior trainer to build their own experience.

Daycare Attendants (Rufferees)

Daycare Attendants run a carefully managed and structured daycare environment for the whole day, with their own tasks tracked on the same kennel-system checklists ACTs use. The standard they work to is a 10:1 ratio in every group, watching each dog's energy level closely enough to keep the room calm without going flat. Games and training woven into the day are part of the job too, not an extra; that is what builds leadership within a group instead of just filling time.

Trainers

A Trainer's first job on any given day is the dogs assigned to them: running training sessions built around each dog's actual goals and keeping clients current through report cards. Helping an ACT with day-to-day tasks comes next, and any remaining downtime is for learning, whether that means sitting in on another trainer's session or shadowing someone senior.

Instructors

Instructors run training sessions aimed at each dog's goals and keep in touch with clients by phone, in lessons, and through report cards, the same communication loop Trainers use. Where the role steps up is working directly with clients and their dogs to correct minor obedience and manners issues, and teaching both Pet Parenting Classes and basic obedience classes. Like every role here, Instructors also pitch in on ACT rotations and feeding when the day calls for it.

Senior Instructors

Senior Instructors carry the same training-session and client-communication load as Instructors, with two things layered on top: the ability to work with any type of behavioral issue that comes through the door, and teaching from Pet Parent Classes up through advanced obedience, not just the basics. They are also the ones expected to walk a new hire, trainer, or instructor through check-ins, appointments, and training sessions as that person gets up to speed. Senior Instructors support ACT rotations and feeding as well.

Office Staff

Office Staff set the tone the moment a dog or owner arrives or leaves: greeting them, handling incoming and outgoing calls and messages, and covering retail sales. They are the ones who can walk a client through every program the school offers, quote prices, and get a parent signed up for whatever service fits. Staying in the loop with both owners and trainers, and keeping daily work on track, falls to this role too, along with the admin work tied to every client relationship and the notes that document each interaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for an ACT's day to shift from direct care into supporting other roles?

There is no fixed clock time for it. An ACT works through the checklist and the kennel-door check for their assigned dogs first; once that care work for the rotation is done, the rest of the shift moves into supporting other team members, whether that is helping with training or shadowing a senior trainer.

Which roles are expected to pitch in on ACT rotations and feeding?

Instructors and Senior Instructors both are, on top of their own training and client-communication work. That support is part of the job description for those two roles, not a favor.

What ratio do Daycare Attendants work to, and why does it matter?

A 10:1 ratio in each group. It is the number that keeps a Daycare Attendant able to actually watch energy levels across the whole group and step in before a calm room tips into a chaotic one.

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