Joining The Suburban K9 Team
Exciting! Rewarding! Challenging! Fulfilling! These are just some of the words our trainers use to describe their Suburban K9 experience. It isn’t just a job. It is a calling.
We’re always looking for people that are willing to go outside of their comfort zone and live a life worth living! It’s certainly “unconventional” to make a career out of dog training, but we’re looking for those who are willing to make their passion into a day job. Our trainers are motivated. They want to learn, and they continue to do so on a daily basis. They’re well spoken, confident, and empathetic with our clients.
During the last 10 years we have steadily grown from one location in Chicago to many locations throughout the country. All of our current locations are extremely busy and we are currently expanding further! We’re looking for individuals throughout the country that want to join our growing company.
THE THINGS WE DO
Our company offers a variety of different training options for our clients. From basic obedience classes to in-home appointments or board and train programs, we’re able to tackle a vast range of behavioral issues! Our trainers undergo an engaging and informative apprenticeship program which provides extensive exposure to the most common issues dog owners face today, as well as more difficult behaviors that aren't as common. We understand dogs have the ability to add a great deal of stress to their owners’ lives, and we’re here to lend a helping hand!
Our trainers spend most of their time on our two main services, in home training and boarding and training. Our trainers generally take two dogs into their home at a time to fully train them and then train the owners after the board and train is complete. This is a fun way to earn a living, help clients, and have a truly flexible schedule.
WHAT WE'RE NOT
We are not a franchised company. Franchise opportunities often cost up to $100,000 or more! You don’t pay us to become a Suburban K9 trainer. We pay you! Your apprenticeship program is very thorough and intense. Not only will you learn a massive amount about dog behavior, but you will be paid the whole time. How awesome is that?
Franchises often function just like a game of telephone. What person 1 said and what person 10 heard are often very different. At Suburban K9, we take pride in the consistency of our quality training and techniques. We won’t water down our services to fatten up our wallets. We expand slow, and we do it right.
Why Join Our Team?
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A COMPANY WHO CARES
We have deep roots in all of our communities and do everything we can to give back. Our Suburban K9 Gives Back is a program that helps community members that are having issues with their dogs and are unable to afford dog training services. This program is offered to those in need, rescue groups, first responders, and many others. We also run many fun events that are designed to raise money for charities.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Suburban K9 is committed to fostering a culture of inclusion and care, where every employee feels supported and experiences a strong sense of belonging. As a company, we are actively working to lessen the effects of unconscious bias and implementing practices for our staff to meaningfully engage with this issue. We run ongoing workshops to keep our team informed and engaged on this subject.
How Do You Apply?
Don’t overlook putting your cover letter and resume in the application, that’ll be important to us. Please do not call our front office to inquire, as our awesome Customer Service Representatives are extremely busy booking appointments for our trainers!
Want to Learn More?
Trainers
Trainers start at a pay rate of $23.22 per hour, which increases to $24.00 per hour after the 4-6 month training period ends. There are yearly bonuses and opportunities for pay raises and advancement within the company.
Each of our trainers goes through a detailed training program supervised by our territory managers! The training will encompass every aspect of dog training from easy cases to anxiety and aggression cases. We start off with everyday issues, then slowly move on to more complex topics. Managers are there every step of the way to teach new trainers and shadow them on their appointments.
Our initial training period is 4-6 months long. New trainers will have a busy but manageable schedule. We keep all our new trainers around 40 hours per week during the initial training period. New trainers typically meet 5 days a week with their manager for hands-on training. They also shadow many different types of appointments, have appointments of their own, and get to train a variety of dog breeds!
Our program includes the following:
- Hands on training
- Mock training scenarios to get new trainers ready for all types of issues
- Ability to shadow other trainers’ appointments
- A full time manager and other supportive team members
- Mentor program where new trainers are connected with a senior trainer
- Over 100 in depth classrooms
- Weekly quizzes
- Progression and proficiency scoring sheets
Trainers get to enjoy one of the best parts about being a SK9 trainer: having a flexible schedule! During the training period, new trainers adhere to a full-time schedule, while established trainers decide how many hours they want to work and set their schedule according to their preferences!
Suburban K9 has a highly supportive team and continuing education opportunities to provide ongoing support throughout a trainer’s career!
All of our trainers are full time employees with access to our various benefits.
- Paid time off starts accruing on day one
- Additional paid leave programs for bereavement, jury duty, etc.
- Access to the company health care plan
- Access to the company 401(k) plan
- Participation in the company profit sharing plan
- Participation in Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP)
- Free company cell phone service with unlimited data
- Employee Rewards program
- Company-provided crates and cleaning supplies
- Toll reimbursement
- Get rewarded for referrals
- Sales contests with prizes
- Flexible schedule (after training period)
- Paid for travel time on the job
Working at Suburban K9 is a dream job, but it is still a job! We like to be as transparent as possible with our future and current employees about the requirements of the job. We do not have any training facilities. We work with dogs in the environments where problems arise, such as homes, stores, and parks. Because of this, local travel is necessary and we require our trainers to have a valid driver’s license and a dependable vehicle. Additionally, our trainers take dogs into their own homes for our Board & Train program, therefore we have residency requirements. Trainers must reside in a house or townhouse (no apartments or condos), and must be willing and able to take 1-2 training dogs into their home at a time.
Territory Managers
Territory Managers start at a pay rate of $23.22 per hour, which increases to $25.50 per hour after the 6 month training period ends. It does not cost money to attend the Suburban K9 Academy. Instead managers are paid to learn! There are also yearly bonuses and opportunities for pay raises and advancement within the company.
Territory managers at Suburban K9 support the activities of the company in a regional market. Each of our Territory Managers start off by learning to be a dog trainer and will continue training dogs throughout their career. In addition, they will be trained on, and responsible for, employee management, local marketing, and the growth of their location. Territory Managers are full-time employees with benefits. The position offers managers the flexibility of setting their own schedule. Managers take on a lot of responsibilities in running their own territory, but Suburban K9 has developed a system and team to support managers and drive their success!
Managers relocate to Illinois for 6 months in order to get the best hands-on training experience possible. We utilize our Suburban K9 Academy in Yorkville, Illinois for the training of every Territory Manager. The Academy only trains two territory managers at any time, to ensure that each trainer gets plenty of one-on-one training. There is optional housing on site at the Academy that is fully furnished and reasonably priced.
The Academy program is a 6 month (25 week) process. We want to make sure Territory Managers are experts, and able to handle anything when they open their new location. Training encompasses every aspect of dog training. We start off with everyday issues, then slowly teach managers to handle any training issue, from basic obedience to anxiety and aggression. We also integrate marketing training into the program to ensure managers are prepared to market their new territory. This training program was built by our management team, which collectively has over 40 years of dog training experience. The team is constantly working to improve the program. In the Academy we cover:
- Hands-on training
- Over 100 in-depth classrooms
- Mock training scenarios
- Shadowing other trainers’ appointments
- Mentor program where new trainers are connected with our senior trainers
- Managerial and Marketing training to prep managers for their new location
- Weekly quizzes
- Progression and proficiency scoring sheets
Managers in our training program have a busy but manageable full-time schedule. They typically meet 5 days a week at the Yorkville facility for training. New managers will also shadow many different types of appointments, have appointments of their own, and get to work hands-on with a variety of dogs!
The Suburban K9 Academy is led by Lenny Szatkowski, the Director of Suburban K9 Academy, and one of our most senior trainers. Lenny has been with the company for over a decade and has over 30,000 hours of dog training experience.
We have built an incredible team that is here to help new Territory Managers succeed. Once a Territory Manager has graduated from Suburban K9 Academy and moves back to their market, they will work closely with our Director of Training, Maggie Deemer, as well as our Assistant Director of Training, Holly Wengerski. We also have a phenomenal Customer Service team that works seven days a week to book clients and add them to the schedule. When the manager is ready to grow their market and add additional trainers, our Human Resources team posts the positions and screens candidates.
- Paid time off starts accruing on day one
- Additional paid leave programs for bereavement, jury duty, etc.
- Access to the company health care plan
- Access to the company 401(k) plan
- Participation in the company profit sharing plan
- Participation in Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP)
- Free company cell phone service with unlimited data
- Employee Rewards program
- Company-provided crates and cleaning supplies
- Toll reimbursement
- Get rewarded for referrals
- Sales contests with prizes
- Flexible schedule (after training period)
- Paid for travel time on the job
- Quarterly manager bonuses
Working at Suburban K9 is a dream job, but it is still a job! We like to be as transparent as possible with our future and current employees about the requirements of the job. We require our new territory managers to relocate to Yorkville, Illinois for six months at the beginning of their employment so they can receive the best training possible. We do not have any training facilities. We work with dogs in the environments where problems arise, such as homes, stores, and parks. Because of this, local travel is necessary and we require our managers to have a valid driver’s license and a dependable vehicle. Additionally, our managers take dogs into their own homes for our Board & Train program, therefore we have residency requirements. Managers must reside in a house or townhouse (no apartments or condos) once they move back to their territory after the training period, and must be willing and able to take 1-2 training dogs into their home at a time.
Customer Service Representative
For Suburban K9, the ideal customer service candidate will have 2-4 years of experience in customer relations, as well as a basic understanding of dogs. This is a work-from-home position. CSRs need to have high speed internet access as well as a quiet space in-home to work.
One of the best parts of this job is that every day there’s something new: a new client to help, a new story about a dog or family in need, or a new package to set up. CSR duties vary between handling phone calls with customers, answering emails from customers and dog trainers, monitoring online chat queries, and completing tasks within Zoho (our customer relations system) to schedule, reschedule, or cancel appointments. There are times when the Front Desk Manager will also assign side projects to work on!
Training typically takes anywhere from 4-6 weeks. During training, CSRs learn about Suburban K9 as a company - our programs, our training methods, our trainers, as well as the ins-and-outs of Zoho. We utilize Zoho to track client information such as training goals, emails, phone conversations, and dog training packages. Training for the job takes place virtually through video meetings.
Our Customer Service Representatives work 40 hours per week with varying shifts from Monday through Sunday. Our front desk is open Monday through Thursday 8:00am - 7:00pm CST, Friday 8:00am - 5:30pm CST, and weekends 9:00am - 3:30pm CST. CSRs must be available to work nights and weekends, as well as daytime hours.
- Paid time off starts accruing on day one
- Additional paid leave programs for bereavement, jury duty, etc.
- Access to the company health care plan
- Access to the company 401(k) plan
- Participation in the company profit sharing plan
- Participation in Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP)
- Free company cell phone service
- Employee Rewards program
- Company-provided noise-canceling, wireless headset with microphone
- Laptop Reimbursement Program