During my time at the Blue Cross, we had lots of WX students, but unless they were 18, they couldn't work in our kennels because of Health and Safety regulations.
There is a lot to learn, and it may sound stupid, but just finding out how to get a dog in or out of its kennel can be very difficult, especially if it is nervous and there are other dogs barking and growling as you pass between other kennels. This is when you can get a 're-directed bite' simply because the dog you are handling feels as though it needs to reciprocate but you are the nearest target!! Keep them away from the other dogs and at arms length if you can. Picking up a small dog is another option, but you need to keep it away from your face etc. Otherwise, we needed to put in our easy dogs and our difficult dogs and take the others in so that the two sorts didn't mix ! It needs quite a bit of forethought and planning when kennels are being alotted to different dogs.
Getting them out of their kennel can be difficult, but we were all encouraged to make them Sit and Wait (with a treat if they did as they were asked). This makes it loads easier to actually enter a kennel and put a lead/harness/muzzle/gentle-leader or whatever on them without them pinging everywhere...
Our kennels are cleaned out totally every day - the bedding is hung over the door (or put to wash) and all toys/treats etc are picked up out of the way. Hot water and detergent are bucketed in and scrubbed around with a long-handled brush. We then hose down all the kennel and squeegee out, wiping the bed round with a towel. Food and water bowls are cleaned and replenished as appropriate. When a dog leaves or moves to a different kennel, the previous kennel is cleaned with steriliser and/or disinfectant (but some products need to air-dry and be left for 24 hours, especially with cats who cannot tolerate phenolic disinfectant).
Be prepared for quite hard physical work, not only with the day to day cleaning (not only the kennels, but the outside runs as well) but also with the walking and exercising and playing that dogs need when they are kennelled.
You may also have to medicate certain dogs, and you should be sure that they actually swallow oral medications (don't just crumble a tablet onto their food and hope they eat it). Eye drops or ear drops may have to be administered, and if you are not sure, or need help to hold the animal whilst this is being done, always ask, since no-one minds doing this, and we all need aassistance at one time or another !
I hope you have an enjoyable time during your Work Experience, and that it leads you eventually into a career with animals, if that is what you enjoy doing best!
