Senior Dog Training Instructor Mentor, BUT you only get high wage when you are teaching/mentoring students - Senior Dog Trainer Instructor Mentor Petco Employee Review

3.0
Jun 2, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This is a commissioned job so if you can sell you will go far. The training is all POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT, which is wonderful. No force, fear, or intimidation used at all. (For the record, Cesar Milan's techniques are old and out dated) The best program I can suggest to take before you go for this job is Karen Pryor Academy for dog training. Then you will mentor under another mentor. I taught for a year and because I was a trainer becoming a mentor was easy peasy. It is an easy job if you are dedicated and willing to do your work. The store I started in had basically no training program at all (and they had been teaching dogs for almost a year or more when I signed on) I increased sales by over 75% at this store. Unless you want to earn a measly hourly late, you need to WORK WORK WORK and SELL SELL SELL. See cons below ;) BUT, I was lucky to have a great team of coworkers and management. We kicked butt on freight night and had all of our freight worked by the next day. We LOVED our animals and cared for them like they were our own pets. I wish we had more time to care for them. See notes to management.

Cons

They lure you in with a promised $15 per hour for a senior dog trainer (which means you can mentor and train other novice trainers) BUT, they ONLY PAY THAT RATE WHEN YOU ARE TEACHING DOG TRAINERS. All the other time you make your base pay per hour (mine was 10.48) BUT, as a dog trainer, you make 20 percent commission on your dog training classes sold. After figuring it all out, I made roughly 13.50 an hour, not too shabby. BUT YOU HAVE GOT TO SELL AND YOU HAVE GOT TO TEACH The best rate 15 per hour was only if you are teaching another dog trainer, so my advice is push your managers to get more dog trainers enrolled with you.

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5.0
Jan 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Hours are good, flexible job

Cons

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1.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Wonderful people under the Sr. Director level - Dogs in the office - Brand name carries weight on your resume

Cons

- Sr. Directors and above are largely nepotism hires rather than merit-based promotions - Leadership team is toxic and disrespectful, and that tone trickles down to other senior leaders - Gender favoritism shows up repeatedly, with women being asked to pick up the work of men without additional pay. Or men being promoted over women due to favoritism and not merit. - Nearly every employee I worked with was disengaged and functioning out of fear of layoffs rather than job satisfaction (layoffs happen multiple times a year) - The company's declining position also makes it harder to land your next role, since a recent Petco title now reads as coming from a struggling brand

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