Working as a dog food tester
Working as a dog food tester: if you’ve looked at Fido’s canned dog food and wondered if it tastes good or not, then you might just be interested in becoming a dog food tester.
Yes, you read that right.
Amongst weird jobs, dog food testers are definitely up there right along with breath odor evaluators and dice inspectors.
Very few people work in this profession.
After all, how many people really are willing to make a career out of tasting dog food all day
Most of them are also nutritionists who work not just on taste tests but also on making sure the stuff is actually healthy for dogs to eat.
Want to know more about working as a dog food tester? Check this new article on a similar topic.
The leading cause of animal death in the United States today is cancer
That makes sense: the leading cause of animal death in the United States today is cancer due to poor quality dog food.
It is estimated that 50 percent of geriatric dogs and 33 percent of cats will die of cancer
Generally, the taste testing part of the job is actually quite minimal.
Most of your time will be spent writing reports on the nutritional value of foods that a research department has developed.
You will work with the major pet food companies such as Alpo and Purina in order to learn about this business.
How Much Can You Make working as a dog food tester
Well, there is available salary data specifically for dog food testers.
But pet nutritionists typically earn between $12-$15 per hour.
So it’s nothing to bark over and you shouldn’t be running to fetch the paper in exchange for this kind of job.
Want to know more about working as a dog food tester? Check this new article on a similar topic.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities | Tips
While you don’t need to be a veterinarian in order to work as a dog food tester, it does help quite a little bit to know a lot about animal health.
This way, you can better evaluate how dog food will taste to the audience that’s actually meant to be eating it (i.e the dogs).
Remember that most Americans do love their pets and there is nothing that most people won’t do for them.
So you can potentially make a business out of recommending and selling assorted dog foods.
This in the case you get turned down by Purina for the job of dog food tester.
Qualifications / Requirements for working as a dog food tester
You’ll obviously need well developed taste buds and a strong stomach.
But more importantly, you should have a college degree in nutrition.
And you should know something especially about pet nutrition.
Want to know more about working as a dog food tester? Check this new article on a similar topic.
First Steps
Contact veterinary schools and ask if they offer a certification program in pet nutrition.
Once you know everything there is to know about it, contact the pet food companies and ask if they employ a dog food tester.
If the person you initially speak to doesn’t know or says no, ask to speak to the research and development department.
They will be able to give you more guidance.
Resources
Check out these helpful resources to find out more about becoming a dog food tester:
Career Search: Dog Food Tester – This is an overview of the job of a dog food tester work, though as previously noted, in most cases this is part of a larger job of being a pet nutritionist rather than being only a dog food tester.
Schools in the USA: Animal Nutritionist – This is a description of what’s involved in becoming an animal nutritionist (which is really what a dog food tester is).
Image by Orijen original dog food via Flickr