For many animal lovers, working with animals is an ideal career. The rewards, however, are set off by hard work.

A partial list of duties include; training, feeding, watering, grooming, bathing, and exercising animals. It may also involved cleaning, disinfecting and repairing the enclosures where the particular animal or animals are kept. It may be necessary to play with the animals, provide companionship and observe changes in their habits and diet.

Working with animals usually consists of two areas, caretakers and trainers.

Some employers in this field include veterinarian clinics, stables, aquariums and zoos.

Here is a closer look at some careers and their requirements.

Kennel attendants care for pets while owners are out of town. This job requires basic care of the pet or pets such as feeding, watering and exercising the animals.

In a Shelter, the basic tasks need to be performed along with keeping records, vaccinations, cleaning cages and dealing with the public.

Stable hands will saddle and bridle horses, groom them, walk a horse after a workout to cool them off, feed and water, exercise and maintain stalls and bedding. They will also clean tack and keep the tack room neat and organized and store supplies and feed. An experienced hand may help to train horses.

Zookeepers prepare food and clean enclosures. They may assist in raising very young animals. Zookeepers watch behavior patterns for signs of illness and keep records of these patterns. Answering questions for the public is also a job requirement.

Most of these professions are trained on the job, however some employers may require some experience with animals. The work is sometimes unpleasant and can be physically and emotionally demanding, sometimes even dangerous. The hours can be irregular and you may work in all kids of weather conditions.

However difficult the work may be, the rewards of working with animals will far outweigh the demands.