Cites A Lover of Dogs and Fair Play to Our Dogs, 'The Training of Kennelmaids', Our Dogs 111 (27th May 1938), p. 684.
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'concerns among kennel owners were matched by equally animated discussions among kennelmaids themselves, as well as their families, regarding the occupation and its pitfalls. One of the principal perceived dangers was finding oneself working not as a kennelmaid at all, but as a domestic maid. One unhappy father complained that a “lady” had written to a friend of his daughter to say that “the girl was to do kennel work, exercising … housework, [and] have no salary.” His own daughter had “just been offered a job where she would be required, in addition, to do housework, some cooking, ‘help’ with two children, take an interest in chickens, ‘help’ with washing, for a maid’s wage of £1 per week! … And one knows what the ‘helping’ means; one ends up doing everything.” [note: 'A Lover of Dogs and Fair Play to Our Dogs, “The Training of Kennelmaids,” Our Dogs, no. 111 (27 May 1938): 684.']' (307)

Cited by A Kennelmaid to Our Dogs, 'Kennel Pupils', Our Dogs 82 (30th Jan. 1931), p. 282.
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‘Sir,- I feel it is my duty, as a kennelmaid, to reply to the somewhat disparaging letters on ‘kennel pupils’ published in your issue of Jan. 23. If you would allow me, I should like to say a few words in our defence.

Your correspondent who has had some experience with kennelmaids seems to have been very unfortunate; but surely, if she engaged the girls from a training school, and they were not efficient, it is up to her to expose the trainers and not the pupils. Nevertheless, it is not always the kennel owners who are to blame for sending out inefficient workers; they are in duty bound to give all a fair training, and it depends upon the ambitions of the pupils whether they succeed or fail. Those who succeed have a profession of which to be mighty proud; but the remainder, who look upon the work as a pastime, are the ones who bring about all the trouble.

My experience of training kennels must be one of many. As having received six months’ tuition in small Pekingese kennels, my ambition was to get somewhere where things were managed in a big way. So, with a little bluff, and by being perfectly candid and truthful with the owners, I was taken on in large breeding kennels, with the understanding that I had to work! And I must say, with all due respect to my employers, they were all out for enlarging the knowledge and experience of their staff and pupils. We were always present at post-mortems, and I was lucky enough to witness the end of a Caesarean operation. Our questions were willingly answered and out work was criticised, and, under supervision, we took the whelping cases in turn, and held ourselves responsible for the welfare of the bitch and litter – even to docking and dew-clawing! We were also allowed to assist the vet., and hear his views on the different cases.

Wishing all sincere kennelmaids the best of luck for 1931. – Yours, etc.,

A Kennelmaid.’

 

Relevant passage from 'Fancier':

‘Sir,- I am glad to see that at last attention has been called to the so-called training that is offered in many kennels. Advertisements appear constantly, many repeated week after week, claiming to give thorough tuition in all branches of kennel work. This term “all branches,” if taken literally, is a big one, and means not only complete training in the need of toydogs, but also the training of gundogs, obedience classes for Alsatians and the like, and training and preparing of all terriers, and I am prepared to say no one kennel does all this. I have been a breeder and exhibitor for a long time, and have met over and over again girls alleged to have been trained, and found that they know next to nothing, often not even the proper method of clearing a kennel.

It stands to reason that no reputable fancier is going to lodge, feed, and pay the laundry bill of a hefty girl besides giving of his knowledge which has taken years to acquire, or receive payment of 15s to £1 weekly, which is not enough to cover her food, in return for work, which must for some time be of negligible quality.

What your correspondent “Diehard” says is correct. It is only a catch for obtaining cheap labour, and it is high time attention was called to it. Sometimes girls, irrespective of class, are relegated to the kitchen, or put out into cheap lodgings, and are kept week in week out doing the drudgery of the kennel and gaining no knowledge whatever. Another bait is sometimes boating, tennis and the like. All kennels give reasonable time for leisure, but in no big kennel can a girl spend her afternoons in recreation, nor can the owner act as host. Dog breeding, like any other trade or profession, must have full time given to it, and a girl cannot hope to receive proper training by putting in a few hours daily.

The only remark of “Diehard’s” with which I disagree is that a prospective pupil should study the winning kennels. It is not always with the owners of the biggest winners that the greatest knowledge [213-214] exists. A man with a big bank balance and no doggy knowledge can always get advice and buy his winners. The purchase of dogs with one or two certificates is only too common, and often these kennels seldom have a home-bred winner.

If a girl wants to find the right person to teach her she can always apply to the secretary of the specialist club of the breed she fancies, or by visiting shows and talking to reputable breeders can obtain all the information she requires. To get good teaching she must expect to pay a reasonable fee that will cover board, lodging, and tuition. That good tuition can be obtained I have proved beyond doubt, but invariably the properly trained girls come from working kennels, where only one or two pupils are taken, and where they have individual tuition from the owners. Exploiting so-called pupils for cheap labour is simply flooding the market with inefficients who are not worth employing. Yours, etc.,

Fancier of 20 Years Standing.’