Cites St. John Byrd, 'Advice to a Would-be Kennelmaid on Going to the Dogs', Our Dogs 85 (20th Nov. 1931), p. 538.
Description:

Sir,- I quite agree with much written by St. John Byrd in Our Dogs of Nov. 20. But there are several points on which I beg to differ. Re the question of uniform. To begin with, riding breeches are not suitable for kennel work; they are too tight at the knee. Much better for this work are the landworker’s breeches, in either corduroy or khaki drill, for great necessity for all kennel uniform is its easy fitting and easy to wash.

My advice as to kennel coats is: Don’t have them too light in colour; khaki, butcher blue, a good mid-green are all suitable, and will, with care, keep presentable for a week. And the blouses. Nothing looks neater than a khaki scout shirt; it is made of good hard-wearing material, looks clean, washes well, and there is plenty of “play” for movement when scrubbing and grooming.'

Finally, the question of boots. Far better to have good stout shoes, well oiled, plenty of golf stockings, and for wet weather rubber Wellingtons. As for the question of shorts for summer, the wearer must judge for herself. Some look a figure of fun in them, and would be far better wearing the khaki-drill breeches recommended.

The question of Sunday work should really be taken strongly. No other profession has to work as kennelmaids do. They are expected to work six and a half days a week, compared to the five and a half days of other outdoor workers. Even farm workers, when they have tended the needs of their stock, have leisure on Sunday. From my own experience of many years, both in boarding and private kennels, and in my own breeding and boarding kennel, it is not necessary for the kennelmaid to do more than clean, feed, and exercise the dogs on a Sunday. No grooming should be done and no extra exercising. Also, where two kennelmaids are employed, one should be free each Sunday for part of the day.’

 

Relevant passages from the article:

'She [i.e. the kennelmaid] will probably be expected to provide herself with a uniform, consisting of riding breeches, boots, blouses, and at least three kennel coats. The latter are best as light as possible: the breeches are best of dark fustian; and a tip which cost me several months of discomfort, let her riding boots fit snugly to the knee: mine were a little short, which necessitated my wearing thick golf stockings, even on the hottest day, to turn over the tops. She will be sensible, too, if during the winter months she drops a few well-timed hints that she would be nothing loth to wearing khaki shorts under her kennel-coats during the summer months. Tramping over the moors, clad in heavy riding boots and elegantly fitting breeches, exercising Irish Wolfhounds, in blazing sun, made even  me wish I had shosen to dispose of ice cream in a large airy emporium, or to sit adding up figures in a shady office.

The work is hard, the hours from round about six till bedtime. Sundays differ only from weekdays in that the people one encounters in the roads are clad in stiff unnatural garments, and are even more perturbed than usual in meeting a pack of hefty and inquisitive dogs.'