Top To Tail Summary

こんにちは (konnichiwa) people!

My overall experience was really good. I did many different jobs, including: washing dogs, blasting/ drying dogs, holding dogs that don't stay still and comforting them, carrying dogs whilst they get their nails cut, brushing dogs, combing dogs, walking dogs, sweeping floors, cleaning windows, washing the baths at the end of the day, removing hair from plug holes, pollishing the front desk and chairs, cleaning mirrors, disinfecting and wipping down walls, mopping, cleaning the 'floor mats' in the wash room, hoovering, and organising files in alphabetical order.

I think that's it...

With this large variety of jobs, I had to take innitiative. This was especially true with dogs that would not co-operate. In these situations I would have to figure out why (e.g. the dog is scared) and try to find a way to complete the task (e.g. blasting) while getting the dog to co-operate (e.g. give them regular breaks and cuddles to calm them down). This kind of problem solving helped me to use and develop my skills of understanding a dog's body language. It also increased my confidence in my own abilities.

However, an ability to learn quickly was the most important quality. This is because I was shown most things relatively quickly and only once. With this quick run-through I would have to be vigulant in order to remember everything I needed to. This meant that I was always listening to what they had to tell me and often remembering multiple instructions at once.

Another major skill was taking orders. I would simply do what they wanted me to do without complaining if it wasn't directly animal related (e.g. organising files). I would also simply try my best in any task that was set for me. Nevertheless, I would still ask questions if I there was any confusion or if I just needed confirmation of the instructions. This was a big achievement for me because around this time last year I had very little confidence in talking to people that I didn't know well. So I am really proud of how I was able to speack confidently and ask questions without an irrational fear.

As long with a confidence boost, I feel like my work ethic is improving. I was happy to do any job and even thought of jobs that I would have complained about a year ago (e.g. all the cleaning) as 'fun'. I feel as though I have progressed as a person as well as in my work-life.

So back to numbers, I spent eight days over two weeks at Top To Tail. Each day was around eight hours (this would change based on how busy the day was). Theirfore, I had around 64 hours of work experience in total at Top To Tail.

I'm really happy with how this experience turned out and I am esspecially glad that I had so much fun doing it.

さようなら (sayounara) people!
Love you all!
Take care!