Other than being comfortable shoving pet food into your mouth for most of the day, there are a number of other qualities you should make sure you possess before deciding to enter the pet food testing profession.
Most obviously is a good palette. It may ‘just be dog food’, but you’re still expected to discern subtle and complex flavours and ingredients. One food tester explained how, as part of the hiring process, you’re asked to describe different products and note the variations between them, using the sort of lexicon that is more reminiscent of wine connoisseurs discussing a fine Merlot, rather than people eating dog food in a lab. Beyond this sort of competency test, a history of experience in food preparation or other tasting jobs would be a strong indicator of a good palette.