I've found out about a fantastic opportunity recently and have gotten a little stuck trying to figure out the best way to present myself.

The job is basically "kennel staff" at a major University with a special program. The kennel is for their detection dogs who are trained to detect IEDs and sold to the military to go to Iraq and Afghanistan. The researchers are also studying in depth how dogs detect things and how they learn. Very cool stuff.

The job description is basically feed dogs, clean dogs, exercise dogs, keep up maintenance like pesticides around the kennel, etc... and occasional training. They want dog experience, especially with active breeds. And though I wouldn't have a problem with it, I really doubt they want me to train new behaviors, I think by "training" they just mean running the dogs through OB or searching that they already know.

Now I feel really confident I could do the job, its exactly what I've been wanting to get into, but I don't have any official certificates or anything. I gotta send in a resume and cover letter. If you guys can think of anything that would help that's be great, if not that's cool too. I was just kinda stumped.

I have experience with fostering GSD's and doing groundwork with them. I've been the main caretaker of my family's hyper dog and have done training with her. I've watched several Leerburg dvds and I watch all the ME I can get a hold of. I learn fast and I understand lots of different theories of dog training and feel comfortable learning whatever they want me to.
And if all goes well I'll be getting my own little "Starter Mal" this Sept/Oct.

Any thoughts?

I would write just what you said. In the initial objective part put that you want to gain more experience in different dog training fields and utilize the skills you have gained in the past. Give ashort description of your skills but find a more prof way to say them. Then list your experience using names of organizations - who you foster for, any other animal experiences you have, and then be able to use people such as vets, trainers, etc as references. In your cover letter state your goals and your philosophy of dog training and your following of the positive reinforcement training thoughts and utilize ME as your example.

Thanks very much, that sounds great! I'll definitely try and form a polished cover letter, I'm good at that. I do just worry about the resume looking bland/not related but I'll try and get some of those items you mentioned on there.