Pet Expert Certificate Training- A Comprehensive Course
- Learn about pets, their care and management
- Learn skills to work in the pet industry; in animal health, pet services or pet supplies
- Learn management and business skills necessary to run your own pet business or advance your career working for someone else
- Develop knowledge, industry awareness and be mentored by internationally renowned animal experts
This is a very solid course, taught by exceptionally well qualified and experienced, world class animal experts. Check our staff credentials.
The four core modules will take 400 hours to complete, laying a very solid foundation for working with pets. The two electives will allow you to specialize further in areas of your choosing. This has an added advantage of giving you a skill set that will differentiate you from competitors in business or when you apply for a job.
Animal Health Care alone covers much of what you would find in a veterinary nursing or vet assistants certificate in many other colleges. Pet Care and Animal Behaviour broaden the knowledge of companion animals further; and Starting a Small Business lays a foundation for success with managing people, finance and marketing in a pet industry enterprise.
What's Covered in this Course?
This course involves six modules; four compulsory and two electives.
You will earn a Statement of Attainment for each completed module and your full Certificate in Companion Animal Studies after all six selected modules are successfully finished.
Compulsory Modules:
All students must study the following four modules:
- Animal Health Care VAG100
- Pet Care AAG100
- Animal Behaviour BAG203
- Starting a Small Business VBS101
Elective Modules:
- Natural Animal Health Care BAG218
- Animal Biology (Animal Husbandry I) BAG101
- Animal Health BAG201
- Horse Care I BAG102
- Sales Skills VBS108
- Animal Feed & Nutrition (Animal Husbandry III) BAG202
- Breeding Animals BAG301
- Animal Grooming
- Horse Breeding
- Aquarium Management
Core Module Outlines:
Animal Health Care
- Introduction to Animal Health Care
- Common Health Problems in farm animals and pets
- Animal Behaviour
- Signs of Ill Health
- Veterinary Facilities
- Safety Procedures
- Administration of Animal Health
- Animal First Aid
- Preventative Health Care
- Routine Health Treatments
- Health Problems in Domestic Pets
- Rehabilitation Care
Pet Care
- Introduction to Animal Care
- Cats
- Dogs
- Birds
- Fish
- Rabbits
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Guinea Pigs, Hamsters & Mice
Animal Behaviour
- Introduction: Influences and motivation
- Genetics and Behaviour
- Animal Perception and Behaviour
- Behaviour and the Environment
- Social Behaviour
- Instinct and Learning
- Handling Animals
- Behavioural Problems
Starting a Small Business
- Introduction to Small Business - Types of business and communication, types of language, office equipment.
- The Business World - Consultancy services, law and business, the landscape industry, business letters, communication systems.
- Your Alternatives - Different types of ventures Buying and starting a business.
- Marketing - What is involved in marketing, advertising, selling, communication.
- Planning - Organising and planning to ensure the success of the business.
- Basic Bookkeeping - Financial statements, balance sheet, profit and loss statement, insurance.
- Sales Methods - Selling, sales method, telephone canvassing.
- Budgeting - Assets and liabilities.
- Developing a 12 Month Business Plan - Protection, planning and production.
- Implementing a Business Plan - Communication with employees, planning the development of the business.
- Reviewing Progress in a New Business - Research, evaluate and decide on business plan updates.
- Improving Profitability - Increase profit and reduce expenditure.
Note that each module in the Certificate in Companion Animal Studies is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
Courses With A Strong Focus On Learning And Less About Assessment
Education today is often criticised for being too strong on assessment, and not strong enough about learning. This is often the case with CBT (Competency Based Training) courses. We tried CBT in the 90's but found it just didn't work as well as EBL (Experience Based Learning). Our approach to education on this web site has been crafted by education experts and psychologists working together with animal and pet experts.
You learn better by encountering and experiencing things about pets in different contexts.
A Team Of Experts Helps You To See Pet Care In Varied Ways
What matters is the knowledge you retain when your studies finish, and your capacity to keep learning and applying what you learn in different and often unforeseen contexts you encounter long after you cease being a student.
The qualification you receive may help you kick start a career, but this ability to apply knowledge and keep growing as a "pet industry" professional is what makes the biggest difference to your long term career or business success.
We provide the support of a whole team of experts to support you as a student.
We treat every student as the unique individual that they are, with only one goal - to improve your capacity to work with pets.
What Next?
There are endless opportunities for anyone with a passion and persistence to succeed with pets.
- Starting a small business - from dog grooming to pet hotels, manufacturing or selling pet products, running a petting zoo to training.
- Find a job - pet shops, animal welfare, retailing, manufacturing, breeding and selling pets, etc.
- Developing a career - if you already have some skill or experience (e.g. in general retailing, office work or anything else), you may be able to use that experience to get a start or further your opportunities for success in the pet industry.