Pet Care Course

Do you want to be a responsible pet owner? Working in the pet care industry? Are you interested in teaching your children how they should look after their pets?

Then this course is for you. It covers all the key aspects of ownership from choosing a pet, preparing the house, training, grooming and health for dogs, cats, birds, fish and reptiles. 

Don’t forget you will have access to one of our expert tutors and this course is designed with you in mind as it is split into bite sized sections for your convenience. So Start Learning now!

Distance Learning Support

At Start Learning we pride ourselves on our friendly and supportive tutors. Your tutor support will start as soon as you receive your course and will be valid for 12 months. All our tutors are　highly qualified with extensive experience in supporting distance learning students. You contact your tutor via email and they are responsible for marking assignments answering your questions and guiding you through the course.

Home Study Entry Requirements

There are no entry requirements for this course, the students just need to be committed to follow the guidelines of the course. At Start Learning we believe that everyone should　have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.

Recommended Hours of Study

We recommended you spend approximately 110 hours of your time studying for the Pet Care course. The pace of study is completely up to you. To give an example, if you dedicate 2 hours a week to the course it would take you a year to complete but if you could spare 4 hours a week you could complete it in six months.

Distance Learning Course Contents

Unit 1 - Dogs: Introduction to Dogs - Before choosing a dog - Choosing & Preparation - Dogs and crates - The Golden Rules of Happy Housebreaking - How to go about the Housebreaking Process - Things to consider when you name your dog - Grooming your Puppy - Care & Grooming - Dog and cat allergies
How is an allergy diagnosed? - How To Administer CPR - How to truly tell your dog's age - Hypoallergenic Dogs - Caring for Senior Pets – Diet - Psychology & behaviour

Unit 2 - Cats: Choosing a Cat - Getting down to getting a new cat - Choosing a non-pedigree cat - Choosing a Pedigree Kitten - Housebreaking a new kitten - 10 Pointers for using a litter box - Your first cat - Giving a cat a bath - How to bathe your cat before a show - INTERNAL PARASITES - Worms and Toxoplasmosis - EXTERNAL PARASITES - Fleas, mites and ticks - Grooming your cat - Sterilising your feline - Is My Cat Sick? - Caring for Senior Pets - What your cat needs to maintain a healthy lifestyle - Why
does a cat spend so much time and effort grooming it's fur? - Destructive behaviour - Travelling with a cat

Unit 3 - Birds: Species of Birds - Choosing a cage - Tips for Cage Shoppers - Cage Location and Temperature - Covering the Cage - Keeping the Cage Clean - Bird toys - General grooming - Giving Your - Bird a Bath - Dangers in the Home - Basic Diet - Foods that are safe for your bird

Unit 4 - Fish: All about Fish - Fish in Tanks - Fish in Ponds – Aquarium - Pond set-ups - Goldfish or tropical fish? – Lighting - Keeping Fish Healthy

Unit 5 - Reptiles: Species - Taking care of your snake – Housing – Feeding - Parasites and disease Sexing and breeding – Records - Looking after your lizard - The basics on how to take care of your pet turtle – Hibernation - Taming your reptile

Unit 6 - Rodents: Species – Feeding - Care

Qualifications

Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a Level 2 NCFE Award certificate in Pet Care.

Language of Assessment

English

Assessment

This course is marked through a process of continuous assessment guided by your tutor. This means that your qualification will be awarded according to your performance on assessments rather than by taking an exam.